Key events
10th over: Pakistan 45-3 (Muneeba 14, Najiha 1) Bell gets the ball to move away from the right-handed Najiha, showing that she can mix it up from her natural inswing. It’s been a potent opening spell from Bell, with two wickets taken.
9th over: Pakistan 41-3 (Muneeba 12, Najiha 0) Muneeba’s eyes light up at a wider delivery from Cross … but can’t get any of the blade on it. Cross ends the over by getting Najiha’s outside edge … but the ball drops short of Jones behind the stumps.
8th over: Pakistan 40-3 (Muneeba 11, Najiha 0) Muneeba sees a bit of width and slaps with serious intent through point for a boundary – Pakistan haven’t had any trouble finding the ropes. The left-hander then nearly chops on, instead hitting the ball on to her left foot. Ouch.
7th over: Pakistan 35-3 (Muneeba 6, Najiha 0) England haven’t done anything extraordinary here; Pakistan have just played some rather ordinary shots to get out, undoing much of their good work inbetween.
WICKET! Ayesha c Dean b Cross 13 (Pakistan 35-3)
Oh dear. Ayesha was stroking it around well but she just plops a pull shot straight into the hands of mid-wicket for a very simple grab.
6th over: Pakistan 34-2 (Muneeba 5, Ayesha 13) With Pakistan having had some fun through the leg side so far, Ayesha goes the other way, squeezing the ball past point for a boundary. A beautifully timed off-drive follows, with the fielder at mid-off diverting it to the boundary. Pakistan are going at a decent lick here despite those two wickets.
5th over: Pakistan 25-2 (Muneeba 5, Ayesha 5) Ayesha shows off a fine straight bat to defend Cross, but then nearly gives it away with a loose fling at a wide one next up. A leading edge follows but evades the fielders on the off side. Muneeba completes the over with the shot of the innings so far, a lovely clip through square leg for four.
4th over: Pakistan 19-2 (Muneeba 0, Ayesha 4) Ayesha Zafar is the new batter and she whips the ball through square leg for four to get herself going.
WICKET! S Ameen c Bouchier b Bell 10 (Pakistan 14-2)
Ameen’s in fine touch, hitting Bell so straight she knocks over the stumps at the non-striker’s end … and I’ve put the curse on her. Bell goes full, Ameen tries to flick through the leg-side and a leading edge pops to Maia Bouchier in the covers.
3rd over: Pakistan 13-1 (Muneeba 0, S Ameen 10) Ameen and Muneeba run hard as the former hits back-to-back twos. The right-hander then plays a delightful pull shot for four, Pakistan’s first boundary of the day.
2nd over: Pakistan 4-1 (Muneeba 0, S Ameen 1) Bell now gets to move the ball away from the left-handed Muneeba Ali, thundering in from around the wicket.
WICKET! Sadaf b Bell 2 (Pakistan 4-1)
Sidra Ameen gets off the mark with one behind square on the off side. And then Sadaf departs to Lauren Bell! A dodgy-looking pull shot sees her drag the ball on to her stumps and England have an early breakthrough.
1st over: Pakistan 2-0 (Sadaf 1, S Ameen 0) Cross unleashes a gorgeous outswinger with her second ball, just evading the outside edge of Sadaf Shamas. Two slips are waiting alongside Amy Jones for the catch. The seamer collects a maiden … or not. She oversteps with her final ball of the over, and the free hit is a long hop pulled away for a single.
Kate Cross has the new ball. Let’s play!
Just before we get going again … England weren’t particularly on it with the ball in the opening ODI, giving up 40 extras – Pakistan’s top-scorer in their chase. Leg-side wides were a common sight, with Sophie Ecclestone – England’s cheat code – bailing them out with her three wickets. They’ve got more on the board this time round, but Heather Knight will no doubt want a more controlled effort in the field.
Taha Hashim
Afternoon all! I’ll be here to take you through the rest of the action, with Pakistan needing to pull off the spectacular to celebrate a first ever ODI win over England. But before we get going … I’ll make myself a much-needed cup of tea.
Time for me to hand over to Taha Hashim for the runchase, which should begin in 20 minutes or so. Thanks for your company – bye!
Nat Sciver-Brunt’s verdict
It was fun. I had a bit of a tricky period (starts laughing) from about 80 to 90 when I played too many shots, but on the whole I’m really happy.
Me and Alice went through the same little stage (of playing too many shots), so we tried to calm ourselves down and stick to what we were doing before that.
I’d say 302 is a good total. I’m not very good at guessing par! But getting 300 has to be good. I’ve been told it grips here, so with the bowlers that we have, I’d say we’re on for defending it.
I’m fit to bowl, yeah. I’m a bit tired so I’m not sure how my five overs will come out! But it’ll be nice to have the ball back in hand.
