Eoin Morgan comes over all Sly and Family Stone and gets funky with the batting order - he sends out Jos Buttler ahead of himself at number four. Bold call - Buttler hasn't been in the best form, although he did get 49 in the last match. He gets off the mark with a single into the leg side.

Ebony Rainford-Brent
Ex-England batter on BBC Test Match Special

"You could actually see that coming - you knew he would go big after making 100. The most important thing is he is able to raise his bat as he walks off a first hundred after 15 innings. It's been a mature innings."

Pakistan need a wicket - so, with questionable logic, Azhar Ali brings on a man who has never taken a wicket in an ODI. Himself. If it works, he'll be a genius. and to be fair, he puts the brakes on England - just four singles from that over.

Vic Marks
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

"It means a lot to Jason Roy, clearly. He's not the most animated of cricketers out in the middle, but there was a big jig of delight. He hasn't taken outrageous risks there, a couple of inside edges went for four but he's played some beautiful strokes and looks the part as England's one-day opener."  

100 for Roypublished at 34 overs

34 overs

Eng 189-1

Image source, Getty Images

Roy bunts Yasir down to long-off to move to 99. Root gets him back on strike. Is this the moment? It is! He knocks Yasir in the the gap at deep cover, pumps his fist and triumphantly removes his helmet. Well played, sir, well played.

England 185-1 (33 overs) - won toss

Batsmen: Roy 98*, Root 61*

Fall of wickets: 54-1 (Hales 22)

Bowling figures: Irfan 6-0-30-1, Anwar 7-0-32-0, Riaz 6-0-28-0, Yasir 8-0-50-0, Malik 6-0-43-0.

Full scorecard

The runs are flowing now - Root gets just a little width from Wahab and eases him down to third man for four. Wahab then over-corrects and offers Roy, on 94, one on his pads - like offering a nice foamy pint to a man who's spent a week in the desert. Roy duly gulps it down for a four.

And appropriately enough, that is in fact time for the drinks.

Jonathan Agnew
BBC Test Match Special

"These players can catch up so quickly. Root was a bit twitchy when he came in, but he's scored 55 from 55 balls."

50 for Rootpublished at 32 overs

32 overs

Eng 176-1

Woof - right out of the screws from Joe Root, a full-blooded slog sweep that whistles off the bat with an audible crack and travels hard and flat to the cow corner boundary, landing just inside the rope. And he's not done yet! He charges Shoaib Malik and hoists him back over his head for a six so straight you could set your watch to it. That's 50 for the Yorkshire scamp, and he looks in the mood for more today...

If the old adage about doubling the score after 30 overs is true, England could be set for a very tasty score here - although it hasn't always been the case in this series.

Pakistan's ploy of spin from both ends is shelved for now, Wahab Riaz is back. Roy can't add to his 93, finding only fresh air as Wahab whistles one across him.

Vic Marks
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

"Yasir Shah's had a pretty rough time of it in these ODIs. He's a red-ball cricketer."

While we're on today's theme of cricketing TV shows, what about 'Nasir's Jam Shed' - a late-night reggae programme, fronted by an out-of-favour Pakistan opener live from his garden shed?

Lovely connection from Roy, he gets a sweet strike on a reverse sweep and beats third man, moving him into the 90s.

Lucas Abbott: Tendulkar's Ten Dull Cars - India's finest cricketer reviews the 10 most boring cars of the year.

Image source, Getty Images

It's all about 'going big' for Roy today. He needs to play the role that Hales did in the second ODI: tick along at a run a ball or thereabouts, get his ton, and underpin a big score. Good running from these, some hasty scampering between the wickets bringing a couple of twos.

Roy is having a few problems against the leg-spin of Yasir Shah - an under-edge to an attempted cut causes a few palpitations before a more convincing stroke, a cut down to backward point for two. Root looks more secure against Yasir, turning the strike over nicely.