England in must-win territory in Pakistan T20 series after 'daft' batting display

Mark Butcher calls England's batting "daft" while Nasser Hussain says the team were a "a little bit headless" as they slipped 3-2 down in Pakistan T20 series with two games to play; watch sixth T20 live on Sky Sports Cricket on Friday (3pm on air, 3.30pm first ball)

Nasser Hussain says England needed to show more composure in their run chase as they lost the fifth T20 international

England have failed to win each of their last four white-ball series and that unwanted run is in grave danger of stretching to five.

Wednesday's six-run defeat to Pakistan in the fifth T20 international of seven left them 3-2 down and they must now take Friday's sixth fixture to keep the series alive.

Moeen Ali, standing in as skipper for the injured Jos Buttler, said: "Going into the T20 World Cup, must-win games are good. For our team now, it's a semi-final and a final.

"We've got to win to stay in it. It's going to be really good to see where the boys are at. There's pressure in international cricket all the time, so it's great to see how we react."

England were 2-1 ahead after cracking 221-3 en route to a 63-run victory in game three, only to then suffer back-to-back slumps in run chases across the next two matches.

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Highlights from the fifth T20 in Lahore as Pakistan beat England by six runs to move 3-2 ahead in the seven-match series

Targets of 167 and 146 have proved too taxing for Moeen's men with damage done in the powerplay.

England were 14-3 after two overs in the fourth T20 as Phil Salt (8), Alex Hales (5) and Will Jacks (0) fell for single figures and then 31-3 after five in the fifth fixture as Salt (3), Hales (1) and then Ben Duckett (10) slogged to backward point, deep square leg and deep third respectively.

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"Daft" was one of the words used by Sky Sports Cricket's Mark Butcher.

Speaking after England's defeat on Wednesday, Butcher said: "It was a bit of a weak performance from England with the bat. They have ended up losing a game they should have won.

"To do it twice in a row and throw away three wickets in the powerplay willy-nilly when you are chasing modest totals is not very clever.

England also slipped to defeat in the fourth T20 international, losing by three runs in Karachi

"I have no problem with teams going gung-ho from the very start but when you lose two wickets in the powerplay, you are probably better off building a partnership and then accelerating again.

"Everyone will tell you that the odds on you winning matches when you lose three wickets in the powerplay diminish significantly so it just seemed daft to me.

"There is no law saying you have to score a third of the runs in the powerplay every time. Sometimes you have to play the situation.

"The batting in the last two games has been a little bit like what we saw over the course of the summer when England were getting bowled out on a regular basis in T20 cricket and didn't seem to be able to put an innings together.

"Twice they have fallen short. It's not alarm bells but it might be worth having a little chat about the way they are going about these short run chases."

England captain Moeen Ali left disappointed with his team's batting as they were limited to 139-7 chasing 146 to win the fifth T20

England are currently without captain Buttler (calf), Liam Livingstone (ankle) and Ben Stokes (rested), all of whom are set to return at the T20 World Cup in Australia in October.

Butcher's fellow Sky Sports Cricket pundit Nasser Hussain added: "The problem England have is that they can't go to their best World Cup batting line-up yet.

"If England had had Stokes at No 4 in this game, you would hope he would say after two early wickets, 'hold on, let's soak it up.' He is a very smart cricketer.

"Pakistan's score [on Wednesday] was below par and, with a lot of dew, England must have worked out that towards the end it would be trickier for the seamers and spinners.

"Make sure you don't give away the game early on - to lose three wickets in the powerplay was a mistake. Hales' shot was a real thrash early on.

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"Then they got a little bit done by spin which is unusual for England over the last few years as they have usually belted spin.

"I think a couple of times in the run chases now they have been a little bit headless. England haven't quite got the batting right in the last couple of games but there is no need to panic."

Reflecting on Wednesday's defeat, Moeen, who top-scored for England with an unbeaten 57 from 31 balls, added: "Of all the games so far, this was the most disappointing, the way we batted, in particular.

"All we needed was one 60-70 run partnership, that would have won the game. We want to play this brand that is attacking but you also have to see the situation of the game, the conditions.

"I feel we're a better team than that," added Moeen. Now England need to prove him right.

Watch England's sixth T20 international in Pakistan live on Sky Sports Cricket on Friday. Coverage begins at 3pm with the first ball at 3.30pm.

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