England take lead in ODI series by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Ground:	Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street
Scorecard:	England v Pakistan
Player:	SM Davies, IJL Trott, Saeed Ajmal
Event:	Pakistan in England 2010

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DateLine: 10th September 2010

 

England completed a clinical win over Pakistan who put a slightly better performance this time. The match got off to a delayed start and it was 41 overs a side encounter. England in 41 overs scored 274 for the loss of 6 wickets. Davies and Trott scored well-paced half-centuries as none of the bowlers barring Shoaib Akthar and Saeed Ajmal put any sort of pressure on the English batsmen. Pakistan in reply managed 250 for the loss of 9 wickets in their 41 overs.

 

Shahid Afridi won the toss and elected bowl first as he hoped that his pace bowlers would take advantage of the overcast conditions. But barring Shoaib Akthar who bowled with lot of pace, fire and heart, Mohammad Irfan and Umar Gul disappointed. The pacers leaked runs and it was left to the spinners to control the damage. Saeed Ajmal did an excellent job as he got the vital wickets at regular intervals. Davies was a revelation for the English side as the young southpaw hammered the daylights out of the Pakistani bowlers.

 

Trott on the other hand was happy to accumulate runs in a quiet and efficient manner. Bopara seemed to be enjoying his new role in the ODI outfit that of a finisher. During the Bangladeshi one-dayers Bopara was used to give the finishing touches to the innings and today he did the same. The right-hander put the Pakistani bowlers to the sword as he switched into a furious hitting mode. Sixes were launched into the stands with minimum effort as he pushed the English total to 274.

 

Pakistan in reply got off to a good start as Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez kept a steady pace. The required run-rate was kept within a touching distance and though the other batsmen failed to pace their innings well, Kamran Akmal looked like batting on a different plane. Once he fell Umar Akmal took the mantle of steering the Pakistani ship to the target.

 

Shahid Afridi failed to find his range as he struggled to time the ball well. The bowlers kept the ball short and that limited Afridi to a stroke-less batsman. Finally Pakistan fell short by 24 runs.