An entirely changed England side hammered Pakistan by nine wickets in the first one-day international at Cardiff on Thursday to take a 1-0 lead in a three-match series.

Set just 142 for victory, a completely altered England XI after a coronavirus outbreak within the originally selected squad, finished on 142-1.

Dawid Malan was 68 not out and Zak Crawley 58 not out, the pair sharing an unbroken stand of 120,

Earlier, fast bowler Saqib Mahmood took an ODI best 4-42 as Pakistan were dismissed for 141.

The series continues at Lord's on Saturday.

Brief scores

Pakistan 141, 35.2 overs (S Mahmood 4-42)

England 142-1, 21.5 overs (D Malan 68 no, Z Crawley 58 no)

Result: England won by nine wickets

Series: England lead three-match series 1-0

Mahmood strikes as England 'C team' thrash Pakistan

Saqib Mahmood marked his return to England duty with a four-wicket haul as the completely changed hosts put their Covid-19 problems behind them with an emphatic nine-wicket win over Pakistan in the first one-day international at Cardiff on Thursday.

Player of the match Mahmood took an ODI best 4-42 as Pakistan were skittled out for just 141 with more than 14 overs left to bat.

England, the reigning 50-over world champions, finished on 142-1 to go 1-0 up in a three-match series ahead of Saturday's clash at Lord's. 

Dawid Malan was 68 not out after a run-ball fifty.

Together with Test batsman Zak Crawley (58 not out), one of five ODI debutants in the England team, he shared an unbroken stand of 120 as a match scheduled for 100 overs finished in a mere 67.1 

England were fielding a completely changed XI from their previous ODI -- the first time this had happened to any side in the 50-year history of the format -- after a Covid-19 outbreak within their existing squad during a recent 2-0 series win at home to Sri Lanka required all 16 players originally selected to play against Pakistan to self-isolate.

In addition, injuries to the likes of fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Olly Stone and wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler meant they were effectively without two first-choice XIs.

Yet their 'C team' dominated from the moment Mahmood took a wicket with the first ball of the match -- and then dismissed Pakistan captain Babar Azam, the world's top-ranked ODI batsman, for a duck with the third ball. 

Such was England's command, stand-in captain Ben Stokes bowled just one over despite the World Cup-winner being the most experienced member of the attack.

Sensational start 

England made a sensational start when Mahmood snared Imam-ul-Haq lbw with the first ball after a review ordered by Stokes confirmed the delivery had pitched in line.

Two balls later, Mahmood had a prize wicket when Azam edged to Crawley at second slip, with Pakistan yet to score a run.

And when Mahmood had Pakistan debutant Saud Shakeel lbw for five, the tourists were 26-4 from seven overs.

But Fakhar Zaman counter-attacked to the delight of Pakistan fans in a crowd limited to 2,251 by Welsh government virus restrictions.

The left-handed opener hit several fine boundaries, including a superb straight drive off debutant fast bowler Brydon Carse.

New batsman Sohaib Maqsood, in his first ODI for five years, flat-batted Carse over extra-cover for six.

But a promising stand of 53 ended in farcical fashion when non-striker Maqsood, lured down the pitch by the advancing Zaman's call for a single, was undone when his partner suddenly stopped, with James Vince running him out for 19.

Pakistan, restricted to intra-squad rather than tour matches, badly needed the in-touch Zaman to keep going.

However, his innings of 47, including six fours, ended tamely when a miscued cut off leg-spinner Matt Parkinson lobbed gently to backward point.

And when Mahmood had Faheem Ashraf caught behind, Pakistan were 101-7.

England debutant opener Phil Salt -- born in Wales but now with Sussex -- fell cheaply when he edged Shaheen Shah Afridi to first slip. 

But Malan made a run-a-ball fifty, with Crawley -- following a run of low scores at Test level -- even quicker to the landmark.

England v Pakistan 1st ODI scoreboard

Completed scoreboard in the first one-day international between England and Pakistan at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on Thursday:

Pakistan

Imam-ul-Haq lbw b Mahmood                  0

Fakhar Zaman c Crawley b Parkinson        47

Babar Azam c Crawley b Mahmood             0

Mohammad Rizwan c Simpson b Gregory       13

Saud Shakeel lbw b Mahmood                 5

Sohaib Maqsood run out (Vince)            19

Shadab Khan c Malan b Overton             30

Faheem Ashraf c Simpson b Mahmood          5

Hasan Ali c Malan b Parkinson              6

Shaheen Shah Afridi c Stokes b Overton    12

Haris Rauf not out                         0

Extras (nb1, w3)                           4

Total (all out, 35.2 overs)              141

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Imam), 2-0 (Babar), 3-17 (Rizwan), 4-26 (Shakeel), 5-79 (Maqsood), 6-90 (Zaman), 7-101 (Ashraf), 8-123 (Ali), 9-134 (Shadab), 10-141 (Afridi)

Bowling: Mahmood 10-1-42-4; Gregory 4-1-11-1; Overton 6.2-0-23-2 (1w); Carse 7-0-31-0 (1w); Parkinson 7-0-28-2 (1w); Stokes 1-0-6-0 (1nb)

England

P. Salt c Maqsood b Afridi                 7

D. Malan not out                          68

Z. Crawley not out                        58

Extras (lb1, nb1, w7)                      9

Total (1 wkt, 21.5 overs)                142

Did not bat: J Vince, B Stokes, J Simpson, L Gregory, C Overton, B Carse, S Mahmood, M Parkinson

Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Salt)

Bowling: Afridi 5-0-22-1 (2w); Ali 4-0-33-0 (1nb, 2w); Rauf 4-0-28-0 (2w), Ashraf 5-0-33-0 (1w); Shadab 3-0-22-0; Shakeel 0.5-0-3-0

Result: England won by nine wickets

Player of the match: Saqib Mahmood (ENG)

Series: England lead three-match series 1-0

Toss: England