England v Pakistan, 4th ODI, Lord's

Gul and Shoaib square the series

September 20, 2010

Pakistan 265 for 7 (Hafeez 64, Swann 4-37) beat England 227 (Strauss 68, Gul 4-32) by 38 runs
Scorecard

	Umar Gul was unplayable with the old ball as England succumbed to defeat.

Pakistan took the one-day series to a decider as they secured a 38-run victory at Lord's with their bowling attack again showing its match-winning qualities, after England's openers had seemingly put their on track to take the series with a 113-run stand. The spinners struck vital blows in the middle-order, then Umar Gul and Shoaib Akhtar became a handful under the floodlights. Earlier, a fearsome late assault from Abdul Razzaq, who hit 40 off his last 10 balls, gave Pakistan a powerful surge.

Under normal circumstances we would now be in for a thrilling end to the season at The Rose Bowl, but this match was played under a horrid atmosphere of legal threats from the England team following Ijaz Butt's extraordinary outburst the day before. Andrew Strauss admitted his team were reluctant participants, but felt the best thing was to complete the series as planned although it took a meeting that stretched into the early hours to decide.

Whatever England's mindset, once the game was on they wanted to be professional and will know a series-clinching victory was there for the taking. They'd been given the ideal platform by Strauss and Steve Davies - which had seemingly nullified Razzaq's innings - but as the floodlights started to take effect on the late-September evening conditions became tougher. However, credit also has to go to Pakistan's bowlers who came back superbly with the spinners proving a handful on a dry surface while Gul was again outstanding.

Strauss flew out of the blocks as Shoaib's first three overs cost 30 and after the initial Powerplay England were 73 without loss with 10 boundaries; in the rest of the innings they only managed another 10. Strauss went to a run-a-ball fifty, his third in a row as he became the second leading run-scorer in ODIs this year, while Davies wasn't far behind until he dragged Saeed Ajmal into his stumps. That wicket brought England to a shuddering halt as Strauss lost the strike and Jonathan Trott, who earlier in the day was involved in an altercation with Wahab Riaz in the nets, struggled to bed in.

The ECB played down the incident between Trott and Riaz, but it was a clear sign of how far the relationship between the two sides has fallen in recent weeks. Trott appeared uneasy in the middle before watching the ball roll back into his stumps from a defensive push against Shahid Afridi. Pakistan didn't try to hide their pleasure at Trott's departure.

They took control a short while later when Strauss fell to his favourite cut shot, picking out backward point perfectly off Shoaib and it left two new batsmen having to settle with the scoring-rate rising. Paul Collingwood, who missed the previous match with a virus, has struggled for most of the season and looked bereft of form before inside-edging Gul into his stumps as England slipped to 149 for 4.

Ian Bell, recalled to the side following his match-winning 107 in the CB40 final on this ground on Saturday, played himself in calmly but having used up 41 balls to reach 27 then drove Ajmal straight to cover. It was down to Eoin Morgan, but he couldn't find anyone to stay with him as Michael Yardy chopped on and Tim Bresnan played all round Gul. England's last chance went when Morgan skied a drive and Mohammad Yousuf, never the sharpest in the field, took a fine running catch at mid-off.

Pakistan's innings had progressed in fits and starts, but was ended in grandstand style by Razzaq who plundered 10 boundaries in the last two overs from James Anderson and Bresnan. Splaying his front leg to drive through the off side during the final Powerplay the quicks couldn't adjust amid the onslaught.

Afridi, playing his 300th ODI, had also supplied his own fireworks and played like a man wanting to make more than a cricketing point. He launched his fourth ball, the last one of Graeme Swann's impressive four-wicket spell, into the second tier of the pavilion and the MCC member who tried to catch it finished with a bloodied face. The Pakistan physio came to his aid, and the member insisted on staying in his seat to watch the remainder of the action. Afridi reached 33 off 16 deliveries at the peak of his assault, but miscued a slower ball from Bresnan to long-on.

The star of England's bowling display was Swann with a wonderful ten overs of offspin. Announced as one of the four candidates for ICC Cricketer of the Year - having been omitted from the original long list in a major blunder - he made his customary first-over breakthrough with a classical offspinner's dismissal as Asad Shafiq was bowled through the gate when he tried to drive. Yet, even the normally jovial Swann couldn't manage his usual expansive celebrations - a sure sign that England would rather not have been playing this match.

