England vs Pakistan: 5 things which went wrong for Pakistan in the One Day series

After the ignominy of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, the England team adopted radical measures to change their approach towards Limited overs cricket, and these measures have yielded a bumper harvest for the team.

Not only has the team transformed its approach, but has made a concerted effort to bring a positive approach towards the game, and not worry too much about the result. Captain Eoin Morgan and coach Trevor Bayliss has given the players the freedom to go out and express themselves and not cringe too much about the consequences.

They have brushed all opponents under the carpet ever since and have emerged as one of the strongest outfits in One Day Cricket.

On the other hand, we have Pakistan, a team which attained Test glory during this trip, but were soon brought crashing down in the One Day series, and lost the 5-match series 4-1.

Results do tell a story, but what they do not reveal is the lack of fight shown by the Azhar Ali-led side right through the series.

Here in this list, we take a look at 5 factors which were responsible for Pakistan's desperate situation in One Day Internationals. They are currently ranked number 9 in this format.

#1 Mundane opening stand

The sight of Alastair Cook and Ian Bell opening the innings for England was ridiculed by all and sundry, primarily because of their stoic approach at the top of the order. They believed in seeing off the new ball and then slowly accelerating towards the end. This approach was well behind the modern times, and hence it failed big time.

However, Pakistan have for some reason not learnt from this, and they still have a very stodgy approach at the top of the order. Although, they have an aggressive player in the form of Sharjeel Khan, his opening partner has not yet been decided, and this is a massive lapse right at the outset.

Not once in the 5-match series were the openers ahead of the 8-ball and this was one of the reasons behind their sorry performance.

#2 Role of Azhar Ali in the team

Azhar Ali does not quite fit into ODI cricket

After Misbah-ul-Haq decided to call it a day from One Day Internationals, Azhar Ali was appointed the captain for the ODI team. While there were few apprehensions over this call, the selectors believed Azhar will lend stability to the team.

However, while Azhar batted solidly at the top of the order and churned out runs, but then his pace of scoring put too much pressure on the rest of the batting order. England which kept posting scores in excess of 300 in almost all the matches were never threatened by the pace of the scoring and thus their bowlers could settle into a nice groove.

This approach is a no longer acceptable in the modern game, more so in a side which does not have a settled unit around to take advantage of the solid base.

#3 Shabby fielding

The fielding is well below the standard

The Pakistan team have never been renowned for good athletic fielding, but then they had other bases covered to mask their inadequacies in the field.

However, in the modern game, fielding has become an integral part of the strategies and this is one area where Pakistan has slipped way down the pecking order.

Their ground fielding and catching in close areas left a lot to be desired, and in every match, they ended up conceding almost 20-25 runs.

While this looks shabby on the field, the bowlers feel lost and keep on running in without any results. One surfaces which have nothing in it for the bowlers, dropping catches and allowing the ball to pass through is a criminal act which has no excuses.

#4 No finisher to add impetus

Sarfraz Khan can be the finisher in the team

MS Dhoni, Jos Buttler, Angelo Mathews, James Faulkner. These are names which spring to mind when the term finisher is brought up. Unfortunately, there are no names from Pakistan which fit the bill as a finisher. This is a massive lapse when it comes down to adding impetus to the ODI innings, and providing a late kick towards the fag end of the innings.

Imad Wasim and Sarfaraz Ahmed did show promise during the series, but then they were so far behind that even this attempt at a late kick could not revive the innings.

Thus, if the team wants to improve on their shoddy performance in One Day Cricket they need to blood a player in this role.

#5 Presence of an all-rounder

Imad Wasim has been one of the finds from the series

The role of an all-rounder is well documented but despite this, not many teams have the luxury of such players. However, a player like Ben Stokes has shown the importance of an all-rounder and their match-winning prowess.

It is not as if Pakistan have not had such players in their ranks. In Abdur Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood and to some extent Shahid Afridi, Pakistan have always had availed the services of a quality all-rounder. And this is where this team lacks another punch.

Once again, in Imad Wasim, they have raw potential, but he must now be groomed and given a longer rope to flourish in this role in the near future.