England draw first blood in ODI series

LAHORE, Dec 10: Luck finally smiled on England on their current tour of Pakistan as the tourists won the opening clash in the five-match One-day International series by an emphatic margin of 42 runs at Qadhafi Stadium on Saturday.

Having lost the Test series 2-0, it was England who dominated the first ODI by piling up 327 for four once Marcus Trescothick had no hesitation in batting first.

Pakistan almost matched England’s huge total before a startling collapse saw them lose six wickets for 23 runs in 20 balls after having looked well on course at 262 for five in the 44th over.

It was the unlikely figure of Liam Plunkett, the debutant paceman used in this game as super-sub, who disintegrated Pakistan’s innings with key wickets of Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Malik.

Andrew Flintoff, after an expensive opening spell of five overs for 46 runs, came back to end the game by getting rid of Mohammad Sami and Danish Kaneria in two balls, the latter with a perfect yorker. In between Shoaib Akhtar was run out as England marched towards a deserved victory.

To some extent, Pakistan were not helped by Darrell Hair’s decision to give Razzaq caught behind; TV replays suggested the all-rounder never touched the ball as it went through to Geraint Jones.

In addition, the foggy evening also caused a lot of problems for the batsmen as sighting the ball became increasingly difficult as the evening wore on. This was a crucial aspect since both Yousuf and Malik were well set during their fifth-wicket partnership that produced 83 runs.

As the asking rate mounted, the batsmen got more adventurous but got out because boundaries were needed, which were hard to come by. Between the 25th and 42nd over, the ball crossed the fence just twice.

In fact, England never panicked once they had dismissed Inzamamul Haq, in the 25th over, caught behind off Paul Collingwood. The departure of the prolific Inzamam for only 13 left the 25,000 crowd stunned in disbelief.

Pakistan managed to reach 285 was mainly due to half-centuries from opener Salman Butt, Younis Khan, Yousuf and Malik.

Salman struck the ball crisply in the initial overs to make 67 off 65 deliveries. The left-hander, who added 117 for the second-wicket with Younis, hit eight fours and one six.

Younis, returning to the side after missing the final Test, looked in good touch with a fluent 60 off 56 balls that included six boundaries and one six.

Yousuf’s 63-ball 59 contained five fours while Malik scored exactly 50 off 60 balls without striking a single four.

England’s innings was dominated by useful contributions from all their top-order batsmen barring Trescothick, who was deceived by a slow delivery from Rana Navedul Hasan as he spooned a catch to mid-off for 13.

Matt Prior, the reserve wicket-keeper, made a handy 45 off 55 balls, including six hits to the fence.

But it was Andrew Strauss who held the innings together with a workmanlike 94, a 98-ball knock that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award ahead of Flintoff and Plunkett. The left-hander, who was involved in three significant partnerships with Prior, Kevin Pietersen and Flintoff, sent the ball six times to the fence.

England were boosted by Pietersen’s reputed big-hitting which saw him blast seven fours and two sixes in a belligerent 39-ball 56.

Flintoff blossomed after a slow beginning and provided the ideal finish with 72 off 65 balls. The big man bludgeoned five fours and three sixes. He received admirable support from Collingwood (34 off 27 balls, four fours) as they took 90 off 66 balls to ensure England post a stiff target for Pakistan.

Scoreboard

ENGLAND:

M.E. Trescothick c Kaneria b Naved 13

M.J. Prior lbw b Sami 45

A.J. Strauss c Salman b Kaneria 94

K.P. Pietersen st Kamran b S. Malik 56

A. Flintoff not out 72

P.D. Collingwood not out 34

EXTRAS (LB-3, W-5, NB-5) 13

TOTAL (for four wkts, 50 overs) 327

FALL OF WKTS: 1-43, 2-94, 3-185, 4-237.

DID NOT BAT: V.S. Solanki, G.O. Jones, I.D. Blackwell, S.J. Harmison, J.M. Anderson.

BOWLING: Shoaib Akhtar 10-0-60-0 (4nb, 3w); Rana Navedul Hasan 9-0-75-1; Mohammad Sami 7-0-35-1; Abdul Razzaq 6-0-33-0; Danish Kaneria 9-0-62-1 (1nb); Shoaib Malik 9-0-59-1 (2w).

PAKISTAN:

Salman Butt c Flintoff b Harmison 67

Kamran Akmal b Anderson 5

Younis Khan c Collingwood b Flintoff 60

Mohammad Yousuf c Solanki b Plunkett 59

Inzamamul Haq c Jones b Collingwood 13

Shoaib Malik c Jones b Plunkett 50

Abdul Razzaq c Jones b Plunkett 13

Shoaib Akhtar run out 3

Rana Navedul Hasan not out 2

Mohammad Sami c Trescothick b Flintoff 1

Danish Kaneria b Flintoff 0