England thrash Pakistan in final World Cup warm-up

England signed off for the T20 World Cup with a seven-wicket thrashing of Pakistan at The Oval.

On a confidence-boosting night before their title defence, England dismissed Pakistan for 157 with an excellent all-round bowling performance, and cantered to their target in 15.3 overs.

Phil Salt and captain Jos Buttler put on 82 in 6.2 overs, making 45 and 39 respectively, while Jonny Bairstow took England home with 28 not out.

Earlier, Mark Wood bowled a rapid opening burst in combination with Jofra Archer and finished with an eye-catching 2-35 on his first appearance since March.

Pakistan openers Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan countered England’s electric start but when Archer had Babar caught with the final ball of the powerplay the tourists slipped from 59-0 to 82-5.

Adil Rashid was typically effective in taking 2-27 while Liam Livingstone took 2-17, including the important wicket of Usman Khan for 38, as England restricted Pakistan with regular wickets.

With the momentum of this 2-0 series win behind them, England fly to the Caribbean on Friday and are next in action in the opening match of their World Cup defence against Scotland in Barbados on Tuesday.