Alex Hales announced his return to international cricket after more than three years with a match-winning fifty to remind England of what they had been missing.
Hales struck 53 from 40 balls in England’s first match in Pakistan for 17 years to take the biggest bite out of their run chase, but Yorkshire’s Harry Brook was perhaps even more eye-catching with his knock of 42 not out from just 25 balls.
It was Brook who hit the winning runs to overhaul Pakistan’s 158-7 and secure the win by six wickets with four balls to spare, but in truth it could have been settled well before the last over.
“For Alex Hales to come back in after such a long time,” said captain Moeen Ali. “But to play the way he did he just showed how good he is and why he is one of the best openers in the country. I thought he and Brooky were outstanding and really capitalised on what the bowlers did early on.”
Hales could have been dismissed on 28 when Shan Masood dropped a simple chance at long on, but instead he was able to prove his class with a ninth international T20 half century. His previous game for England might have been as far back as March 2019 owing to his expulsion from the setup for a second positive recreational drug test, but his cricket in between on the franchise circuit has always been good enough.
He has played in Pakistan too in their domestic T20 tournament and he looked comfortable out in the middle in Karachi as befits a player of his experience. The last time England toured Pakistan in 2005, T20 cricket was a new fledgling form of the game and despite playing their first game against Australia that summer, there were no fixtures during the winter.
This time there are seven on a tour of their own full of world class performers, none more so than England’s two players of Pakistani heritage, Moeen and Adil Rashid, who played crucial roles with the ball to keep the home side to a very chaseable target.
Once Rashid struck to remove Babar Azam with a delicious googly, the Pakistani innings started to wobble and never really reached the sort of heights that their openers had threatened.
Mohammad Rizwan struggled to pick up the momentum as the innings spluttered and was stumped by Phil Salt off Moeen for 68, leaving Iftikhar Ahmed as the man to power the side to the finish.
He connected with three sixes, but in going for a fourth Luke Wood grabbed the second of three wickets on debut with Ben Duckett taking a smart catch in the deep. Wood’s 3-24 was a terrific start to his international career and helped make sure that England’s target was always well within reach.
"I thought we bowled exceptionally well to keep them to 159," added Rashid.
