Captain Marcus Trescothick wins the toss, chooses to bat and is dismissed for one as England make a terrible start Four overs later, debutant Mohammad Asif claims his second wicket when Matt Prior is caught for nine by Salman Butt Andrew Strauss and Vikram Solanki guide the tourists past the 50-run mark but see the former stumped soon after With the aid of Andrew Flintoff, Solanki leads a tentative recovery until he too comes unstuck on 49 making it 117-4 Flintoff plays some flamboyant shots before falling to Naved-ul-Hasan as England limp towards a pretty uninspiring score Paul Collingwood sees a number of partners go cheaply before being run out while trying to add to his knock of 33 England have only 192 when they lose the ninth wicket of Shaun Udal, further reducing their chances of success Spirits are raised, however, by Liam Plunkett who smashes a rapid 24 not out off 12 balls as the tourists total 206-9 Requiring just over four runs an over, Pakistan's response receives an early setback when they lose Salman Butt for six Having averaged 58.50 runs in the previous four games, Kamran Akmal makes only 11 before falling to James Anderson Coming in at number three, Yasir Hameed registers his tenth ODI half century to get the Pakistan effort back on track Hameed falls to Udal but the runs continue to flow from the bat of Mohammad Yousuf who also reaches 50 With victory in sight, three quick wickets apiece from Ian Blackwell and then Anderson turn the game on its head Needing 11 off the last over, Pakistan are frustrated by Plunkett who concedes only four to give England a six-run win
|