Stewart never got going

But back came Pakistan, and led by the pace of Waqar Younis and spin of Shahid Afridi, they clinched the game with the final ball.

England's run of eight successive one-day defeats is the worst in their history.

Earlier, Andrew Caddick and Darren Gough kept Pakistan's batsmen at bay.

The new-ball pair took two wickets-a-piece, as the tourists scored only 12 boundaries in a stop-start innings.

Gough grabbed the first wicket of Salim Elahi and the last, Shoaib Malik.

Caddick took centre stage when he steamed in to grab the wickets of Shahid Afridi and then Inzamam-ul-Haq in quick succession.

Elahi departed in the eighth over

With Pakistan reeling, medium pacer Mark Ealham was brought in, and it did not take him long to flummox Rashid Latif with a slower delivery at middle-stump.

Alan Mullally proved to the selectors what a valuable bowler he can be by taking two important scalps.

First, Abdur Razzaq tried to clear long-on only to find the hands of Gough and then Mullally took the prized wicket of Youhana who hit a high ball straight into the hands of a delighted Shah.

Yousuf Youhana struck a maginificent 81 in what was his second successive half-century of the series.

Showbiz couple Billie Piper and Chris Evans enjoy the spectacle

England's innings began woefully, as Knight was run out for one and then Stewart (bowled by Abdur Razzaq, caught by Younis Khan) and Vaughan (bowled by Waqar, caught by Azhar Mahmood) fell, with England on 26-3.

Shah joined Trescothick on the crease and the pair compiled a superb 170 partnership, before Shah fell and the collapse commenced.

Ben Hollioake fell for a duck to Waqar and was soon followed to the pavillion by Dominic Cork, who was run out by the quick thinking Youhana.

Ealham fell to Afridi before Razzaq picked up Gough leg before.

It was down to Caddick and Mullally to conjure a win from one ball and three runs remaining, but the relatively quiet Saqlain Mushtaq had him stumped, to leave England with the virtually impossible task of reaching the one-day final.

England: AJ Stewart (Surrey, capt & wkt), ME Trescothick (Somerset) , NV Knight (Warwickshire), MP Vaughan (Yorkshire), OA Shah (Middlesex), BC Hollioake (Surrey), DG Cork (Derbyshire), MA Ealham (Kent), D Gough (Yorkshire), AR Caddick (Somerset), AD Mullally (Hampshire).

Pakistan: Waqar Younis (capt), Shahid Afridi, Abdur Razzaq, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Azhar Mahmood, Rashid Latif (wkt), Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar.

Umpires: NA Mallender & KE Palmer.
Third umpire: TE Jesty.
Match referee: BF Hastings (NZ).