Michael Vaughan and Mark Waugh engage in Twitter banter over England run chase of 359

In the third ODI between England and Pakistan, the former chased down the target of 359 runs in just 44.5 overs with six wickets remaining. Imam Ul Haq’s 150 went in vain as Bairstow was awarded the Man of the Match for his 93 ball innings of 128 runs. Former England skipper Michael Vaughan was mighty impressed with the side as they finished the run chase without breaking a sweat.

“So England chase 359 in 45 overs with a cigar in the mouth !”, he tweeted from his official handle.

But former Australian cricketer Mark Waugh felt that the match was one-sided due to the flat batting tracks on offer.

“Small ground fast outfield good pitch is equal to no hope for bowlers,” he replied to Vaughan.

The Englishman quickly came to his side’s defence and pointed out that the hitting abilities of the England batsmen cannot be disregarded, something to which Waugh thankfully agreed.

“Very true, but you could also highlight how good the England players strike the ball !,” explained Vaughan.

“That is true, no doubt about it. (England are a ) very strong batting side. I think if the weather is fine and the pitches  are on the dry side, it’s going to be a run feast in the World Cup,” concluded Waugh.

The Champions Trophy in 2017 was the last major ICC tournament held in England and most of the games were high-scoring affairs back then. Now the World Cup will also take place there starting on May 30 and given the nature of the pitches in recent times, high scores are a certainty for most games.