England Chasing Perfection Against Pakistan

30 Aug 2016 | Cricket
Liam Plunkett has challenged his England teammates to improve on their recent displays, despite taking a 2-0 lead in the Royal London One Day International Series against Pakistan.

England remain unbeaten in white-ball cricket since their agonising World T20 final defeat against West Indies and have strolled to comfortable wins against Pakistan in the first two ODIs.

But Plunkett, the Yorkshire paceman who saw his county side knocked out of two white-ball tournmanets at the semi-final stage, wants to pursue perfection with England this summer.

The home side could take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series with victory at Trent Bridge today.

"We're not playing our best cricket - we can still improve," Plunkett said.

"That's a good thing because we are winning but we can still kick it up another gear.

"You want that perfect game, that perfect fielding performance."

But even if England can wrap up the series with a win in Nottingham, Plunkett wants to see his team continue their form, with the series finale at The SSE SWALEC in Cardiff on Sunday.

He added: "We win 3-0 on Tuesday – you don't want to settle for that. You want to win 5-0, and it would be great to finish this season. After that World Cup final defeat, if you've played all summer and won every single white-ball game that's a big achievement."

And the fast bowler was braced for a reaction from Pakistan after the tourists were soundly beaten in the last match. But after a pulsating Test series which finished all square, Plunkett knows the visitors' capabilities.

"Pakistan are a good team," he added. "We saw in the Tests that they're a fighting team. We are in a good place. We've played some good white-ball cricket. We feel in good form."

There are still a limited number of tickets available for England's Royal London ODI against Pakistan at The SSE SWALEC on Sunday September 4. Click here to buy now.