‘Archer was brilliant’

Jofra Archer. Pic/AFP

Jofra Archer claimed two wickets on his long-awaited return to international cricket as England beat Pakistan by 23 runs at Edgbaston to move 1-0 up in the four-match T20 series.

England captain Jos Buttler won man-of-the-match after he smashed 84 off 51 balls to set the hosts a target of 184. But it was Archer's return that caught the eye as he made a case for selection in next month's T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies no harm.

The fast bowler has been beset by elbow injuries since his starring role in helping England win the 50-over World Cup in 2019. On his first international appearance for 14 months, and first on home soil since 2020, Archer bounced back from an expensive first over, which went for 15 runs, to finish with two for 28.

Complete bowling effort

"I thought Jofra Archer was brilliant," said Buttler.

"You could see his emotion taking wickets for England again but we need to temper those expectations because he's not going to be the same straight away.

"I'm really pleased with the whole bowling group."

Muhammad Rizwan was removed in the first over by Moeen Ali and Reece Topley took three wickets for 41.

Buttler was the star of the England batting with three sixes and eight fours. He was ably supported by 37 from Will Jacks and Jonny Bairstow's 21 but England failed to build on the platform given to them by their skipper. Five wickets fell for just 25 runs as Pakistan battled back with Shaheen Shah Afridi the pick of the bowlers, taking 3-36.

"We got them to a par score, our bowlers bowled very well and we had our moments when we were batting," said Pakistan captain Babar Azam.

Zaman's 21-ball 45 in vain

Fakhar Zaman's 45 from 21 balls gave the Pakistan chase some impetus, but after he departed the pace of Archer, Topley and Chris Jordan ripped through the tourists' tail with four balls to spare. "We didn't finish well. We had a small partnership, myself and Fakhar but we didn't get any other 40 or 50 partnerships that England did," added Azam.

England lead the four-match series 1-0 after the first match was washed out on Wednesday.

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