Cricket World Cup 2019: Pakistan 'believe in ourselves' to win tournament after England defeat

Days after being beaten by West Indies, Sarfaraz Ahmed's side ended 11-match losing run at Trent Bridge

Pakistan medium-pacer Hasan Ali says Pakistan have the belief they can win the World Cup. Andrew Boyers / Reuters

Hasan Ali said Pakistan believe they can win the Cricket World Cup, after their shock victory over England at Trent Bridge.

Pakistan had lost 11 consecutive one-day internationals before Monday’s fixture, including four in a row against the same opposition.

They had also been thrashed by West Indies, being bowled out for 105, at the same venue days earlier in their opening match of the competition.

However, they bounced back to upset the hosts and tournament favourites, with a 14-run win in Nottingham.

“We do a lot of hard work and we believe in ourselves and we have faith we can win the World Cup,” fast bowler Hasan Ali said.

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“People are saying we are unpredictable, but we don’t like it. After the first match we sat down and talked about our weaknesses and about our plans and execution, all these things.

"One thing is very important, our coach [Mickey Arthur] is always backing us.

“We were very disappointed we lost 11 ODI games in a row but one thing is very important, we believed in ourselves.

"We needed just a little bit of a kick, and we got the kick. We are very confident, our team is very good and balanced.”

Mohammed Hafeez top scored with 84, as Pakistan amassed 348-8 from their 50 overs.

He said they had never doubted themselves, despite the lengthy losing run and the capitulation against West Indies last time out.

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“I can only describe it as total self-belief,” Hafeez said.

“Everyone was really looking forward to doing something in this game. Yes, we played a bad game the first against West Indies, but we knew as a team we were very much capable of winning matches for Pakistan.

“We really had a good meeting the day before. We expressed some of the good things for each of the players. We really gave confidence to each other, and that really worked today.

“We could see everyone really expressed themselves, and that really worked for Pakistan today.”

Despite being the host nation, England’s supporters were drowned out by vociferous Pakistan support at Trent Bridge.

At times, England appeared to be riled by the away support. When he held a brilliant diving catch on the boundary to dismiss Imam-ul-Haq, Chris Woakes responded by turning round to the fans behind him and holding finger to his lips to quieten them.

“We've prepared for all this sort of stuff,” England captain Eoin Morgan said.

“When we play against Asian teams, it's always a home game for those guys. They tend to be louder than our support. So we've prepared for that.”