Pakistan need 303 to win
Nat Sciver-Brunt walks off to a standing ovation after the latest demonstration of her genius: 124 not out from 117 balls with 14 fours and two sixes. That included a late-innings lull, when she barely middled a thing for half an hour, and finally a burst of 30 from the last nine deliveries. She’s a true great; by the time she retires, she might be England’s greatest.
50th over: England 302-5 (Sciver-Brunt 124, Capsey 40) A full toss from Sana is slammed over extra cover for four by Capsey, who heaves another boundary to long-on to bring up England’s 300. That looked unlikely with three overs remaining, but Capsey and Sciver-Brunt went into overdrive to score 47 from the last 18 balls.
49th over: England 290-5 (Sciver-Brunt 123, Capsey 30) Sciver-Brunt has suddenly found her touch again. She smashes Baig for 16 in three balls, including successive sixes to long on and straight down the ground.
After scoring 16 from five overs, England have pillaged 35 from the last two.
Only Meg Lanning and Suzie Bates have scored more ODI hundreds than Sciver-Brunt – but Sciver-Brunt’s have all come at No4 or lower. Harmanpreet Kaur, with five, is the only other player to make more than three ODI hundreds when not batting in the top three.
48th over: England 270-5 (Sciver-Brunt 106, Capsey 27) Sciver-Brunt slugs another boundary off Fatima’s last delivery. Aliya Riaz tried to take a difficult catch at long-on but dived just short and couldn’t stop the boundary either.
Nat Sciver-Brunt makes her ninth ODI hundred!
She reaches three figures with successive scoops for four off Fatima Sana. The last part was a bit of a struggle but overall she’s been fantastic: 110 balls, 12 fours.
47th over: England 255-5 (Sciver-Brunt 94, Capsey 24) If Sciver-Brunt gets to three figures it will be her ninth ODI hundred, equalling Tammy Beaumont and Charlotte Edwards’ record for England Women. It’s been an odd innings: for the first 75 runs she was almost perfect, but since then she’s missed or mistimed the majority of deliveries. I guess that shows just how well she played before that.
Sciver-Brunt’s struggles are the main reason England are ending the innings with a bit of a whimper; they’ve scored only 16 runs from the last five overs.
46th over: England 253-5 (Sciver-Brunt 93, Capsey 23) Capsey survives an LBW appeal after missing a reverse sweep off Nashra’s final delivery. That looked quite close, but Pakistan decided against a review. I don’t think it would have been overturned; umpire’s call maybe.
45th over: England 251-5 (Sciver-Brunt 92, Capsey 22) The wicketkeeper Najiha misses another difficult chance when Capsey gloves a reverse-sweep off Dar. The ball looped up and was put down by Najiha as she dived forward. At least I think Capsey gloved out; we haven’t seen a replay to confirm as much.
44th over: England 249-5 (Sciver-Brunt 91, Capsey 21) Najiha misses a chance to catch or stump Sciver-Brunt, who charged Nashra and got a thin outside edge. That made it a much trickier chance for the keeper.
A sweep round the corner for four takes Sciver-Brunt into the nineties.
43rd over: England 242-5 (Sciver-Brunt 86, Capsey 19) Sciver-Brunt is definitely struggling with her timing. She misses a reverse sweep then mistimes a slightly inelegant heave. A couple of singles move her to within 14 of another century.
42nd over: England 239-5 (Sciver-Brunt 84, Capsey 18) Sciver-Brunt misses a pull at a skiddy delivery from Nashra that just misses leg stump. She has lost a bit of rhythm in the last few overs, scoring only nine of England’s last 44 runs.
41st over: England 233-5 (Sciver-Brunt 82, Capsey 13) The captain Nida Dar goes for a desperate review off her own bowling when Sciver-Brunt misses a reverse sweep. The ball hit the pad miles outside off stump, but well, nobody’s perfect. And it was Sciver-Brunt, so you can understand if her brain was slightly scrambled.
Capsey nails the reverse sweep later in the over, fetching it from outside leg stump to the point boundary. That stroke means England’s top seven have all reached double figures for the second consecutive innings.
39th over: England 227-5 (Sciver-Brunt 81, Capsey 9) Capsey celebrates her reprieve by dumping the next ball back over the bowler’s head for four, and why the flip not.
Umm-e-Hani ends another classy spell of offspin with figures of 10-0-47-2.
Alice Capsey has an LBW decision overturned on review. She played back to Umm-e-Hani and was hit in front, but the ball would have bounced over middle stump.
38th over: England 217-5 (Sciver-Brunt 79, Capsey 1) The batters keep coming: Alice Capsey is in at No7.
WICKET! England 215-5 (Jones c b Umm-e-Hani 27)
Amy Jones was flying along. She has gone now, brilliantly taken by the keeper Najiha Alvi after she gloved an attempted reverse sweep. It ends a jaunty run-a-ball 27 and gives the impressive Umm-e-Hani her second wicket.
