Woakes Takes 5/54, England Beat Pakistan to Win Series 4-0

Top-ranked England host the World Cup, which starts on May 30 and will name its 15-man squad on Tuesday.

England won the toss and chose to bat first at Headingley, reaching 351/9.

(Photo: AP)

Pakistan recovered from a disastrous start to its run chase but still fell short as England clinched the fifth and final cricket one-day international by 54 runs on Sunday to win the series 4-0.

England won the toss and chose to bat first at Headingley, reaching 351/9 with Joe Root (84 runs in 73 balls) and captain Eoin Morgan (76 in 64) the main run-makers.

Morgan hit five sixes and a dangerous No. 10 Tom Curran gave the innings a late boost with an undefeated 15-ball 29. Shaheen Afridi took 4/82 in 10 overs.

Fast-medium bowler Chris Woakes then claimed three early wickets to reduce Pakistan to 6-3 in three overs before Babar Azam (80 in 83) and captain Sarfaraz Ahmed (97 in 80) shared a 146-run partnership to take the visitors to 152/4 in the 27th over.

Chris Woakes ended with 5/54 in 10 overs.(Photo: AP)

Both Azam and Ahmed were run out as England displayed its potent fielding threat in this form of the game. Azam was dismissed after Adil Rashid and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler combined to run the batsman out at the bowler's end with a clever flick behind his back by Rashid.

Pakistan finished on 297 all out in 46.5 overs. Woakes ended with 5/54 in 10 overs.

The first ODI was rained off.

Top-ranked England hosts the World Cup, which starts on May 30. Amid intense competition for places, England will name its 15-man squad on Tuesday.

“Obviously winning the series 4-0 against a very strong Pakistan team is good for us going into a crucial World Cup,” Woakes said. “A great few weeks for us but obviously we know there’s some really important cricket coming up.”