Gus Atkinson struck with England’s first ball of their winter in Rawalpindi but his drop of Hasan Nawaz let Pakistan off the hook in this one-day international tri-series contest.

Fakhar Zaman’s flick to short midwicket continued a theme from Pakistan’s abject Test tour of England that summer, when their batters departed for golden ducks on a couple of occasions.

Pakistan laboured to 133 for five, but Atkinson blotted his copybook by spilling Nawaz on the run in the deep on 30 and he put England to the sword, hammering four sixes and five fours in his 79 off 74 balls.

His restorative job laid the foundations for Arafat Minhas (59 off 58) and Faheem Ashraf (39 off 26) to go all guns blazing at the death as Pakistan finished on what looks a challenging 302 for nine.

Jordan Cox put down a couple of half-chances to reprieve Minhas, who was also spared after a botched relay catch as Tom Banton threw over Ben Duckett’s shoulder on the long-off boundary.

Adil Rashid and Sam Curran each took a wicket on their returns from injuries, while Sonny Baker claimed three for 65, snaring opener Saim Ayub on the hook then claiming a couple of dismissals at the back end.

England’s best bowlers, though, were Will Jacks, who continues to excel as an off-spinning all-rounder, and bustling paceman Jamie Overton, whose fast deliveries into the deck proved difficult to get away.

The pair strangled Pakistan’s scoring after the powerplay and Jacks bowled Pakistan dangerman Babar Azam for 34, while Overton deservedly got in the wickets column with a terrific yorker to castle Nawaz.