SOUTHAMPTON.   -   After relentless rain forced the abandonment of the first one-day international, England will be looking for a more favourable result as they take on Pakistan in the second ODI on Saturday, 11 May in Southampton.

Asking Pakistan to bat first turned out to be the right decision as the hosts made early in-roads before the rain gods decided to intervene. Jofra Archer got a short but effective spell in and picked up another ODI wicket in form of Fakhar Zaman to register figures of 1/6 in four overs.

Pakistan will not be too disappointed with how things unfolded on Wednesday considering their shaky start. They lost Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam, cheaply accumulating just 80 in 19 overs. Although Imam-ul-Haq managed to score some handy runs, they will need more than just a competitive total to challenge the strong English batting line-up in the games to follow.

Jonny Bairstow’s form in the Indian Premier League this year was anything to go by, we can expect fireworks on the Rose Bowl come Saturday. In fact, in the last ODI that Bairstow played here, the 29-year-old smashed a 114-ball 141* two years ago, which still remains his highest score in ODIs.

Mohammad Amir’s position continues to be a source of interest as the 27-year-old awaits a chance to prove himself. With the first ODI washed out, he has four more games to impress the selectors and sneak into the World Cup squad.

The weather does not look as bleak as it was in the first ODI. For the most part, it is expected to be sunny and we should be able to get a full game in. The last ODI played here was in September 2017, when England easily chased West Indies’ 288 with 12 overs to spare, all thanks to the blistering Bairstow.

Meanwhile, England opener Jason Roy is set to be fit for the second one-day international against Pakistan. Roy missed Wednesday’s abandoned game at The Oval because of a back spasm. All-rounder Moeen Ali, who sat out the first match with a rib problem, is also set to return. If Roy does miss out, Hampshire’s James Vince will once again deputise on his home ground.

Vince, 28, was called into the squad for the matches against Pakistan after Alex Hales was removed after reportedly failing a test for recreational drugs.  Vince, who had been out of international cricket for more than a year before his recall, told BBC Sport: “The opportunity has come up and that was unexpected. As and when I do get another chance in this series, I’ll try to do as well as I can to push my case for the World Cup.”

“There has been some tough times,” he added. “It’s great to be playing for your country, but if things aren’t going well, there is external stuff that you don’t have to deal with in county cricket - more opinions and criticism. It’s something to learn from and, now that I’m back, I can use those experiences in the past to try to be better.”

SQUADS:   England: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

PAKISTAN: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Amir, Asif Ali.