Two sides desperate for an ODI climb

Match facts

August 18, 2016 Start time 1045 local (0945GMT)

Big Picture

There is not much time for Pakistan to bask in their Oval victory. They have since hopped on a plane to Dublin as they switch into one-day mode with a two-match series against Ireland.

The contrast between their rise in Test cricket and struggles in the one-day game has been stark: they sit ninth in the ODI rankings, outside of the automatic qualification places for the 2019 World Cup.

Since the 2015 World Cup they have been captained by Azhar Ali who suffered a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Bangladesh before two series wins over Zimbabwe – although they lost a match to them in Harare – and one against Sri Lanka. They took the lead against England last year before being comfortably beaten 3-1 and were overturned 2-0 in New Zealand in January.

There are three players in this current squad who will have memories of the first meeting between these sides on that famous day in Jamaica: Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Umar Gul were part of the three-wicket defeat. Six years later, Hafeez and Malik were also involved in a tie in Dublin.

But, like Pakistan, Ireland are struggling in the one-day rankings, currently adrift of Afghanistan and Zimbabwe at the bottom. Their crown of leading Associate has been challenged; they shared their recent series against Afghanistan 2-2. There is a concerning reliance on Ed Joyce at the top of the order – against Afghanistan he was almost 200 runs ahead of Ireland’s next highest scorer – and they need much more from the likes of Paul Stirling and captain William Porterfield.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)Ireland WLWLL …

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