Swann added Yousuf, Mohammad Hafeez and Fawad Alam to his haul and Pakistan were fading, but they had power to come and Razzaq's blows proved decisive. However this series, which has included some outstanding one-day cricket, will only be remembered for the wrong reasons. Whoever wins on Wednesday.

Pakistan in England, 2010

Angry England hit back at Butt remarks

September 20, 2010

 

	Andrew Strauss: not impressed by Ijaz Butt's remarks.

The England & Wales Cricket Board has announced that it will be taking legal action against Ijaz Butt, the chairman of the PCB, after describing his allegations that England's players accepted a bribe to lose the third ODI at The Oval as "wholly irresponsible and completely without foundation".

However, in a strongly-worded statement on behalf of the ECB and the England team, it was announced that the final two matches of Pakistan's tour would go ahead as planned. "It remains in the best interests of world cricket, the players and in particular of cricket supporters that the tour should continue, and it would set a dangerous precedent to call off a tour based on the misguided and inaccurate remarks made by one individual."

Butt's allegations were of such extraordinary gravity that the ECB waited almost 24 hours before formulating its official response, and their statement was only issued after a lengthy meeting between the ECB and Team England, which stretched late into Sunday night. Present at the discussions were the ECB's chairman Giles Clarke, the CEO David Collier, the managing director of England Cricket, Hugh Morris, and the England Captain and Coach, Andrew Strauss and Andrew Flower, who went on to have a subsequent meeting with all of the England team.

"The team deplores and rejects unreservedly the suggestion that any England cricketer was involved in manipulating the outcome, or any individual element, of the third NatWest Series ODI at the Brit Insurance Oval between England and Pakistan last week," read a statement issued on behalf of the England team. "The players fully understand their responsibilities as representatives of their country, and would not countenance giving less than 100% in any match they play."

In the circumstances, England's players were, by the admission of their captain, Andrew Strauss, extremely reluctant to complete the series, and the rawness of the emotions between the two sides was demonstrated by an altercation in the Nursery Ground nets shortly before the start of the the Lord's ODI, between Jonathan Trott and Wahab Riaz. There had been some speculation that the toss would be delayed as a result, but the game eventually got underway as scheduled.

"We would like to express our surprise, dismay and outrage at the comments made by Mr Butt yesterday," said Strauss. "We are deeply concerned and disappointed that our integrity as cricketers has been brought into question. We refute these allegations completely and will be working closely with the ECB to explore all legal options open to us.

"Under the circumstances, we have strong misgivings about continuing to play the last two games of the current series and urge the Pakistani team and management to distance themselves from Mr Butt's allegations. We do, however, recognise our responsibilities to the game of cricket, and in particular to the cricket-loving public in this country, and will therefore endeavour to fulfil these fixtures to the best of our ability."

Angus Porter, Chief Executive of the PCA, added: "The players appreciate the difficult position the ECB finds itself in, and is fully supportive of the actions taken by the Board, along with the ICC, to ensure all allegations of wrong-doing are properly investigated and acted upon. We will continue to cooperate closely with the ECB, with the aim of ensuring that the work to root out corruption is not derailed by mischievous attempts to detract attention from the real issues."

The ECB reiterated its faith in the integrity of its players by expressing its gratitude for the "outstanding conduct" of the players since the first allegations surfaced against the Pakistan team during the fourth Test at Lord's, and added that it would be taking "all legal and disciplinary action which may result from Mr Butt's comments".

"The ECB will continue to offer ICC its full support in taking the strongest possible action against all areas of corruption and is pledged to offering the ACSU its full support at all times," continued the statement. "Given the current sensitivities surrounding this issue, ECB believes it is imperative that any serious allegations made against another team or player should be presented through the proper channels to the ACSU. Both ECB and Team England view the comments made by Mr Butt as defamatory and not based in fact.

Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: "I welcome the decision by England to play the last two games of this tour. It is a pragmatic decision that is in the best interests of world cricket."

England v Pakistan, 4th ODI, Lord's

Pakistan considered police action over nets incident

September 21, 2010

 

	Jonathan Trott squared up to Wahab Riaz in the nets at Lord's.

Shahid Afridi, Pakistan's one-day captain, has said that his team had considered filing a police complaint against Jonathan Trott after his altercation with fast bowler Wahab Riaz in the nets before Monday's fourth ODI at Lord's.

