Australia's use of the powerplay and is it time to cut Imam some slack.... WORLD CUP TALKING POINTS

SAM MORSHEAD picks out some of the key topics for debate after Pakistan and Australia met in the World Cup at Taunton

Don't change, Pakistan

If ever you needed a single match to illustrate the sheer madness that is the Pakistan national side at major international tournaments, this was it.

In the field, they were at once brilliant and baffling - the incisive seam bowling of Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz let down by diabolical groundwork and a dolly mixture of dropped catches.

They seemed completely out of the game with 22 overs remaining, David Warner set and Glenn Maxwell loosening the hips. And yet back they came, refusing to play dead, Monty Python's Black Knight reimagined in green.

Australia's middle order showed the structural integrity of cottage cheese, Amir claimed a brilliant five-for and suddenly the target was only 308 on a modest ground, albeit one with short boundaries.

Now all they had to do was make a start. Play it simple, guys. Build an innin... oh. 2 for 1.

Aha, but this is Pakistan. Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam, and then Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez rebuilt. It's 117 for 2 and we're going along nicely. Keep rotating the strike, keep finding the gap, nothing sill... oh. 160 for 6.

Aha, but this is Pakistan. Hassan Ali rocked up and played the sort of innings you might expect from the second-row forward stumbling into his first game of club cricket; a pelt-em, smelt-em thrasharound that brought 32 from 15 balls and fresh impetus into the chase.

Wahab Riaz followed his lead, unafraid to take on anything loose and wide. He almost removed Usman Khawaja's ring finger at extra cover with an offdrive that might have been challenging the land speed record.

At the other end, Sarfraz played that typical Sarfraz innings, manipulating the strike without really ever appearing to be there. Hang on, it's 265 for 7 now. Forty-three needed and two batsmen set, even if one is Wahab. This could really happen, couldn't it.

Aha, but this is Pakistan. Wahab prods at Mitchell Starc, and Australia go up for the caught behind. Nothing. A review. Pakistan fans cheer the ball passing the bat on the big screen, which seems a little presumptuous given there is as much daylight between the two as Christmas at the North Pole. It is presumptuous. 

Within 10 minutes, they are all out. 

Never change, Pakistan. Never change.

^{Aaron Finch and David Warner take on water}

Aussie powerplays

Australia’s powerplay stats in this World Cup make for interesting reading.

For a side blessed with two of the cleanest strikers of a cricket ball at the top of the order, going has been surprisingly tough in England.

Both Aaron Finch and David Warner have got themselves in on three of the four occasions they have walked out to the middle during the tournament - the exception coming against West Indies - yet between them they have yet to make a blistering start.

In their first 10 overs against Afghanistan, the pair made 55. Against India, in a chase of 353, they collected just 48. Here, albeit on a pitch offering plenty of nibble to the seamers, they failed to tip a run-a-ball once again, ending the powerplay on 56.

There was at least more intent from Warner, strangely introverted in the tournament’s first 10 days. He was fast onto anything off line and marginally full, shifting around cleverly in his crease to manufacture runscoring positions in the offside.

Both batsmen did, of course, go on to score heavily, but there is a case to be made for the Aussies stepping on the gas a little earlier.

Just imagine what they could end up with if they did.

Warner's curse

David Warner is in a rich vein of runscoring form when it comes to facing Pakistan.

Having previously averaged a smidge over 20 in ODIs against the men in green, he has now gone big in each of his last three innings against the same opposition.

Scores of 130, 179 and 107 have made him a real bogeyman for the Pakistanis.

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Fun despite no sun

There was no concern among fans about beer going warm in their hands at the County Ground this chilly Wednesday.

Turning up at the County Ground at 7.30am, it seemed silly to think that this was an early summer’s morning in the West Country, with temperatures hovering around six or seven degrees, and stewards and spectators holed up in multiple layers.

It was so cold that umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge stood in gloves during the first innings.

Credit, then, to the people of Somerset, the event organisers at the ICC and the players for making sure that, regardless of the weather, fun was still there to be had.

The governing body has come in for some unfair stick in recent days when it comes to the scheduling of this tournament - including the ludicrous accusation that they placed this tournament during England’s rainy season - so we should not be scared of congratulating them on a job well done.

With the exception of The Oval and Trent Bridge’s first games of the tournament, the matchday experience has largely been smooth and enjoyable for spectators.

Well batted.

^{Imam-ul-Haq batted well on a tricky surface}

Cut Imam some slack

Imam-ul-Haq has to deal with much more than his fair share of criticism in his anchor role for Pakistan.

Too often he is accused of eating up too much time making his runs, of playing for his own average, of failing to nurse the strike effectively. Yet here, on a zesty wicket which offered plenty to the bowlers, he managed to navigate the new balls and set himself and Mohammad Hafeez a platform.

His innings up to the point he got out - for 53, made from 75 balls - was very similar to Aaron Finch’s (before the Australia captain hit the accelerator), but one stray hook, a tiny nibble and a strangle down the legside changes everything. The fine margins of cricket.

Pakistan must persevere with Imam through all the allegations of nepotism and doubts about his suitability for the role. He is consistent, far more than his opening partner Fakhar Zaman, and much more likely to hold the key to victory in pressure situations.

Our coverage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is brought to you in association with Cricket 19, the official video game of the Ashes. Order your copy now at Amazon.co.uk