37th over: England 215-4 (Sciver-Brunt 78, Jones 27) Four more to Jones, pulled brusquely over backward square leg when Baig errs in both line and length. She’s flying along.
36th over: England 207-4 (Sciver-Brunt 77, Jones 21) Jones reverse-sweeps Umm-e-Hani for four with excellent placement. She’s batting with such confidence at the moment, particularly in ODIs. At the start of the year her average was 26; so far in 2024 she’s averaging 80-odd.
35th over: England 201-4 (Sciver-Brunt 76, Jones 16) The first ball of Diana Baig’s second spell is fractionally too straight, enough for Sciver-Brunt to muscle it wide of short fine leg for four.
Jones gets her first boundary later in the over, blasting an outswinger whence it came to bring up a rapid fifty partnership from 49 balls. England are on course for a big total here.
34th over: England 190-4 (Sciver-Brunt 70, Jones 11) In her last 20 ODIs, Sciver-Brunt averages 74 with a strike-rate of 105. That’s absurd.
33rd over: England 187-4 (Sciver-Brunt 68, Jones 10) Sciver-Brunt runs down the track to drive Nashra inside-out over mid-off for four. She’s on a different level, just too good, and clatters four more through cover point later in the over.
It’s only a slight exaggeration to say Sciver-Brunt has made a risk-free run-a-ball 68.
32nd over: England 177-4 (Sciver-Brunt 59, Jones 9) The offspiner Umm-e-Hani, who trapped Heather Knight LBW in a good first spell, returns to the attack. Sciver-Brunt’s reverse lap for two is the most eyecatching stroke of a fairly quiet over.
31st over: England 171-4 (Sciver-Brunt 56, Jones 7) Jones sligs the new bowler Nashra towards midwicket, where Aliya Riaz drops a relatively straightforward chance. Pakistan aren’t yet good enough to spurn chances like that.
30th over: England 167-4 (Sciver-Brunt 54, Jones 4) Sciver-Brunt reaches her half-century, England’s first of the series, with a beautifully placed clip through midwicket off Riaz. She has batted with calm authority, barely playing a false stroke.
29th over: England 159-4 (Sciver-Brunt 47, Jones 3) A quiet over from Dar, whose figures have improved from 3-0-27-0 to 5-0-33-1.
28th over: England 158-4 (Sciver-Brunt 46, Jones 3) Sciver-Brunt gets her fifth boundary, placing Riaz expertly between extra cover and mid-off. She makes batting look effortless, and we both know it is anything but.
27th over: England 152-4 (Sciver-Brunt 41, Jones 2) If she had her time again Wyatt would probably knock that delivery for one because she didn’t get to the pitch. As she walked off she swished her bat in frustration.
WICKET! England 149-4 (Wyatt c Amin b Dar 44)
Danni Wyatt charges Nida Dar and clatters the ball straight to cow corner, where Sidra Amin calmly takes the catch. Wyatt goes for an excellent 42-ball 44, though her body language as she walks off suggests she has left a few runs out there.
26th over: England 147-3 (Sciver-Brunt 39, Wyatt 44) Riaz has also changed ends, which means Fatima Sana bowled just one over in her second spell. Her first ball is a leg-stump full toss that Sciver-Brunt puts away with the minimum of fuss, but she does well to follow that fourball with four dot balls
25th over: England 142-3 (Sciver-Brunt 34, Wyatt 44) Nida Dar has changed ends to replace Riaz, but England are really going after her today. Sciver-Brunt runs down the track to drive handsomely back over the bowler’s head for four.
Dar has bowled three one-over spells that have cost ten, nine and now eight runs. If she keeps that up it will be a helluvan end to the spell.
24th over: England 134-3 (Sciver-Brunt 28, Wyatt 42) Pakistan need a wicket, so Fatima Sana returns the attack. Wyatt reminds us that she owns both scalpel and sledgehammer by gliding a boundary to third, but there’s nothing she can do with a perfect outswinger that beats the outside edge. Wyatt almost toppled over, which would have been fatal with the keeper Najiha Alvi up to the stumps.
23rd over: England 129-3 (Sciver-Brunt 28, Wyatt 37) A double bowling change for Pakistan, with the medium-pacer Aliya Riaz coming on. She starts with a long hop that is clubbed to deep midwicket for four by Wyatt, and a nervous first over – including two wides – goes for nine.
Sciver-Brunt and Wyatt have added 59 at exactly a run a ball. It’s been a lesson in scoring quickly in the middle overs while minimising risk.
22nd over: England 120-3 (Sciver-Brunt 27, Wyatt 31) Nida Dar, back in the attack, starts with a flighted half-volley that is timed to the cover boundary by Wyatt.
Sciver-Brunt survives a precautionary run-out check after stealing another single, then sweeps a couple to move past 3,500 ODI runs. Never mind the volume, look at the average (46) and strike rate (96).
