Pakistan left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas produced a career-best performance to bowl England out for 215 inside 39 overs and hand the hosts a convincing 87-run victory in the opening match of the ODI tri-series in Pakistan on Wednesday, October 21.
Arafat arrived at the crease with Pakistan in trouble at 133 for five. His 59 off 58 balls helped the hosts recover and post 302 for nine. The 21-year-old then turned in a career-best return of six wickets for 40 runs to dismiss England well short of their target, giving Pakistan a second successive win in the tri-series following their earlier victory over Sri Lanka.
England openers Tom Banton and Ben Duckett provided a solid foundation with a partnership of 91. Banton fell for 57, picking out the midwicket fielder off Arafat's bowling in a dismissal that owed something to fortune. Arafat then bowled Harry Brook with a delivery that gripped and turned past the outside edge to hit the stumps, before removing four more lower-order batters. He rounded off the innings with a direct-hit run-out. Off-spinner Saim Ayub played a containing role alongside Arafat as England's chase unravelled.
England white-ball captain Brook acknowledged that his side went into their shells against spin after Banton and Duckett had laid the platform.
"At the halfway stage, we were pretty happy. I thought we kept them to just below par and we executed our plans exceptionally well and unfortunately we didn't manage to get it quite right with the bat," Brook said after the match, as reported by the Cricket Paper.
How did England's batting collapse unfold?
After the opening stand of 91, England lost their way against Pakistan's spin attack. Arafat and Saim Ayub applied consistent pressure through the middle overs, and England were unable to build the partnerships needed to sustain a chase of 303. Brook explained the batting breakdown in detail.
"The story of the innings was not enough partnerships and losing wickets in clumps. We didn't manage to put their bowlers under enough pressure to make them miss and that's something we'll talk about. I probably could have hit the ball a little bit harder, but I think that was throughout. We've been speaking a lot about rotation of strike against spin through the middle overs but we could still be putting bowlers under pressure and hit boundaries as well," Brook said.
Kevin Pietersen had given England a spin masterclass in his role as specialist mentor in the lead-up to the series, emphasising the importance of rotating the strike. Brook's comments suggest the balance between rotation and boundary-hitting remained a challenge for his side in the field.
What did Brook say about Arafat Minhas?
Arafat was appearing in only his fifth ODI when he produced this career-best display. Despite the element of fortune in his first wicket, the 21-year-old demonstrated clear skill in dismissing Brook and dismantling the lower order, finishing with six for 40 and a direct-hit run-out to complete the innings. Brook was generous in his assessment of the young spinner.
"He's a nice bowler, he bowled very well. I thought they fielded exceptionally well. We've all seen videos of him but obviously we haven't played against him much – but he was the standout performer by a mile," he added.
With the clash against Sri Lanka now having higher stakes, Brook rallied behind his team for the clash on October 22. England have won three of the three ODI series they have played in 2026, and the skipper backed his side to find that form and put this loss behind them.
"Definitely, and we’re definitely that side as well. We won’t go down without a fight and we’ll always be there or thereabouts. It feels like that’s the most convincing loss we’ve had since last year sometime. It’s a good sign in one way but we’ve got tonight and tomorrow to talk about it and get ready for Sri Lanka on Thursday," Brook said.
