http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 beat England at Lord’s
The 50th one-day international played at Lord’s should have been a memorable occasion and it is unlikely that fourth NatWest Series match between England and Pakistan will be forgotten in a hurry.
Whether it will be for the right reasons is another matter.
A day that started with the fallout from the statements from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board - pouring both oil and a lighted match on the troubled waters of a tour of England that had been dogged by various betting allegations, and their attendant scandals, for the past three weeks - ended under the floodlights with a 38-run win for Pakistan that levelled the series at 2-2 with one match still to play.
Less than an hour before play started the England and Wales Cricket Board issued a statement in which they refuted Butt's accusations that the England team had deliberately lost the previous match, at The Oval on Friday, in return for "enormous sums of money”.
Such was the level of feeling within England captain Andrew Strauss, normally the most diplomatic of men, and his team that there had been serious concerns in the England camp that the players might refuse to take the field.
When they did, to a crowd that was somewhat muted, Pakistan - finding themselves in the latest chapter of the corruption saga that appears to have no end - still managed to put up a batting performance that set what looked a challenging target at 265-7.
Kamran Akmal (28) and Mohammad Hafeez (64) struggled for runs in the first few overs but then picked up the tempo which built up the biggest stand of the innings, 62, but it Abdul Razzaq's unbeaten 44 that did the demolition job on England’s bowlers at the end of the innings.
Graeme Swann, who finished with figures of 4-37, put the brakes on for a while as Asad Shafiq (11), Mohammad Yousuf (three), Fawad Alam (29) and Umar Akmal (21) failed to make the most of the platform that the openers had made. But http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Razzaq-c84421 finished the job in some style as Pakistan scored 42 off their last two overs.
Razzaq (pictured) managed just four runs from his first 10 deliveries but then plundered 40 from the next 10 as he crashed eight boundaries and one six. James Anderson was the first to feel the power when he was carted for three fours and a six from the 49th over off and then, when Tim Bresnan came on for the final over, Razzaq powered the last five balls for four.
Looking like a man who was taking his aggression out on the ball, Strauss – ably supported by Steve Davies, started England’s reply with six boundaries in the first three overs. The pair reached 113 when Davies fell, bowled by Saeed Ajmal, and was swiftly followed by Jonathan Trott (four) but they did not seem to be in any trouble until the 26th over when, off the bowling of Shoaib Akhtar, Strauss hit a long hop to Alam.
From there the runs dried up as first Paul Collingwood (four) and Ian Bell (27) – who was back in the side after his match-winning score for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Warwickshire-c862 in the CB40 final on Saturday – failed to keep up with the run-rate that was creeping past eight an over as the innings entered its last quarter.
Eion Morgan, who was dropped by Afridi on 10, has become England’s go-to player in these situations and, with Michael Yardy, started to crank up the scoreboard with 12 from 41st over, until Akhtar took the wicket of Yardy in the next.
Bresnan, with England needing 69 from 52 balls, came and then went when Umar Gul got into the act and bowled him for one and then Morgan (28) got a top edge that went high into the night sky and then came down into the grateful hands of Yousuf.
Swann and Stuart Broad tried to carry the fight to Pakistan but it was too much of a burden as Gul took out Swann (12) and then he took the final wicket when he bowled Broad.
So, all to play for at the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rose-c86842 Bowl on Wednesday – assuming nothing else happens in the interim.
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