A jam-packed summer schedule and a few injuries halted England from sending a full-strength squad to Pakistan for the ODI tri-series. Jofra Archer, who played five Test games, six ODIs and as many T20Is since July, was rested while Jos Buttler is recovering from hamstring surgery.
“Not that experienced”
This made way for a few new names to join the squad. In Archer’s stead, England have called up Sonny Baker, who played his second ODI against Sri Lanka at The Oval last month. Besides him, Mason Crane was also named in the squad for the first time since his Ashes appearance in 2018.
England captain Harry Brook acknowledges that his team does not boast a wealth of experience, but what he expects them to capitalise on is the camaraderie they have built over the summer.
“We’re not actually that experienced, if I’m being brutally honest. There’s only a couple of players who have played over 50 games, I think.”
“We’re experienced in camaraderie and in the way we want to play cricket. We’ve learnt that exceptionally well over the last six months as a unit. We’re really bonded together, and we know exactly what we want to do when we’re out there on the field.”
“It’s been quite a slick process for us over the last few months, and I think we’ve done an exceptional job of that. Pakistan are going to present us with challenges that we probably haven’t quite faced yet as an ODI side, and we’re really looking forward to playing against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in subcontinental conditions.”
Brook’s familiarity with Pakistan
Unlike many in his squad, Brook is no stranger to Pakistan. He averages 70.37 across formats in the country, his highest average for any nation including England. Brook has four centuries in Pakistan as well as a red-ball triple hundred, which he scored in 2024.
2022 was also the year when Brook played for Lahore Qalandars in the PSL during their title-winning run. Playing ten games for the side, he scored 264 runs, including a century. These numbers, Brook says, are the reason why he is almost always confident facing Pakistan.
“Playing in the PSL really kick-started my career. I got the opportunity to play for Lahore Qalandars in 2022, and I performed quite well out here.”
“I got to know the conditions very well, and I got to know the opposition I was playing against. A lot of those players also play for the Pakistan team.”
“It gave me great confidence going into that Test series and into any series we played after that, knowing the opposition and the conditions. I feel like Pakistan has been a side I’ve had a lot of confidence against.”
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