Pakistan's openers, decked in bottle green, skip and kick their way to the middle. Chris Woakes, wearing England's two shades of blue, has the new ball (well, one of them). The man singing Jerusalem holds the last note a little too long then passes out, like Tom Jones when he sang the theme to Thunderball.

Fenners: If Stokes isn't fit enough to bowl, why not play Dawson who is? Madness!

Alec Stewart
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

Mark Wood bowls at the speed of light, Plunkett bangs it in at chest height and Woakes has some clever variety. Yes, David Willey's left-arm bowling isn't there, but the others are different types of bowlers.

Some small children have been dragged off the streets of the Southampton area to hold flags at the bottom of the pavilion steps. The players will soon pass by on the way to the middle. The umpires are just looking for the bell...

Alec Stewart
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

A really good toss to win. It looks full of runs. Pakistan have to see off the two new white balls and they go as big as they can.

BBC Weather's Darren Bett: "For the next few hours it will be glorious. However, there are showers heading north and could arrive by 4pm or 5pm. We could get a few drops of rain from cloud that is quite high."

England: Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood 

Pakistan: Azhar Ali (capt), Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Umar Gul 

Umpires: Rob Bailey and Simon Fry

TV umpire: Marais Erasmus

Match referee: Jeff Crowe

The ground in Southampton is filling up nicely. It's a top place to watch cricket, bar the dodgy roads in and out of it. Remember how it used to be called the Rose Bowl? That might have been because it's, erm, bowl-shaped. 

One bit of news linked to this England XI today. Opener Alex Hales has signed a new two-year contract at Notts. There had been some speculation linking Hales with a move to Essex.

BBC Test Match Special

Test Match Special will be on the air in a few short minutes. You can listen by clicking the live coverage tab at the top of this page. When play gets under way, we'll have it covered from every angle, including video highlights of the best of the action. 

Asif Khan: Can we talk about how Root and Woakes will get totally overlooked in SPOTY thanks to some joggers and splashers.

But what do you think? Have England got that XI right? The middle-order of Stokes, Buttler and Moeen Ali is exciting, right? Eoin Morgan needs some runs, mind. And are you expecting an ODI series to match the quality of the four Tests? Text 81111, tweet using the hashtag #bbccricket, external or email tms@bbc.co.uk.

So, what to make of all that? Ben Stokes' inclusion as a batsman means there's no place for Jonny Bairstow, who carries the drinks. Mark Wood has been bowling with wheels since he came back from injury. Former batsman Nick Knight, working on TV, has just called this the best XI England have ever fielded in an ODI. Big talk.

England captain Eoin Morgan: "We would have batted first as well. Ben Stokes is in purely as a batter.

We have huge amounts of talent and leaving talented people out has been difficult but it gives us huge growth for future tournaments, in particular with our bowling unit.

"It's great to see Mark Wood back bowling with a lot of venom."

Pakistan captain Azhar Ali: "The pitch looks dry, the weather has been kind, and so we would like to get runs on the board. 

"We are excited about our young side.

"Being number one side in Test cricket is an inspiration to us. They have been an example and we will look to try to play like that."

Eoin Morgan says he wanted to bat. Chat of three spinners has not come to fruition, Liam Dawson misses out. Mark Wood makes a long-awaited England return, with the fit-again Ben Stokes playing as a batsman only.

New skippers, but familiar result. Pakistan's Azhar Ali wins the toss, no surprise that he's chosen to bat first on a scorching day on the south coast. Interesting team news for the tourists, with Yasir Shah overlooked. 

The drought is over, cricket is back and, if the England-Pakistan Test series was anything to go by, we're in for a humdinger.

The first of five ODIs from sunny Southampton, with the skippers already on the way out for a flick.