His version of events, however, drew a strong response from Angus Porter, the chief executive of the PCA, who told ESPNcricinfo that the incident had been "six of one, and half a dozen of the other", and that to portray Trott as the sole aggressor was inaccurate.

In a visible sign of the tensions existing between the two teams in the wake of Ijaz Butt's allegations against the England team, Trott and Wahab squared up on the nursery ground before the start of play, with the two players eventually being separated by the England batting coach, Graham Gooch.

Although the details of the incident were sketchy at the time, Afridi later gave his version of events to the Pakistan news channel, Geo TV. "When Riaz was returning after warming up Trott called him a 'match-fixer' and that he [Riaz] was up to harming Test cricket and hit his face with the pad," Afridi was quoted as saying. "It could have been a police case because it is a crime to hit someone. But we showed a big heart and did not press for it."

Afridi also confirmed that Pakistan had considered a making a protest in the wake of the confrontation. "There was talk of not going in for the toss because of the incident," he said. "But better sense prevailed because we wanted to play the match and we want this series to end properly.

"The match referee [Jeff Crowe] called both players and Trott apologised for his remarks and the matter ended there as far as we are concerned."

Porter, however, did not wish Afridi's take on the incident to go unchallenged. "It is not only unfortunate that Shahid Afridi spoke out on a matter that the match referee described as minor, but we wish to place on record that his version of events is not one that we subscribe to," he told ESPNcricinfo. "A line has now been drawn under the incident, but that does not mean we do not wish to set the record straight. Afridi has attempted to come across as magnanimous, but that is not how we understand the issue to have played out."

Riaz is one of four Pakistan players, along with Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, to have been interviewed by police following the allegations of spot-fixing that arose during the Lord's Test last month. The ECB chief executive, David Collier, described the incident as "regrettable" but "fairly minor in nature".

Pakistan in England 2010

Swann wanted to pull out of one-dayer

September 24, 2010

 

	'I was dead against playing. And I wasn't alone, plenty of other players had strong reservations.

Graeme Swann, the England offspinner, wanted to pull out of the fourth one-day international at Lord's on Monday following Ijaz Butt's claim that England took money to lose the previous match at The Oval. It was only after extensive negotiations between the ECB and the players that the game went ahead, but Swann has revealed the players were ready to take drastic action.

Andrew Strauss was involved in meetings that went into the early hours of Monday morning with the board and the Professional Cricketers' Association before the decision was taken to continue the one-day series. The ECB issued strongly worded statements in response to Butt's outburst and are still set on pursuing legal action against the Pakistan board chairman unless he makes a public apology for claiming England took "enormous amounts of money" to lose at The Oval.

"I couldn't wait for those games to end and get the hell out of there. It was a dreadful experience and one I never want to experience again," Swann told The Sun. "In fact, I didn't want to play at all in the one-dayer on Monday. I won't lie about that - I was dead against playing. And I wasn't alone, plenty of other players had strong reservations.

"But Straussy, who has been brilliant throughout this episode, persuaded us the best thing we could do was get on with it as a team and make sure we won the series. He was proved to be right."

Swann, who took 11 wickets at 19.00 during the series which England won 3-2 with a 121-run success at the Rose Bowl, insisted it was no empty threat from the players about taking Butt to court over his claims.

"I want to say I agree 100 per cent with the decision to send a letter on behalf of the England team demanding an apology from PCB chairman Ijaz Butt. If we do not receive a satisfactory response, we will start legal proceedings," Swann said. "Mr Butt's comments about bookmakers claiming we deliberately lost the third one-dayer in return for 'enormous amounts of money' were as offensive as they could possibly be. They went against everything I stand for as a professional sportsman.

"We felt powerless as players because as soon as somebody says something like that and it is read by cricket followers, our name is sullied. You can't go around accusing people and pointing fingers with completely unsubstantiated claims. In the civilised world, it is not something that should happen. I hope Mr Butt sees sense and retracts his claims or there must be severe consequences for him."

Naved meets Ijaz Butt, appeal adjourned again

Cricinfo staff

September 24, 2010

 

	Rana Naved-ul-Hasan finally met PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, but his appeal has been adjourned again

After several unsuccessful attempts, Pakistan fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has finally met PCB chairman Ijaz Butt to plead his case against the one-year ban imposed on him by the board.

