Cricket World Cup news: England pace aces Archer and Wood set to face Pakistan
Bangladesh stun South Africa and fans wear fancy dress in dig at Smith and Warner
ICC Cricket World Cup: England vs. Pakistan
- What: match six of the World Cup
- When: Monday 3 June
- Where: Trent Bridge, Nottingham
- Start time: 10.30am (BST)
- TV channel: live on Sky Sports
Pair of pace aces
England play Pakistan at Trent Bridge and the hosts are expected to field both Mark Wood and Jofra Archer.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
Wood sat out Thursday’s win against South Africa but The Times says he is fully recovered from the ankle injury he picked up in a friendly against Australia.
Wood and Archer have spearheaded England’s one-day attack on only one previous occasion - against Pakistan in last month’s series. The venue was Trent Bridge and Wood sent Imam-ul-Haq to hospital after hitting him on the left elbow.
“Yes, there is a chance,” said England skipper Eoin Morgan when asked if Wood would be selected (probably for Liam Plunkett).
“There will be no major tactical changes, but more being sure you’re good at what you’re doing. If you are going to use the short ball, make sure it’s in the right area.”
Bouncer barrage
Pakistan bowling coach Azhar Mahmood has told his side to brace themselves for a barrage of bouncers.
West Indies crushed Pakistan in their World Cup opener at Trent Bridge on Friday with the Caribbean quicks reducing their opponents to 105 all out. And with England’s Archer clocking speeds of more than 90mph, Mahmood is expecting his batsmen will have to deal with more chin music at Trent Bridge.
“We didn’t handle the short ball really well [against the Windies] and we practised a lot, and we know it will come,” said Mahmood. “All the teams will bowl short against us so we are practising.”
Crash, Bang, Wallop
South Africa’s World Cup hopes suffered another blow with a surprising 21-run defeat to Bangladesh at The Oval on Sunday.
Batting first, Bangladesh posted their record one-day total of 330-6 thanks to 78 from Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan’s 75. Mahmudullah also made a telling contribution with an unbeaten 46 off 33 balls.
That left South Africa, heavily beaten by England in their opening match last Thursday, requiring the highest World Cup chase in history.
The Proteas gave it their best shot with captain Faf du Plessis top-scoring with 62 but in the end they ran out of overs, finishing on 309-8.
Next up for South Africa is India at Southampton on Wednesday, a game they can’t afford to lose if they wish to progress from the ten-team group stage.
“[It] didn’t go according to plan,” admitted du Plessis. “The skills weren’t here but I can promise there will be fight against India on Wednesday… we’re a proud sporting nation.”
Fancy dress dig
It’s early days in the Cricket World Cup but already there is a strong contender for the tournament’s best fancy dress costume.
Two spectators at Bristol on Saturday were dressed as sandpaper, a dig at the Australian pair Steve Smith and David Warner.
They were banned last year for their part in the ball-tampering scandal and the English fans have promised they won’t let them forget it during the World Cup.
Not that Warner seemed bothered, with his unbeaten 89 easing the Aussies to a seven-wicket win against Afghanistan.
This week’s Cricket World Cup fixtures
All matches are live on Sky Sports.
- Monday 3 June: England vs. Pakistan (10.30am)
- Tuesday 4 June: Afghanistan vs. Sri Lanka (10.30am)
- Wednesday 5 June: South Africa vs. India (10.30am); Bangladesh vs. New Zealand (1.30pm)
- Thursday 6 June: Australia vs. West Indies (10.30am)
- Friday 7 June: Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka (10.30am)
- Saturday 8 June: England vs. Bangladesh (10.30am); Afghanistan vs. New Zealand (1.30pm)
- Sunday 9 June: India vs. Australia (10.30am)
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Pentagon faces an uncertain future with Trump
Talking Point The president-elect has nominated conservative commentator Pete Hegseth to lead the Defense Department
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
This is what you should know about State Department travel advisories and warnings
In Depth Stay safe on your international adventures
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
'All Tyson-Paul promised was spectacle and, in the end, that's all we got'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What's wrong with Pakistan's cricket team?
Under the Radar Dramatic downfall of previous powerhouse blamed on poor management and appointments of regime favourites at governing body PCB
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Graham Thorpe obituary: 'chameleon' batsman with 100 England caps
In depth Cricketer's 'bottle in abundance' endeared him to fans
By The Week UK Published
-
Cricket is swiftly becoming America's new obsession
In the Spotlight Team USA recently shocked the world by beating Pakistan in the Men's World Cup
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'Drunken hooligans': America's cricket fears
Why Everyone's Talking About South Asian community 'energised' by sport's growing popularity in US but some locals oppose new stadiums
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Ashes: can England mount a glorious comeback?
feature ‘Herculean’ task follows ugly scenes at controversial second test
By The Week Staff Published
-
English cricket is ‘racist, sexist and elitist’, says independent report
Speed Read Chair of governing body apologises after crushing indictment of the sport ‘at all levels’
By Rebekah Evans Published
-
England are the ‘undisputed kings’ of white-ball cricket
feature Ben Stokes scored the winning run as England beat Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final
By Mike Starling Published
-
Ben Stokes and England set up a ‘grand finale’ against South Africa
feature In an old-school Test victory at Old Trafford, England’s captain scored a century and took four crucial wickets
By The Week Staff Published