ENG vs PAK Cricket Scorecard, Final at Melbourne, November 13, 2022 (2024)

Naseem Shah

12.2 to Iftikhar Ahmed, nibbles outside off, thin edge to Buttler! Line and length from Stokes, extra lift off the seam, a thin but audible nick and that's a huge five minutes for the balance of play! More evidence, though, that this pitch is offering plenty to the seamers... and Pakistan have plenty of those!.

85/4

4.2 to Mohammad Rizwan, bowled him, Rizwan's dragged on! Fullish, slanting into a wide-ish line, inviting the cover drive. Nips back in off the pitch, and Rizwan, going hard with a diagonal bat, can only get his inside edge to it.

29/1

16.3 to Shan Masood, flicked in the air to Livingstone at midwicket! Don't play roulette with Sam Curran! Masood shimmied to leg, tempting Curran to reconsider his options, he simply bowled his best ball, shaping away on a tight off-stump line, and the lofted cross-bat clip didn't have enough on it. A simple take in the deep, and Dr Death has done the trick once more....

121/5

18.3 to Mohammad Nawaz, fires in the full length, chipped to Livingstone in the deep! Curran is making his play for man of the tournament here! Nawaz thought this was his release ball, tailing into his toes, but with these vast square boundaries, he needed more elevation than that to beat the man in the deep..

129/7

7.1 to Mohammad Haris, and he strikes first ball! #MCGsobig strikes again. Tossed up fairly slow, and Haris steps out and tries to take on Stokes, who seems to be stationed a good few yards inside the rope at long-on. Can't really middle it, and Stokes moves in a little more to take a straightforward catch.

45/2

11.1 to Babar Azam, caught and bowled! That's the vital scalp, and Rashid has bagged it! it's another googly, another big wind-up from Babar, looking to take it on in the second half of the innings, but the ball gripped and turned back into his attempted cut/slash through the off-side, and looped back to the bowler off the splice! Huge turning point.

84/3

17.2 to Shadab Khan, another slap across the line, another miscue! Into the pitch once more from Jordan, Shadab tries to impart some oomph through the rising ball, but it's a simple take for Woakes at mid-off, on the edge of the ring. This innings is starting to splutter now.

123/6

19.3 to Mohammad Wasim, slower ball, back of a length, hoisted to Livingstone in the deep once more! Wasim had to take it on, wide long-on was lurking, ready to pounce, he had to make good ground but held on well while falling forward. Pakistan's innings is sliding away now.

131/8

Sam Curran,

Chris Woakes,

Chris Jordan,

Adil Rashid

0.6 to AD Hales, bowled him, Shaheen does what Shaheen does best! Perfect length, big swing into the stumps. Straightens towards leg stump, and Hales, feet stuck, ends up completely cramped for room while desperately swishing across the line. Misses the bat, deflects off the pad, and rattles the stumps.

7/1

3.3 to PD Salt, now there is a midwicket, and Salt has picked him out. The fielder was at slip earlier, and he moved to midwicket after the boundary. After those two full balls, Rauf goes to what he does best - hard length, into the pitch. Gets up to hip height, cramps Salt on the pull, and he swats it straight into the midriff of Iftikhar at midwicket.

32/2

5.3 to JC Buttler, now the edge! Finally the edge! Naseem kept going past it, and perhaps he was moving the ball too much. This is quick, in the corridor, back of a length, and he hits the pitch hard and gets it to nip away just a little bit, while getting it to bounce steeply. Jabs at a back-foot defensive, and the edge carries comfortably to Rizwan.

45/3

12.3 to HC Brook, crashed hard, flat, straight to long-off! Brook falls, you sensed he had to take this over on with Pakistan's quicks so rampant. He connected well with a hard-handed drive, but Afridi reached above his head, clung on coolly, and the pendulum swings again!.

84/4

18.2 to MM Ali, full and straight, and Moeen is gone! Fires in the yorker, takes the inside-edge, onto leg stump. Not much celebration from Wasim, but it's a glimmer....

132/5