"Friday's meeting was good and I hope to get good news soon," Naved told AFP.

However, Naved's appeal, which was supposed to be heard on September 25 by the tribunal headed by retired Justice Irfan Qadir, has been adjourned again. "We will announce a new date on Saturday," PCB lawyer Talib Rizvi said.

Naved was one of seven players punished by the PCB after Pakistan's winless tour of Australia earlier this year. He was fined Rs 2 million in addition to his one-year ban. The other six players have already had their bans revoked and fines lifted or reduced. Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf, both of whom were banned, have since been recalled to the Pakistan side as well.

Naved has played nine Tests, 74 ODIs and four Twenty20s for Pakistan. He said his county experience could have been useful on the recent England tour. "I have lot of cricket left in me and I am desperate to play for Pakistan. It was disappointing to see Pakistan lose on the England tour where I could have been successful because of my experience in county cricket."

Pakistan news

'I am better than my stats suggest' - Sami

September 25, 2010

	Mohammad Sami averages more than 50 with the ball in Tests

 Sami, the Pakistan fast bowler, is targeting a return to the national team for the series against South Africa in the UAE in October, and the World Cup early next year. Sami last made an international appearance in May, during the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, and has been out of reckoning since. However, with the uncertainty over the availability of fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif following the spot-fixing controversy, Sami could be in the frame for a comeback.

"I've not taken much time off during the off season and have been working hard on my game at the Rashid Latif Cricket Academy, as well as training on my own," Sami told PakPassion.net. "I want to ensure that I am 100% ready when the new season starts. I am hopeful that the hard work will pay off and I can be given another chance for Pakistan."

Sami began his international career on a high, grabbing eight wickets on Test debut in 2001, against New Zealand in Auckland, and a hat-trick against Sri Lanka in Lahore in his third game. He formed a promising opening bowling combination with Shoaib Akhtar, and was tipped for a bright future, but failed to meet expectations, averaging 50.73 in 34 Tests to date.

"Sometimes statistics don't always tell the full story," Sami said. "I don't want to offer excuses, but those that have followed my career will appreciate that I have not had the best of luck. I am a better bowler than my statistics suggest and I will prove that in the coming months and years if given the opportunity.

Sami was dropped from the national team in 2007 and he went on to participate in the unauthorised Indian Cricket League before returning to the official fold. Since his return, he has played just one Test, the controversial defeat against Australia in Sydney in January. "I was given one opportunity in Australia and took three wickets in the first innings. I removed the top three Australian batsmen and felt in good shape, but then I never played in the next match. I'm desperate to be given another chance and to show what I can do, if given a decent run in the side."

Sami, currently the captain of the domestic team Karachi Blues, has a significantly better ODI record, averaging 28.44 for his 118 wickets. Selection to the 2011 World Cup squad means more to him than just making an international comeback. "The memory of the 2007 World Cup still haunts all of the squad," he said. The tournament itself was a disaster for Pakistan cricket and of course Bob Woolmer's death was heart-breaking for all of us. I want to put that terrible tournament behind me and to make the 2011 World Cup a success for Pakistan."

Spot-fixing controversy

Ijaz Butt's UK trip on ICC members' radar

Osman Samiuddin and Nagraj Gollapudi

September 28, 2010

	The ICC will wait to see how the spat between ECB and PCB plays out before deciding on how to deal with Ijaz Butt.

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has left for the UK on a visit that comes amid growing tension between the two national cricket boards, and with the ICC watching developments closely. ESPNcricinfo understands that the possibility of suspending Butt from his role as an ICC director - for his extraordinary outburst against the ECB and the ICC - has "crossed the minds" of officials, but such an extreme step will be averted if the boards of England and Pakistan achieve some sort of rapprochement.

In any case, there is a possibility that the matter might feature at the next ICC meeting, in Dubai, from October 12-13. At that meeting, Butt was reportedly aiming to table his own resolution calling for Lorgat's removal.

Butt - whose agenda in the UK is not fully known - has been on the warpath with the ICC and ECB since the spot-fixing scandal broke late last month. He is unhappy with the ICC's provisional suspension of three Pakistan players, arguing that a separate police investigation should have been allowed to reach its conclusion before any such action was taken. Last week, an enraged Butt launched a series of extraordinary public attacks on the England side, the ECB and the ICC; this, the morning after what ESPNcricinfo understands to have been an amicable dinner meeting between Butt and Lorgat in Dubai.

