England secured their biggest ever win in the history of ODIs after beating Pakistan by 169 runs in the third ODI at Nottingham. Their win also meant that Eoin Morgan's side secured the ODI series after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, England sent the Pakistan bowlers on a leatherhunt as Alex Hales brought up the highest score by a English batsman in ODIs (171) and Joe Root added another ODI fifty to his name (85) before Jos Buttler (90*) and Eoin Morgan (57*) continued the carnage to ensure that the hosts finished on 444/3 in their 50 overs.
With the world record for highest ODI total in the bag, the hosts were looking for another record by bundling out the opposition quickly. Chris Woakes gave them the perfect start by picking up three wickets inside the first 10 overs and after Pakistan never really had a chance.
But they started and ended the innings like a house on fire as Sharjeel Khan and Mohammad Amir both brought up their fifties but in the end it wasn’t enough as England won the match by 169 runs and ended up claiming the series as well.
Pakistan captain Azhar Ali said: "Exceptional innings from Alex Hales and Jos Buttler. Our fielding, on a wicket like this, it needs to support the bowlers and that didn't happen. It's hard to control the flow of runs on a wicket like this if you don't pick up wickets. We need to pick ourselves up."
He also added, "The Test team is doing so well for the last five or six years, but the one-day team hasn't played well for the last two or three years. Once their batsmen are going like that, all you can do it keep things simple, but all credit to the England team.”
England captain Eoin Morgan full of praise for Hales and Root for setting the platform. He said: "A momentum knock from Alex Hales on his home ground, our innings was based around that, not to undermine Joe Root's part in that. He's shaped up well and more often than not has kept a really good attitude.
“The records are hugely important, we are not just a side that likes batting second. We probably have a group of 17 or 18 players who have played in the last year or so and could have played. The success of the international team is driving all of that.”
Hales admits he didn’t know about England record
For his 122-ball 171, Alex Hales walked away with the Man of the Match award. He said: “"A special venue, always guaranteed high scoring games. I didn't know about the record, as JRoy got 160-odd at The Oval and came close. The improvements we've shown in the last few years, I'm not sure how long that record will stand.
“We always talk about it as a team, we haven't reached our full potential yet, still more to come. A tough few weeks personally, but I haven't felt out of form with the white ball, so I'm going to enjoy tonight. But we want to be ruthless and win 5-0.”
Here is how the cricket fraternity reacted:
Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal:
Former England captain Michael Vaughan:
England fast bowler Steven Finn:
Ashes-winning England fast bowler Graham Onions:
Former England spinner Graeme Swann:
Craig Kieswetter:
Yorkshire and England all-rounder Tim Bresnan:
James Taylor:
Alex Hales' Nottinghamshire teammate Brendan Taylor:
Former Indian spinner Murali Kartik:
Simon Hughes with a bit of perspective:
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