NICK HOWSON looks at the key topics from the third and final one-day international at Edgbaston
Back at the scene of many of his best days in county cricket, the first #BlueforBob day was held at Edgbaston for the third one-day international.
A day to celebrate the life of Bob Wills, which included his induction to the ICC hall of fame, including raising awareness and funds for prostate cancer.
Currently, 11,500 men die from prostate cancer in the UK each year. That is one every 45 minutes and 11 will have died during this game alone, so exposure like this is absolutely vital.
The benefitting Bob Willis Fund, launched by wife Lauren and brother David, aims to support research into the disease.
Fans and media were encouraged to wear blue, with the Birmingham venue at 80 per cent capacity after being added to the government's Events Research Programme.
As well as the visible tributes for the former England quick, Bob Dylan was often heard over the PA between overs.
Dylan, alongside lyricist Sir Tim Rice, are among the patrons of the fund which has also gained support from the likes of Sir Ian Botham, former prime minister Sir John Major and Ebony Rainford-Brent.
Additionally, fans were asked to submit videos imitating Willis' unique action posted with the hashtag #BowllikeBob. Do it in a Test a la Alastair Cook and we'll talk.
At the time of writing, the day has raised £255,000 for the cause. He will have been proud, if not slightly embarrassed.
Imam-ul-Haq survived being struck on the pad in the first over to make a fine fifty
David Lloyd is perhaps the most guilty of making cliched comparisons between ODIs in the modern-day and yesteryear.
Keeping wickets in hand, batting out the 50 overs and going hard at the end, the Duncan Fletcher mantra, is a process that has firmly been left behind.
It took England longer than most nations to work it out but once they did they became world champions.
Pakistan's innings was a genuine throwback, however. It took them 143 balls to bring up their century.
But then they went through the gears. The next 100 runs came in 78 deliveries and 63 balls later they brought up the 300.
Underpinning both that early hesitancy and the uptick in the scoring rate later in the innings was Babar Azam.
This was a beautifully controlled, disciplined and clinical innings from the captain. Having survived Saqib Mahmood early spell this was a perfect knock just at the right time.
And all after going his first 15 balls without scoring a run, the first time he'd gone more than 10 before registering his first in an ODI. Thereafter, Babar was simply sublime.
"He was able to just pick England apart," Rob Key said on Sky Sports. "You will tell kids if you're going to copy a technique then copy his because he is so pure.
"The way he has been able to pace his innings, never did he start slogging recklessly. Just go out there and play and that is what he was able to do."
In reaching 158, Babar registered the highest ODI score for Pakistan against England, surpassing Imam-ul-Haq's 151 at Bristol in May 2019.
While slow and steady might not be an in-vogue approach, it probably delivered the best match of play of the summer. Finally, a visiting team had turned up in an international white-ball match, at the ninth time of asking.
Phil Salt once again showed his attacking instinct
Ben Stokes' captaincy started with a superb review which helped Saqib Mahmood get Imam-ul-Haq at Cardiff. It was a superb decision that got this series off to the perfect start.
But when the Lancashire quick struck the Pakistan opener on the pads in the opening over, the skipper turned down appeals to consult DRS.
Replays later showed that while there were two noises, that Stokes detected on the field, it was bat grazing pad first. He would have been plumb.
Fast forward to the England chase and Dawid Malan was out the second ball to Hasan Ali while attempting to fend a delivery that did a bit in the air. The Yorkshire batter walked off and in real-time, there was enough evidence that he has thinned it.
Replays showed nothing on Snicko, instead highlight that the bat had brushed again Malan's left pad - not that he noticed.
It was Glenn McGrath that lamented after the 2019 Headingley Test that if you use DRS badly it will lose you a match.
Much of England's game in Birmingham was sound but the one aspect you can't train or prepare for was left wanting. Not that is really mattered.
James Anderson at 1,000
Talking of giving wickets away, Pakistan had a shocking afternoon in the field.
Granted, England came at them hard in the chase, with Phil Salt's quick hands leading the way.
But the pressure on them in the early overs was eased by the tourists lacking intensity with their groundwork.
Ones became twos as fielders juggled with the ball like a bar of soap. When the fundamentals aren't there, you struggle to have sympathy when incidents like Saud Shakeel's throw clips the stumps and rolls to the boundary.
Then there were two drops in the field, both when Shadab Khan was bowling to Stokes.
Sohaib Maqsood's one-handed drop which went to the boundary was very tough and will have had social media managers across the world scrambling for the embed code.
Hasan Ali's shelled opportunity was a virtual gimmie, right down his throat and he shelled it for another four. It was a bit of a shocker.
It took Pakistan's best fielder, Mohammad Rizwan, to finally get rid of the England captain with a lovely grab via an inside edge.
The circus continued as Imam grasped at a miss-timed James Vince drive and tipped the ball over the bar.
Even in success, there was chaos. Lewis Gregory's dismissal came after a mix-up between replacement wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shadab, who eventually took the catch before letting his feelings be known to his esteemed teammate.
In the final evaluation, it made all the difference.
Ffffffffxfgfyipwyxxx, BEAUTY FROM MATT PARKINSON! 😍#ENGvPAKpic.twitter.com/VHMxyfV4Pe
— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) July 13, 2021
After a winter of discontent, Matt Parkinson's time has come. What a ride it should be.
The Lancashire leggie endured an inactive winter in Sri Lanka and India.
Such was his dedication in following England across the sub-continent, you would have been forgiven for mistaking him for a member of the Barmy Army who had stowed away illegally.
Forget the original England squad that initiated his call-up, Parkinson should have been in this group from the outset.
While his international career will come with a degree of punishment, it will also have moments of class. He delivered one of them at Edgbaston with a ball of the summer contender.
The celebration that followed said everything: relief, joy and anger all in one huge roar. The last few months of pent-up frustration exorcised in a single delivery and one explosion of emotion.
The ball from Parkinson to dismiss Imam-ul-Haq spun 12.1°
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) July 13, 2021
No ball bowled by an English spinner, in England, to take a wicket in ODI's in the ball tracking era, has ever spun more. #ENGvPAK
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