Agence France-Presse
Leeds, Sept 2: Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur made it clear that some members of his ODI were on borrowed time after another defeat by England raised fears the team might not qualify automatically for the 2019 World Cup.
England beat Pakistan by four wickets at Headingley here Thursday to go 4-0 up in the five-match ODI series.
Once England had restricted Pakistan to a modest 247 for eight, with only skipper Azhar Ali (80) and Imad Wasim (57 n o) getting beyond 24 for the tourists in this fixture, it was always going to take a remarkable display in the field to prevent a home win.
Mohammad Irfan rocked England with two early wickets but, much too Arthur’s annoyance, the giant paceman only bowled half of his allotted 10 overs because of a calf problem.
Pakistan started this series ninth in the ICC ODI rankings, with only hosts England and the top seven in the standings come the end of September next year qualifying automatically for the 2019 World Cup. The remaining places for the slimmed-down 10-team tournament will be decided at a 2018 qualifying event in Bangladesh. “It is what it is,” said Arthur, who only took over as Pakistan coach in May. “I hate the phrase, but we are No. 9 in the world and we can see why.”
Arthur said that the two upcoming home and away ODI series against West Indies will be of prime importance to Pakistan.
