One game in, Pakistan find themselves at a World Cup crossroads

SAM MORSHEAD: The old adage is to never change a winning team but England are set to throw the extra pace of Wood at the Pakistanis on Monday, after their batsmen displayed all the resilience of paper in a puddle against West Indies' quicks

Pakistan’s World Cup campaign might only be one game old but it feels like it has reached tipping point. What a time, then, to be facing the best team in the world. At the highest-scoring ground on Planet Cricket.

You can forgive Pakistani fans for not holding out much hope as they prepare to make a second visit to Trent Bridge in four days, following Friday’s mauling at the hands of West Indies.

An ODI series whitewash by England preceded a limp warm-up loss to Afghanistan, and soon reports back home claimed Mickey Arthur and Inzamam-ul-Haq would be dumped by the PCB at the end of the tournament.

Those suggestions were summarily dismissed but it is impossible to ignore the stench of division, objection and frustration that surrounds the Pakistan camp while the squad is barricaded inside.

The barbed tongues of several national greats have stung the current team in the days since the Windies debacle, many curiously focusing on subjects other than an absolutely abject attempt to deal with the genuinely fast, genuinely furious bowling of Andre Russell and Oshane Thomas.

^{Pakistan in training on Sunday}

Frankly, though, you can argue all you like about where Mohammad Amir charts on the speed gun, as Misbah-ul-Haq did in a bizarre critique of the failure to defend 105, and you can moan and groan about Sarfraz Ahmed’s waist measurements - the pet peeve of Shoaib Akhtar - but if four fifths of your top order surrender their wickets to the rising ball quite as meekly as Pakistan’s did at Trent Bridge, nothing else is going to matter.

That is doubly true when you are faced with the sight of Jofra Archer, swaggering and lolloping back to his mark with the menacing cool of a sophisticated assassin; or Mark Wood cantering to the crease like a herd of runaway wildebeest.

The old adage is to never change a winning team but England are set to throw the extra pace of Wood at the Pakistanis on Monday, after their batsmen displayed all the structural integrity of paper in a puddle against West Indies’ quicks.

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That would mean Chris Woakes or Liam Plunkett being given a rest - the two-spinner system is not going to be rotated, and Ben Stokes single-handedly put cricket on the front page of several national newspapers last week. At some point during this physically demanding tournament, such changes are going to be necessary, after all.

Eoin Morgan knows that, his bowlers know that too. Pakistan know 20 overs of 90-plus miles-per-hour, hostile bowling await.

“It is exciting,” Morgan said of the potential pairing in his pre-match media conference, before adding, with all the PR slipperiness of a Westminster spin doctor, “but it’s like saying can you add a Jason Roy 180 to a Jos Buttler 150, both of them off 70 or 80 balls.

“It might happen. If it does that would be awesome. [But] we just have to wait and see. It’s all on potential.”

^{England are set to unleash Mark Wood and Jofra Archer in tandem}

Archer’s performance in the opening-day victory over South Africa at The Oval will be all the reason Sarfraz needs to call the toss correctly and insert England.

His 3-27 in seven blistering overs tore the top off the Proteas’ chase, and left Faf du Plessis reluctantly admitting that it would take international cricketers who have not come across Archer on the global T20 circuit some time to get used to his style.

“Nobody can bowl fast every game,” Morgan said, perhaps trying to lessen the burden of expectation on Archer, not that there is any evidence to suggest the allrounder is hampered by others’ opinions in even the slightest degree.

“We have seen that with our fast bowlers in the past. It’s just not possible.

“It’s like when you have a high-quality batsman who averages over 50, he’s not going to get 100 every game. So take every day as it comes when it comes to Jofra.”

Whatever attack is selected, it will be a daunting prospect for an out-of-luck, out-of-love, in-a-rut Pakistan as they try to avoid a 12th consecutive loss in completed ODIs. And we better not mention too loudly the fact that Monday’s strip is the very same pitch which brought England 481 for 6, a world record, against Australia one short year ago.

No wonder Sarfraz and Co are as unfancied as they have ever been in World Cup matches against the English - one bookmaker makes the host nation 1/5 favourites in a two-horse race, clearly illustrating the gulf in both quality and expectation between the two teams.

^{Azhar Mahmood at Sunday's press conference}

Maybe, however, Pakistan can take some comfort from their rank underdog status.

Not a single observer of the game - from either side or as a neutral - can reasonably expect victory at the end of a miserable losing streak, against an opponent who beat them four times, evenly split between chasing and defending, as recently as two weeks ago.

Form and pedigree both point to a convincing England win, so here is an opportunity to spring a surprise under minimal pressure, to build bridges between fans and players and generate important momentum.

There are reasons to be cautiously optimistic, too.

Pakistan ran England close in the bilateral meeting between the sides at Trent Bridge earlier this summer, with the hosts edging home by three wickets. They have batsmen who, when they aren’t being bombarded by fan criticism for being too brash, too pedestrian or sharing too much DNA with the chairman of selectors, have a proven track record of making big runs in ODI cricket.

And they have a varied bowling arsenal, too, despite Misbah’s moans.

As Morgan said: "They were the best side in the world in ODIs just two years ago so we’ll be ready for their A game."

The stage is set for Pakistan to prove they are no World Cup walkovers.

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