Top 5 performers from England vs Pakistan ODI series

“At least we didn't suffer a whitewash” must have been the thoughts echoing in the minds of Pakistan captain Azhar Ali after the 4-1 ODI series loss to England. They managed to avoid a whitewash thanks their best batsman of the series scoring another fifty and establishing himself as an integral part of the middle order.

The series highlighted the gulf between the two sides as far as the shorter formats of the game is concerned. While Pakistan and England were neck and neck in the Test series that couldn’t be farther from the truth in the ODI series. So where the top performers for both England and Pakistan in this series? Do any Pakistan players make the list?

Here are the top five performer from the England-Pakistan ODI series:

Alex Hales

Is one innings good enough to warrant a good series? No matter how good or bad, is one knock enough to justify your selection in the side? In most cases, the answer would be no but in the case of Alex Hales, the answer is a firm yes, not only because of what his one innings signified but also his form going into the series.

After all, no body could keep up a run that Hales enjoyed at the start of the year. Four fifties and two centuries in your first seven ODI matches of the year are simply mind-boggling numbers and it isn’t a surprise that Hales couldn’t maintain that throughout this series.

Still he finished with more runs than all but two players (Joe Root and Sarfraz Ahmed) and that was all thanks to one glorious innings at Trent Bridge. His 171 broke the English record for the highest ODI score by an English batsman and was also his career-best List-A, ODI career and helped England to the highest-ever ODI total and that is why he makes it into this list despite scores of 7, 14, 8 and 23 in the remaining four matches of the series.

Chris Woakes

In a series that was dominated by the bat, there was one bowler who stood like a fish out of water. And there was no surprise that that bowler turned out to be the same one who is having an unforgettable series and year so far. Chris Woakes finished with more wickets than anyone else in the series but it was his control with the new ball that was more impressive.

While other bowlers were getting belted around the park, Woakes always found a way to not just keep the runs down but also pick up crucial wickets. So it should come as little surprise that he is quickly start to establish himself as a key member of this rejuvenated English limited-overs side.

Capable of swinging with the new ball and nailing his yorkers at the death, the 27-year-old is the quintessential limited-overs bowler that every side wants in their arsenal. Thankfully for England they have him and will be hoping that he improves on his tally of wickets as the year progresses.

Ben Stokes

Coming on the back of an injury that ruled him out of the latter part of the Test series against Pakistan, Ben Stokes knew that he couldn't bowl as much as he would want in the ODI series and needed to step up with the bat. And boy, did he do that.

In the four innings that he had an opportunity to bat, he scored two fifties, including his career-best ODI score. All of this came at a strike rate in excess of 100 and his ability to clear the fence with ease and treat every bowler with absolute disdain was evident in the series.

While he might have only got a wicket in the series, he didn’t get to bowl as much and his economy rate of 4.75 in a high-scoring series is certainly impressive. With 201 runs in the series at an average of 67 and strike rate of over 102, he finished as England’s third-leading run-scorer in the series despite only coming in at No.5.

Joe Root

With nearly four months of cricket left in the calendar year, Joe Root already has nearly 800 runs and is closing in on 1,000 ODI runs in 2016. After a brilliant start to the year in the series against South Africa, Root merely continued his good form in the Pakistan series, finished as the second-leading run scorer.

The final match in Cardiff was the first one of the series in which he ended with a single digit score. After starting the series with a 61, he scored back-to-back 80s in Lord’s and Nottingham which sealed the series for his side. Although his form slightly tailed off in the final two ODIs where he combined for just 39 runs, his overall tally in the series and the year so far are nothing short of amazing.

His tally of 274 runs from five matches with three fifties and an average of 54.8 and a strike rate in excess of 90 helped his ODI tally for the year to 796 runs in 15 matches at the end of the ODI series. And it won’t be surprising if he finished the year as the leading run-getter in ODIs if he keeps up his incredible form.

Sarfraz Ahmed

Pakistan might have largely had a series to forget barring the final ODI but one bright spark amidst the gloom and darkness that come with a 4-1 series loss to England was the form of their keeper Sarfraz Ahmed. A fifty and a hundred in the first two games of the series set the platform which unfortunately subsided in the following two games.

But he ensured that Pakistan didn't suffer the ignimony of a whitewash as his 90 in the final ODI in Cardiff ensured that Pakistan at least won an ODI game and will go into the only T20I with a winning feeling. What was most impressive about the 29-year-old was his ability to put the situation behind and just go about playing his natural game.

At 29, he is entering into the prime of his career and his recent numbers have shown that he is ready to make the step up in the middle-order and take control as the finisher. A tally of 300 runs in 5 matches at an average of 60 with a century and two fifties only highlight those credentials.