England vs Pakistan 2019, 1st ODI: Preview and Probable Playing XI

After trouncing the Greens in the shortest format, England will look to continue their dominance, when they host Pakistan in the first ODI at the Kennington Oval on Wednesday, May 8.

Head to Head Overall: England lead the stats with 49 wins out of their 80 completed ODIs against Pakistan.

Head to Head in England: In the 41 completed ODIs played in England, the home side holds a clear edge with 26 wins. At the Oval, the score favors the British at 4-1.

England

Despite missing their key players, the English side stunned the visitors in the T20I encounter. But now they are expected to keep the full strength squad on Wednesday.

Batting

Key Batsmen - Eoin Morgan, Joe Root & Jonny Bairstow

Eoin Morgan (57* runs from 29 balls) and Joe Root (47 runs from 42 balls) fully utilized their experience to overcome a scare in the T20I fixture. Both these will be eager to make a similar impact in the ODI as well.

While the return of Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, and Jason Roy will strengthen their batting even further, these three are likely to make the opponents camp sweat.

Bowling

Key Bowlers - Jofra Archer, Tom Curran & Liam Plunkett

After an impressive show in the T20I, Jofra Archer (2/29) is likely to have another go in the ODIs and the youngster will be vying to utilize each and every opportunity he gets. While Liam Plunkett and Tom Curran were exceptional in their previous ODI against Ireland and the skipper will back them to replicate it against Pakistan.

Probable Playing XI

Eoin Morgan (C), Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow (W), Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Liam Plunkett, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, and Jofra Archer.

Pakistan

Pakistan Cricket Team

On the flipside, the visitors are suffering in the 50 over segment, and have lost their last five games on the trot. Though they would take some confidence from their comprehensive eight-wicket win over the English side in the champions trophy performance in 2017.

Batting

Key Batsmen - Harris Sohail, Babar Azam & Fakhar Zaman

Haris Sohail and Babar Azam both are coming off a fifty in the T20I fixture and will be itching to have a repeat in the next fixture. While Fakhar Zaman was in sublime form during the warm-ups with respective scores of 76 and 101 in two games, and the 29-year-old is likely to test the British pacers at Kennington.

Bowling

Key Bowlers - Imad Wasim (All-rounder), Hasan Ali & Junaid Khan

Imad Wasim and Hasan Ali are likely to pose a major threat to the opponents, while Junaid Khan and Shaheen Afridi both picked a wicket each in the T20I fixture and the skipper need these two to pick more in the series opener. While the eyes will be on struggling Mohammad Amir and his performance in this series will certainly decide his fate in the CWC squad.

Probable Playing XI

Sarfaraz Ahmed (C & W), Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Sohail, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, and Hasan Ali.