PLAYER RATINGS: Saqib Mahmood and Fakhar Zaman lead the way but Imam-ul-Haq has a day to forget

The Cricketer runs the rule over the performances of both sets of players in the first one-day international between England and Pakistan in Cardiff

Scorecard

ENGLAND

Phil Salt (7): The home town boy was unable to mark his international debut with a decent score, nicking off following a handsome drive. 4

Dawid Malan (68*): Returned to the squad after originally withdrawing due to personal reasons. Put on 120 with Crawley in a match-winning stand, but this was a low-pressure innings. 7

Zak Crawley (58*): Looked the slightly more free-flowing of the pair, despite being the lower scoring of the two. Took his Kent form to Cardiff and on ODI debut looks very much at home. 7

James Vince (DNB): Only contribution came in running out Maqsood with a wonderful pick-up. Hopefully gets his chance with the bat later down the line. 5

Ben Stokes (DNB & 0-6): Didn't have much of a say on his England white-ball captaincy bow. 5

John Simpson (DNB): Not word perfect behind the stumps but carried out his business without fuss. A surprising pick but few would say he doesn't deserve it. 5

Lewis Gregory (DNB & 1-11): Injured for Somerset of late and that was perhaps the reason he was held back after that opening spell, which was extremely tidy.  6

Craig Overton (DNB & 2-23): Lined up a few times by Fakhar Zaman but otherwise was very comfortable in the surroundings. A well-earned international return. 7

Brydon Carse (DNB & 0-31): Bowled with real zip and while his lengths meant he was often driven there is plenty to work with. 6

Saqib Mahmood (DNB & 4-42): England's performer of the day and the player of the match. Fine opening dart with the new ball, getting Babar Azam among others. Bit baffling he wasn't among the original group, but thank goodness he was held back. 8

Matt Parkinson (DNB & 2-28): Has stayed patient while travelling the world mostly as a reserve. Got Fakhar with a poor delivery and but lured Hasan Ali into a slog. 6

^{Lewis Gregory picked up the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan}

PAKISTAN

Imam-ul-Haq (0): Trapped lbw first ball of the match. What more can you say? 1

Fakhar Zaman (47): The batter of the day thanks to some super drives and pulls. Should have at least reached fifty before being caught at point. Wasted opportunity. 7

Babar Azam (0): Lasted just one delivery more than Imam, playing at a ball he should have left alone. His team lacked sharpness and there didn't seem to be a plan with the ball. 2

Mohammad Rizwan (13): Got out to one of the best nuts of the match. Had little to do behind the stumps. 3

Saud Shakeel (5 & 0-3): A tad unfortunate with his dismissal with the ball clipping the top of middle. 2

Sohaib Maqsood (19): Set off for a run that was never there and was deservedly punished. 3

Shadab Khan (30 & 0-22): Gave the innings respectability by stemming the flow but got out trying to increase the intensity. Couldn't influence with the ball, understandably. 6

Faheem Ashraf (5 & 0-33): Had to have sympathy for all the bowlers with such a poor total behind them. Lacked variety to upset England. 4

Hasan Ali (6 & 0-33): Was too easily dispatched, with England handily using the pace on the ball. Might be a bit more of a threat later in the series. 4

Shaheen Shah Afridi (12 & 1-22): Started very poorly and was unable to find his radar until it was too late. We expect big things from the left-armer forgetting he is just 21. 5

Haris Rauf (0* & 0-28): Probably the least threatening of the quicks, recording just eight dots in four overs. 3

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