The outburst seems to have prompted top ICC officials to give more than a passing thought to suspending Butt as ICC director - all board heads of full member countries automatically hold this post in the ICC. The suspension would be for a breach of the post's own, separate code of ethics, which require individual directors to take a broader, more global view of the game; in this code, for example, casting allegations against a fellow member, such as Butt did against England, constitutes a breach. It is believed that there might be several cases over the last two years where Butt has breached this code.

Much will depend on how the PCB's spat with the ECB plays out. "Those [thoughts of suspending an ICC director] are things that are exercising ICC minds," a source told ESPNcricinfo. "They'd rather wait to see what transpires between ECB and PCB. The ECB have made it clear they want to take some action so there is no point the ICC getting involved in what could be a legal case. The ICC does have a code of ethics and it has crossed their minds but there might be no need to take this action if there is a legal action against Butt. If he does apologise, the ICC have to see what to do because if he has apologized then what can you do? Nobody has come forward and made any noise of suspension yet but that doesn't mean nobody will do that. Someone might have something to say at the next board meeting."

Butt claimed "there was loud and clear talk in bookie circles of English players taking enormous amounts of money" in the Oval ODI, after which the ECB sent a letter to Butt asking for a full apology. Unless one is made, says the ECB, legal action will be taken against Butt. Reports suggest that Butt is unwilling to apologise. Last week there were discussions (but no decisions were made) in the PCB's corridors of power over the possibility of initiating a tit-for-tat legal action against Jonathon Trott as counter; the batsman had nearly come to blows with fast bowler Wahab Riaz in nets before the fourth ODI at Lord's after an altercation. Butt's trip to the UK - with the board's legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi - raises the possibility that he might engage in efforts to reconcile with the ECB.

Every ICC director is obligated, under the ethics code, to report or refer what they believe to have been a breach of the code to the ICC ethics officer. Any motion for suspension will require a two-thirds majority vote from directors to be implemented. The signs are not good for the PCB, for the tiff with the ECB is indicative of an administration that has made few friends in two years; only last year the Asian bloc was upset over clumsy attempts by the PCB to have the 2011 World Cup moved away from the subcontinent; the relationship with the BCCI is dependent on political ties, which are not good; the PCB was one of the boards not in favour of Australia and New Zealand's nomination of John Howard for the role of ICC vice-president. It also remains with the ambit of powers of the ICC president or the ethics officer to suspend a director if a breach has occurred.

Relations between the PCB and ICC itself, meanwhile, have been tense almost from the day Butt took over as chairman in October 2008. In one of his very first press conferences in Lahore, Butt annoyed the ICC when he publicly revealed information from confidential meetings ICC directors had on the IPL and ICL.

Since then, matters have become more acute. The most serious clash came over the 2011 World Cup last March; Pakistan was removed as one of the venues from the tournament after the terror attacks on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore and a generally unstable security situation in the country. The PCB threatened to take the ICC to court over the decision, though eventually a compromise was agreed upon. The spot-fixing scandal has stretched ties to breaking point.

Butt's suspension, though, would not mean suspending the PCB as a full member or harming Pakistan in any way. The suspension would apply only to Butt and prevent him from attending ICC meetings. In such cases, the ICC is likely to ask the PCB to appoint a replacement.

Spot-fixing controversy

Suspended trio picked for regional tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff

September 27, 2010

 

	The suspended trio needs ICC clearance before they can play in the tournament.

Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan players provisionally suspended by the ICC following spot-fixing allegations, have been selected as reserves by their regional sides for a domestic Twenty20 tournament likely to be staged in October. Rawalpindi picked Amir, Lahore selected Butt, and Asif was included by the defending champion Sialkot.

The ICC suspended the trio following an undercover operation by the News of the World, during which Mazhar Majeed - allegedly a player agent - claimed Asif and Amir had bowled deliberate no-balls against England at Lord's, and that Butt was also involved. The trio is currently awaiting the dates for their ICC hearing as well as a decision by the UK's Crown Prosecution Service as to whether a criminal case will go ahead against them.

It is unlikely, however, that any of them will actually take part in the tournament. According to the anti-corruption code of conduct, the trio will not be able to play unless the ICC clears them; the tournament is due to begin mid-October.

