Pakistan v England: ODI defeat not down to schedule - Paul Farbrace
Last updated on .From the section Cricket
| Pakistan v England: Second ODI |
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| Venue: Abu Dhabi (d/n) Date: Wednesday 11 November Time: 11:00 GMT |
| Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, Radio 4 LW, online, tablets, mobiles and BBC Sport app. Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website. |
England's defeat by Pakistan in the first one-day international cannot be blamed on a lack of warm-up games, says assistant coach Paul Farbrace.
Mohammad Hafeez's unbeaten century helped Pakistan successfully chase England's 216 to record a six-wicket win in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
England played one warm-up game against Hong Kong before the four-match series.
"We're not making excuses about schedules, it's down to the fact we did not play well enough," said Farbrace.
"It was the same before the Test series (which England lost 2-0). Everyone said two two-day games wasn't enough but we proved during that first Test we were ready to play.
"We didn't take opportunities in that match, we had opportunities to win the first one-day game and we didn't take them."
On Wednesday, director of cricket Andrew Strauss said England needed "more separation" between the Test and one-day sides.
Prior to the one-day series, opening bowler David Willey said he was worried about those not involved in the Tests being "undercooked" while captain Eoin Morgan admitted after Wednesday's defeat that his team have been "slow starters" in recent series.
'Strong words'
Willey formed an inexperienced opening pair with fellow left-arm bowler Reece Topley in Abu Dhabi after Mark Wood and Steven Finn were ruled out of the series through injury, Ben Stokes was rested and Test opening bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad were not included.
Topley impressed by taking 3-26 but the rest of England's attack, including Chris Woakes and spin duo Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, struggled to test Pakistan's batsmen.
Farbrace said his side were still taking shape after a disastrous World Cup campaign earlier this year and added there will still be opportunities for those not selected for the current series to establish themselves as regulars.
"We have got Stokes, Broad, Wood and Finn who can come into this side and will add to our bowling attack," he said.
"So it's up to the guys here to show they have the ability and that they've also got the nous, the intelligence to learn quickly and deserve to stay in the side when we get closer to the Champions Trophy in 2017 and the World Cup in 2019.
"But we're not saying we're happy to lose series - nobody took any pleasure from losing on Wednesday. There were strong but honest words spoken afterwards as there will be whether we win or lose."
The second ODI is on Friday in Abu Dhabi with Sharjah and Dubai hosting the final two matches the following Tuesday and Friday.
