5 Talking Points from the Pakistan-England ODI Series

The ODI Series between England and Pakistan was filled with a lot of surprises and close finishes. Given that both teams have had a mixed baggage in 2015 with respect to ODI matches, a clash between these two teams was an interesting encounter to watch.While Pakistan’s current bunch of frontline players including the likes of Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan and Wahab Riaz did not fail to impress the fans, the young gun Babar Azam stepped up to the situation and wonderfully responded with fluent and consistent performances, thus ensuring that his stay in the international arena would not be short-lived.The English Camp was also no short of talent and teamwork, with Eoin Morgan hitting the right cards with his captaincy, Alex Hales developing into a dependable player, and the 25-year-old Jason Roy stealing the show with his magnificent batting.In the light of such stellar performances, here are 5 Talking points from the ODI series that was won 3-1 by England.

#1 Eoin Morgan\'s Captaincy

Morgan led from the front

With much being said about Eoin Morgan’s captaincy after England’s disastrous and infamous exit from the World Cup in early 2015, Morgan is likely to heave a sigh of relief after this series, having put his critics to rest. Leading the English side against Pakistan, Morgan’s knocks as a captain bore fruit as his team sealed a resounding 3-1 victory over the Men in Green.

Morgan’s last ODI innings prior to the Pakistan series, was cut short by a Mitchell Starc bouncer, which hit him on the side of the helmet at Old Trafford. After retiring hurt on 1*, Morgan was ruled out of further matches and did not bat again until the warm-up one-dayer against Hong Kong leading up to the series.

While his 16 off 20 balls gave inconclusive signals about his inclusion for the series against Pakistan, the selectors kept the faith, a clear indication of their plans of building a strong English side around him. They were vindicated as his smart captaincy and exquisite batting secured a comfortable series win.

#2 Alex Hales\' Return to Form

Hales hit his maiden ODI ton in the series

Alex Hales, who was having a forgettable outing in the home series against Australia, struck form with a flamboyant century against Pakistan – and that too at the right time. With England scheduled to face the mighty Proteas later, the return to form of a key player such as Hales was a vital cog in the English camp.

Hales scored 171 runs from the 4 matches against Pakistan, at an average of 42.75. After Alastair Cook’s experiments with Moeen Ali as a Test opener – the 7th such choice since the retirement of Andrew Strauss – failed miserably, Hales‘ performances means that he is almost the sole contender for the crucial role.

Given Hales’ ODI experience, England would be hoping that he fits into the role of a Test opener in the series ensuing in the following month.

#3 England\'s Pacers

Woakes was the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series

The English pace attack grew in stature and fame, after their successful outing during the Test series against Pakistan. But even without James Anderson and Stuart Broad, a relatively inexperienced ODI pace attack showed that they could do the job for their side.

Of the top four wicket-takers in the series, three were English pacers, with Chris Woakes leading from the front as the most experienced of the trio. Reece Topley and David Willey impressed with the new ball and while Willey also found success with reverse swing in the ODI series, in Woakes and Topley, England might have finally found a reliable death bowling partnership.

The new ball bowlers, along with Woakes, ensured that the Pakistan line-up crumbled before making huge scores, thus swaying the ODI series their way.

#4 Buttler\'s Record

Buttler's 46-ball century in the fourth ODI broke numerous records

Jos Buttler is getting into an interesting habit of making records, and then breaking them himself, thus setting new records. In the final ODI against Pakistan, Jos Buttler scored a swashbuckling century off just 46 balls, thus becoming the fastest English player to reach the milestone. He finally ended up with 116 runs from just 62 balls. His 3rd ODI century sent a strong message that more are on the way.

He scored his previous two tons in just 61 balls (against New Zealand) and 66 balls (against Sri Lanka), which are also the next two fastest ODI centuries for England. Two out of his three centuries have been scored after he came post-25 overs into the game – a sure sign that is turning into the finisher England so desperately need.

Buttler’s strike rate of 223.07% was also recorded as the highest for any English batsman in an innings of 50 or more runs. Overall, Buttler’s efforts in the match left record-keepers rattling for their books, looking for the numerous records that might have been broken.

And that might just give him the confidence he needs with an tough trip to South Africa coming up next month.

#5 Young Guns - Roy and Azam

Babar Azam was arguably Pakistan's most impressive batsmen

Setting aside the performances of the key players of both teams, there were a couple of surprises in store, in the form of the young brigade that played the series. Jason Roy of England and Babar Azam of Pakistan were particularly skilful, as they dazzled one and all with their talent.

Not many would have expected a Pakistan player who had just made his foray into international cricket, to have stood tall at the fag end of the innings with a solid score of 62. This performance of Azam saw him being moved up the order in the subsequent games. In the 4th ODI, Azam again proved his talent with a fine 50, although he was unable to see his team through.

On the other hand, English side had also discovered a valuable player in Jason Roy, who, despite scoring a golden duck in the first match, came back strongly to score a half century in the very next match, and a splendid century in the final match. Roy thus set the stage for the English middle order in the decider and played an important role in fetching the series victory for his team.