Jason Roy's up-and-down innings and when should you not claim a run out?... ODI TALKING POINTS

SAM MORSHEAD reflects on the action from the Ageas Bowl after an entertaining one-day international between England and Pakistan

A most curious innings

If this is Jason Roy out of nick, England are in for a treat when he gets into full flow later this summer.

The Surrey opener, who has barely batted this season because of a habitual back problem, flitted between outrageous boundary hitting and the sort of air-swatting you might ordinarily expect from a wasp-shy uncle at an August family picnic.

He was routinely beaten in the air by the spinners and off the pitch by Pakistan’s seam attack, yet among the clumsiness there was utter carnage.

Faheem Ashraf was punched down the ground, on the march, almost taking the sun hat off a camera operator at long-on; Yasir Shah was deposited for six in-to-out over the offside using nothing but his wrists to; and a back-foot drive over extra cover, delivered with the arm speed and upper body strength of a Novak Djokovic winner, would be among the shots of any summer.

Still, though, Roy’s strike rate was stammering in the high 80s. For an innings which had featured so much devastation the overall effect remained somewhat low-key.

^{Jason Roy made 87 for England}

When should you not appeal?

The so-called ‘spirit of cricket’ is a particularly clunky construct.

It means so many different things to so many different people, and trying to present a catch-all definition is a very difficult exercise.

But appealing for dismissals which you absolutely know are not out must surely class as a breach?

Some felt Pakistan had already been guilty of such a misdemeanour this summer when, during a tour match against Kent, Hasan Ali celebrated a caught and bowled after seemingly spilling the chance. And here at the Ageas there was a second dubious incident involving Imad Wasim when he contrived to fail to run out Jonny Bairstow.

Wasim tied himself in an ugly knot as he prepared to receive the ball at the non-striker’s end, knocking the bails to the floor with his elbows a good two seconds before the throw arrived.

He must have realised what had happened.

Maybe he was taken away by the moment, maybe the hyper-competitiveness of elite sport took hold... but still. His fully-fledged appeal was made to look more than a little ridiculous by the instant replays.

Bad day at the office for Yasir Shah

Pakistan have five more warm-up fixtures ahead of their World Cup campaign and they will be desperate to see improved performances with the ball from Yasir Shah.

The legspinner has only taken six wickets in 74 overs since returning to the ODI arena in July last year and at the Ageas he looked out of sorts.

Three deliveries in a row at the end of his sixth over were so short they would been disqualified from riding most rollercoasters, affording Jos Buttler the most gentle introduction to the crease.

Even his one wicket, that of Joe Root, was something of a gimme from the England batsman, who heaved another rank long-hop to the diving hands of Haris Sohail at midwicket.

By contrast, Imad Wasim - the slow left-armer - was much more disciplined and maintained a nagging line and length.

A two-spinner system works only if both are either economical or prolific. In this instance, Shah was neither.

^{Yasir Shah did not have a good day with the ball}

Jofra benefits by not playing

After just four overs of this series, it seems the selectors had already seen enough of Jofra Archer.

The allrounder was rested for the game in Southampton, following a furious spell with the new ball in the rain-interrupted opener at the Kia Oval in which he routinely topped 90mph and gave the Pakistani batsmen a torrid time.

Of course he is just part of a squad rotation and will return for at least one of the remaining games, probably more.

But what happened at the Ageas will only serve to enhance his reputation and improve his chances of World Cup selection.

England’s seamers were below par, with the exception of David Willey, offering too many chances for Pakistan to score, particularly by bowling in areas which favoured Fakhar Zaman’s leg-heavy approach.

Right now, it feels unfeasible to think Archer will not be included in the final 15-man group. Who misses out is much less clear.

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Fakhar is Zaman

Pakistan can certainly be optimistic about Fakhar Zaman’s record in English conditions ahead of the World Cup.

The batsman has only played six one-day internationals in this country but he has made two centuries, two half-centuries and averages 65.50 - compared to an already impressive overall ODI average of 54.58.

He also strikes significantly quicker in England - a strike rate of 115.58 versus 97.95 in his international career.

And one last thing

Up to and including the 2015 World Cup, England passed 300 in one-day internationals on 34 occasions.

In the four-and-a-bit years since, they have passed 300 35 times.

It’s a different era, folks.

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