Records tumbled at Trent Bridge yesterday as England secured a 169-run over Pakistan and secured victory in the Royal London One Day International series with two games to spare.
Alex Hales beat Robin Smith's 23-year record for the highest individual ODI score by an Englishman, smashing 171 off 122 balls.
Jos Buttler then blasted the fastest ODI half-century by an Englishman with a 22-ball 50. Buttler (90 off 65 balls) and captain Eoin Morgan (57 off 27) shared an unbeaten partnership of 157 to steer England to an all-time 50-over world record 444/3.
They beat the previous record of 443/9 by Sri Lanka on the last ball as Buttler smote a four over extra-cover.
The bowlers then completed the job, with Chris Woakes taking 4/41 as Pakistan's resistance was broken and the tourists were bowled out for 275. Mohammad Amir hit a half-century at number 11 and Sharjeel Khan opened up with 58 but Azhar Ali's team were never in the game.
Jason Roy was the first man to go after Morgan won the toss and elected to bat on a beautiful day in Nottingham. The Surrey opener gloved a rising delivery to Sarfraz behind the stumps for 15. He was the only England batsman to miss out as Joe Root joined Hales.
The Nottinghamshire man, on his home turf, has been struggling to find form in recent weeks but he smote 22 fours and 4 sixes during his innings, adding 248 with Root in an astonishing second-wicket partnership.
Root played the anchor role with assurety and composure, knocking the ball around for a rock-solid 85 off 86 balls, allowing the explosive Hales to take centre-stage.
He enjoyed a couple of slices of good fortune, caught in the deep of a Wahab Riaz no-ball while on 73 and later dropped by Azhar who fumbled a difficult chance running backwards. But the Notts opener peppered the boundary, particularly down the ground, with an array of belligerent shots.
Hales fell shortly after breaking Smith's long-held record, pinned LBW attempting another big shot and Root followed soon after when he nicked through to Sarfraz. That brought together the aggressive pairing of Buttler and Morgan, who drove the innings on and the world record soon came into sight.
Both men passed their half-centuries, before Buttler lofted a crashing drive over extra-cover to secure the record and send the Trent Bridge crowd wild. The bowlers then completed the job and England had stormed to an unassailable 3-0 series lead. Woakes was again the star man with the ball – as he has been all summer – and Amir's spirited half-century broke another record; the highest score by a number 11 in ODIs.
But the day belonged to Hales, Buttler and England's new bold approach, which is paying dividends. Next stop in the series will be Headingley and then onto Cardiff and The SSE SWALEC on Sunday.
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