England vs Pakistan: Records tumble as Hales, Buttler and Morgan lead the assault

England's transformation from one-day wannabes to giants of the 50-over game appeared to reach its conclusion at Old Trafford when Eoin Morgan's side destroyed batting records "with the frenzied joy of plates crashing at a Greek taverna", says Richard Hobson of The Times.

They scored 444-3, the highest ever in an ODI, beating Sri Lanka's 443-9 against the Netherlands in 2006. Opener Alex Hales smashed 171, the highest one-day innings by an Englishman, beating Robin Smith's 167 against Australia in 1993.

Jos Buttler also came to the party and scored the fastest half-century by an Englishman, reaching the milestone in 22 balls - two fewer than skipper Morgan, who equalled the previous record with a 24-ball 50 as England equalled the world record for boundaries, with 16 sixes and 43 fours.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Pakistan pace bowler Wahab Riaz also recorded the second-worst bowling figures in history as he went for 110 off his ten overs.

Set 445 to win, Pakistan stood no chance and were bowled out for 275 in the 43rd over, although number 11 batsman Mohammad Amir provided a rousing cameo at the death with 58 off 28 balls, which left Adil Rashid's figures the worse for wear.

"England have not lost with the white ball since their World Twenty20 final defeat by West Indies in Calcutta in April, and only complacency will prevent their going through the season unbeaten," says Hobson. "The transformation since the World Cup has been well documented, but there is a single fact that speaks loudest of all. Of the eight times that England have reached 350 in one-day cricket, six have come after the failure in Australasia last year."

England were fortunate to win the toss and bat first on a flat pitch, says Michael Atherton, also in the Times. "Even so, the ease with which Hales cantered past Smith's record, and some of the violence of the hitting and imagination of the strokeplay, especially from Eoin Morgan and Buttler, took the breath away."

In 2015, England were playing "analogue cricket in a digital age", he says, but not anymore. "The transformation has come from the realisation, principally, that the advances in ODI cricket have come from T20; that a 50-over game is not a shorter form of a longer game, but a longer form of the shortest game. Horizons have shifted dramatically."

Where do England go from here? "The problem with this kind of performance is that expectations go up," says Michael Vaughan in the Daily Telegraph. "But they have to back that up by winning tournaments and key moments in big games."

But he believes they can go on and do it. "Put simply, this England are as good as you get," he says. "You can tick off every discipline and facet required to be a top-quality side. They have it all. They have depth in batting, good combinations of hitters and stylish batsmen, six or seven bowling options with a leggie and an off-spinner.

"They have two high-quality fast bowlers, backed up by Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes, who have all the tricks. They are also an excellent fielding unit."

Records at Trent Bridge:

444-3 - highest ever score in a one-day international

171 - Alex Hales hit a record score for an England batsman in an ODI

22 - the number of balls Jos Buttler needed to reach 50, an English record

59 - the equal highest number of boundaries in an ODI (16 sixes, 43 fours)

16 - the highest number of sixes struck by England in an ODI

58 - Mohammad Amir of Pakistan registered the highest ever score by a number 11 batsman in an ODI