NOTTINGHAM: England opener Alex Hales registered his career’s fourth One-Day International (ODI) century as the hosts piled up 244 runs for the loss of one wicket after 34 overs during the third of the five-match series against Pakistan at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. The right-handed batsman sneaked a single with a gentle push on the leg-side off Yasir Shah to reach three figures. Reaching half-century mark in the 17th over, the local boy upped his scoring rate in the 23rd over when he piled up 20 runs off Pakistan captain Azhar Ali’s over. Searching for a breakthrough, Azhar introduced himself into the attack only to be hammered for three fours and six — all coming off Hales’ bat. Joe Root, who bats on the one-down position, reached his fifth half-century on the trot at the other end. Earlier, the hosts’ opening partnership was dismantled in the sixth over as right-arm fast-bowler Hasan Ali dismissed Jason Roy caught behind when the batsman attempted a pull. Roy, after scoring 15 off 19 balls, gloved the 38th ball of the innings in the air for Sarfraz Ahmed to safely collect it. England were 38 for one, when the star of the first ODI fell. Replacing Roy, Root settled himself by snatching a boundary off Ali early on in his innings. Earlier, Roy and Hales started the proceedings on a high note for the hosts, scoring boundaries at regular intervals. The first two fours, however, came due to the misfields by Mohammad Nawaz and Babar Azam in the first and the second over respectively. Toss: England won the toss and elected to bat first in the third of the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series against Pakistan on Tuesday at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Talking to Michael Holding after Eoin Morgan’s decision, Pakistan captain Azhar Ali admitted that he would have loved to bat first. Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz replaced Imad Wasim, who was forced to sit out due to knee injury. The wicket is deemed to be a flat and hard, making it a good batting surface. The sun is basking on the attractive Trent Bridge ground. If Pakistan lost today’s match, it will have to play qualifier round with other teams. Team line-ups Pakistan Azhar Ali (capt.), Sami Aslam, Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk.), Shoaib Malik, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz England Eoin Morgan (capt.), Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk.), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood