Pakistan on Tuesday evening in Nottingham, once again, proved that they are the masters of disaster and incapable of playing modern one-day cricket. It was a terrible and disgusting performance. Had fast bowler Mohammad Aamir not flogged an extraordinary 58 off 28 balls at the death, it would have been even worse for Pakistan. At one stage it seemed that Azhar Ali’s and his men would not be able to cross even two hundred mark, while chasing an unbelievable target of 445. Pakistan were bowled out for 275 in 42.4 overs with paceman Chris Woakes the chief destroyer, taking four for 41. Opener Sharjeel Khan hit 58 but wickets fell at regular intervals until Amir smashed a stunning knock to share an unlikely last-wicket stand of 76 with Yasir Shah (26 not out). Amir’s half-century was the first by a number 11 in ODIs. Yet while it was another one-sided encounter in this series, England’s batting had been a sight to behold. Their landmarks, personal and collective, have been regular since the start of last summer. England amassed a world record one-day international total of 444 for three as they crushed Pakistan by 169 runs to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Jos Buttler struck the last ball of the innings for four to take Eoin Morgan’s men past Sri Lanka’s 443 for nine against Netherlands in July 2006. Alex Hales plundered 171, the highest individual limited-overs score by an England batsman, before Buttler reached his fifty off 22 deliveries, another record for his country. Hales flayed four sixes and 22 fours in his 122-ball knock to surpass Robin Smith’s 167 not out against Australia in Birmingham in 1993. The hosts passed their previous highest total of 408 for nine, made against New Zealand last year, while captain Morgan got to his half-century off 24 deliveries as he and Butler shared an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 161. None of the Pakistan batsmen looked confident, as usual. They remained confused and under pressure through out their innings and ultimately ‘helped’ their team lose the crucial tie against England by a huge margin. It was a poor showing from the team who recently claimed number one spot in Test rankings. Azhar and his charges, especially the top order, needed a monumental team effort or a spark of individual brilliance that hasn’t been seen in recent games. But Pakistan weren’t really in the hunt since the much vaunted bowling attack was also lacking the cutting edge of the past which ensured that the team remained competitive despite largely lackadaisical batting. Pakistan were atrocious. Misfields abounded, chances went down and the bowling was ‘friendly’. The pitiful scenes in the match infuriated all and sundry as fielding lapses, no-balls, and soft-dismissals laced with unthoughtful captaincy allowed England to club a world-record total to the bowling line-up, once touted as the best in the world. Fans across the world are still in disbelief. How had Pakistan conceded the largest score in the history of the international 50-over game? How had a side famed for its bowling done worse than even any Associate side had managed in ODIs? Seen from afar, it seemed completely out of the blue. As the wickets tumbled it was hard to tell who was more befuddled: the Pakistan batsmen, the England fielders or the spectators around the globe. The defeat is indeed too much to swallow. Wahab Riaz managed 14 runs off 22 balls with the bat but with the ball, his primary duty in the team, he gave 110 runs in his 10 overs with an economy of 11 runs per over – most runs conceded by any Pakistan bowler in ODIs. Wahab’s 110 are also the second most runs conceded by any bowler in an ODI. He was just three runs short of Mick Lewis of Australia who gave 113 runs against South Africa in 2005 at Johannesburg. Pakistan have hit a low from which a return seems to be an uphill task in the near future. Pakistan should seriously contemplate their ‘ancient’ playing methods. If this ODI side have to progress, then they should adopt the aggressive modern game plan. The ‘horror show’ witnessed at Trent Bridge screams loudly why Pakistan are one of the low rankings teams on the International Cricket Council table. And unless Pakistan start rethinking their tactics, this won’t be the only disaster they will have to live through.