LONDON: England won the toss and chose to put Pakistan to bat first on Wednesday in the first one-day international between England and Pakistan at The Oval.
Rain delayed the scheduled toss and start of the match, reducing play to not more than 47 overs a side.
The heavy early morning rain at the south London ground meant the toss in this first of a five-match series, a day/night contest, did not take place as scheduled at 4:30 pm (1130 GMT) Pakistan time.
Conditions had brightened up by the time an inspection took place at 4:45pm PST, with both teams warming up on the outfield, only for the rain to return while umpires Paul Reiffel and Rob Bailey were starting their deliberations, with the players hurrying back to the changing rooms.
The covers were later again taken off and the match was now expected to start at 6:15 pm (Pakistan time).
The series is expected to be a true test of preparations for Pakistan and England as they gear up for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup.
The series is taking place just a few weeks before the 50-over men’s tournament gets underway, with hosts England – the number one ranked side in ODI cricket – looking to win the Cup for the first time.
The last time that the Pakistan cricket team played an ODI at The Oval was when they outclassed India in the final of Champions Trophy in June 2017, in a remarkable turnaround to be remembered for decades. With memories of that stunning comeback still fresh in their minds, Pakistan would be hoping to bounce back today from the defeat in the lone T20 international against England in Cardiff on Sunday.
A victory in this series would be much needed: Pakistan have lost 12 of their 23 matches in the last year and suffered a 5-0 whitewash by Australia in the UAE in their latest ODI engagement earlier this year, although they were led by Shoaib Malik in that series, who was standing in for regular skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed.
This series would be a true test of the team’s preparations for the World Cup, which begins in England and Wales from May 30, and the Sarfaraz-led Pakistan would be looking to boost their confidence ahead of the mega event.
England, meanwhile, have won six of their last seven ODIs at The Oval.
Squads
England: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Amir, Asif Ali