"No player or player support personnel who is the subject of any provisional suspension may, during the period of any provisional suspension, play, coach or otherwise participate or be involved in any capacity in any international match or (any other kind of match, function, event or activity, other than authorised anti-corruption education or rehabilitation programs) that is authorised, organised, sanctioned, recognised or supported in any way by the ICC, a National Cricket Federation or any member of a National Cricket Federation," the code reads.

Rawalpindi chief Naeem Akhtar admitted Amir playing is unlikely. He told the Associated Press, "If Amir gets cleared before the Twenty20 tournament and we do not submit his name to the PCB for it, we could not play him in the tournament," he said.

Spot-fixing controversy

Yawar Saeed quits as Pakistan manager

ESPNcricinfo staff

September 27, 2010

 

	Yawar Saeed's resignation was widely expected

Yawar Saeed has stepped down as manager of the Pakistan team, as had been widely expected. The PCB announced in a brief statement that Saeed had asked the board chairman to be relieved of his duties and that Ijaz Butt had agreed.

Saeed had indicated several times that Pakistan's long tour of England would be his last. During the tour the team played two Twenty20s and two Tests against Australia, and four Tests, two Twenty20s and five ODIs against England.

The tour began well, with Pakistan splitting the Tests against Australia, but became troubled following accusations of spot-fixing against Pakistan captain Salman Butt, and fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, on the last day the Lord's Test. All three have been provisionally suspended by the ICC while it investigates the allegations.

The relationship between the PCB and the ECB deteriorated over the course of the tour, culminating in the ECB threatening to take legal action over comments made by Ijaz Butt that appeared to accuse the England side of fixing as well.

Saeed, whose father Mian Mohammad Saeed was Pakistan's first-ever captain in their unofficial matches before they received Test status, has been manager of several Pakistan sides over the years, most recently last year, when he stepped down after the Champions Trophy. At the time there was speculation of differences between him and the then captain Younis Khan. But eventually, after the disastrous tour of Australia earlier this year, Saeed was convinced to return at Ijaz Butt's request. Normally, managerial appointments are made by the PCB on a tour by tour basis and no longer than that. 

Player Of The Week - Umar Gul

Pakistan fast bowler Umer Gul has been named as the Cricket World® Player Of The Week after his six-wicket haul helped his side to a 23-run win over England in the third One-Day International at The Oval.
After Pakistan were dismissed for 241, Gul returned six for 42 as England were bowled out for 218 in reply.
Gul's mastery of reverse swing proved too much for England's batsmen to handle and he dismissed Andrew Strauss, Eoin Morgan, Michael Yardy, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann on his way to career-best figures in all one-day cricket.

His efforts earned Pakistan their first win since allegations of spot-fixing against them first surfaced earlier on in the tour and although they went on to win at The Oval, further allegations of fixing during their batting innings later emerged.
Gul's performance, however, remains a rare bright moment on a difficult tour for Pakistan on and off the pitch.
Other contenders for the weekly award included Strauss and Morgan for their half-centuries in the same game.

Pakistan Level Series With 38-Run Win At Lord's

Pakistan levelled their five-match One-Day International series with England by winning the fourth match by 38 runs at Lord's to set up a decider at The Rose Bowl.
Pakistan made 265 for seven after Mohammad Hafeez stroked a half-century and Graeme Swann took four wickets for the home side but after making a solid start, England fell away to be dismissed for 227 in reply.
Having won the toss and chosen to bat, Pakistan got off to a good start with Hafeez combining well with opening partner Kamran Akmal (28), who was first to fall when he was caught by Andrew Strauss off Stuart Broad.
Swann then struck to have Asad Shafiq bowled for 11 and Mohammad Yousuf caught behind by Steve Davies for three. Hafeez and Fawad Alam (29) were next to be dismissed, caught by Strauss, and then bowled by the off-spinner who returned four for 37.
Hafeez hit five fours and a six in his innings, facing 100 balls and after Umar Akmal, who made 21, and Shahid Afridi a belligerent 37 in 22 balls, it was left to Abdul Razzaq to finish off the innings with some big hitting and he blasted an unbeaten 44 in 20 deliveries with eight fours and a six.
Broad returned two for 44 with Tim Bresnan the other player to pick up a wicket.
England's openers Davies and Strauss then tore into the Pakistan bowling, racing to 113 in 20 overs before Davies (49) was bowled by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal.
Jonathan Trott (4) was bowled by Shahid Afridi before Strauss cut Shoaib Akhtar to Alam at backward point for a well-constructed 68 in 72 balls.
The returning Paul Collingwood (4) and Ian Bell (27) failed to contribute with the sort of scores England needed to get back in the game and wickets continued to fall as the required run-rate began to rise.
Akhtar (3-59) produced his best spell of the series to dismiss Michael Yardy for nine and then Eoin Morgan for 28 while Umar Gul starred with the old ball once again to return four for 32 and seal victory for Pakistan.
All four of his victims - Collingwood, Bresnan (1), Swann (12) and Broad (2) were bowled as England were dismissed in 46.1 overs.

