Jofra Archer made history during Wednesday's England vs Afghanistan game at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. This came after he became the fastest England player to reach 50 ODI wickets, surpassing the record held by James Anderson. Archer provided England with the start they needed with his 50th ODI wicket, Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Archer set the tone with three new ball wickets, and the Afghan batters appeared unable to match his pace.
In just 19 games, veteran Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis became the fastest bowler to take 50 ODI wickets. In 22 games, Nepali player Sandeep Lamichhane accomplished this feat. Both Mitchell McClenaghan of New Zealand and Ajit Agarkar of India needed 23 games to accomplish the same feat.
Fastest England bowler to 50 ODI Wickets
- Jofra Archer - 30 Matches
- James Anderson - 31 Matches
- Steve Harmison - 32 Matches
- Steven Finn - 33 Matches
- Darren Gough - 34 Matches
Fastest bowlers to 50 ODI Wickets
- Ajantha Mendis - 19 Matches
- Sandeep Lamichhane - 22 Matches
- Ajit Agarkar - 23 Matches
- Mitchell McClenaghan - 23 Matches
- Dennis Lillee - 24 Matches
In a match that both teams had to win, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi chose to bat first against England. Afghanistan stayed the same, while England made only one change, replacing injured Brydon Carse with Jamie Overton.
England Playing XI: Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(c), Liam Livingstone, Jofra Archer, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
Afghanistan Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.