England defeated Pakistan by 44 runs in the first contest of the five-match one-day international series, under Duckworth-Lewis method, at Ageas Bowl in Southampton on Wednesday night. It was not an impressive show by Pakistan. A thrashing of Ireland would have provided a confidence boost to Azhar Ali and his men, but they lacked spirit against the better opponents. Half-centuries from Jason Roy and Joe Root ensured that England would make light work of a target of 261 – revised down to 252. It has been an historic time for Pakistan. Crowned the No. 1 Test team in the last 48 hours, following their series-levelling victory at The Oval and rain in Trinidad, a magnificent achievement for Misbahul Haq’s side who have overcome so many hurdles to be top of the tree. In Test cricket, they have rarely had it so good. The side that are now in England, however, is not Misbah’s. It’s Azhar’s. And Pakistan’s one-day cricket is in very different shape to their Test unit. They are languishing at ninth in the ICC table and are at risk of missing automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup unless they up their game over the next 12 months. Roy overcame a dizzy spell to lead England’s charge to a fine victory. His quickfire 65 helped the hosts reach home after Pakistan had made 260 for six, captain Azhar top-scoring with 82. But following a third and final rain interruption of this day/night fixture, the umpires eventually called the game off with England 194 for three. Eoin Morgan, the England captain, was 33 not out and Ben Stokes 15 not out. Roy and Root (61) had a second-wicket stand of 89 in 14 overs. Pakistan were going well at 173 for three after 35 overs but then lost Azhar and the skipper felt his side had fallen short with the bat. The visitors should have reached 280 plus if not 300. One always builds a formidable total when the top-order performs. Even the lower-order which was a long-standing strength of Pakistan looks short of players possessing power-hitting ability. Pakistan’s one-day batting order has a far more youthful appearance without Misbah and Younus Khan. Azhar needs to define his role at the top of the order if he is not to come under increasing pressure over the next few months. Their bowling attack with the swing of Mohammad Amir, the yorkers of Umar Gul and the legspin of Yasir Shah was not that lethal. Pakistan needed wickets to compensate for their lack of runs but they were not successful. Pakistan may have recently climbed to the top of the Test rankings, but the kind of fielding errors that they displayed in the first ODI had made them languishing in ninth place in the ICC rankings. Amir had five catches dropped off his bowling during the Test series and the Pakistan paceman’s bad luck continued on Wednesday. Pakistan desperately need to play out of their skins and shed their ancient batting approach if they want to give England a run for their money. Better strike rates, sharp running between the wickets and methodical rather than reckless shot making is the way forward. Whether Pakistan are ready to embrace modern ODI cricket or are content with their largely substandard approach should be apparent soon. The burden is most certainly on the top-order: Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar, Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik who need to expand their games else the equation is going to become substantially tougher and soon improbable for the former world champions.