Coach Waqar Younis

 England tour was difficult both on and off the field:

Waqar Pakistan Coach Waqar Younis has said that the near three-month-long tour of England, which was marred by 'spot-fixing' allegations, had been difficult "on and off the field".

Waqar's comments came after the team returned home on Thursday.

"If you take into account the tour to Sri Lanka before we went to England, it was four months on the trot and the tour of England was difficult both on and off the field," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Waqar, as saying.

He also admitted that the controversies during the England matches were one of the lows of the tour.

"We had successes against Australia which is pleasing, but because of the controversies it was tough against England because you need extra effort to gear the players when you see a report in the newspaper every other day," Waqar added.

Pakistan had arrived in England in late June to play a neutral venue series against Australia and England.

They won both Twenty20 matches against Australia and squared the two-Test series 1-1, but later lost both the Twenty20 matches against England and were defeated 3-1 in Tests and 3-2 in the ODI series.

Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were provisionally suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC ) and questioned by British police over an alleged plot to bowl deliberate no-balls during last month's Test at Lord's.

Afridi's Interview

The Pakistan squad returned home after completing one of the most acrimonious tours in history, with limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi calling the four-month trip to England the "most difficult" of his career.

 

"It was tough because of the controversies and became very difficult to cope with. Every time we went out of the hotel people passed remarks against us," Afridi said on arrival in Karachi. "The best part of the whole tour was that the players showed unity even in difficult times and gave a good fight in the one-day series against England."


Pakistan's coach, Waqar Younis, said the tour had taken a toll on the team's support staff as well because of the effort needed to keep the players upbeat amid the barrage of allegations. "If you take into account the tour to Sri Lanka [for the Asia Cup] before we went to England, it was four months on the trot and the tour of England was difficult both on and off the field," Waqar, who flew into Lahore, said.

"We had success against Australia which was pleasing, but because of the controversies it was tough against England. You needed that extra effort to gee up the players when you see a report in the newspaper every other day."


Pakistan's next international assignment is a home series against South Africa in the UAE in October-November. Afridi, who ended a four-year hiatus from Tests this year when he led Pakistan in the very first Test of the summer against Australia only to retire again from the format immediately after losing it, did not rule out another comeback for the Test leg of that tour. "I will think about it and if the team needs it, I may consider playing the Test series against South Africa," he said.


The tour of England had begun positively for Pakistan, with victories in the two Twenty20 internationals against Australia. Despite losing that first Test at Lord's and Afridi's retirement, Salman Butt took over the captaincy and led Pakistan to a series-leveling victory at Headingley. It was Pakistan's first Test win over Australia in nearly 15 years.


The Test series against England began poorly, with defeats at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston before Pakistan kept the contest alive with a victory at The Oval. During their defeat at Lord's, however, the series was plunged into scandal when a British tabloid ran a story alleging that Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were involved in spot-fixing by bowling deliberate no-balls.


The players under scrutiny were questioned by the police and provisionally suspended by the ICC before the Twenty20 series between Pakistan and England began. Pakistan lost both Twenty20 matches, and the one-day series that followed was at 2-1 when the ICC announced that it was investigating the Oval ODI, which Pakistan had won, after receiving information from another tabloid that bookies were aware of certain scoring patterns that would take place before the match.


It was decided that the last two ODIs would be played but, before the fourth game at Lord's, the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt alleged that England's players had thrown the third match as part of a wider conspiracy to "defraud Pakistan and Pakistan cricket", plunging the tour deeper into controversy.

The ECB reacted by issuing a strong statement deploring the allegations and said it would seek an apology from Butt or take legal action. There was also an altercation between Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz and England batsman Jonathan Trott during a net session ahead of the Lord's game.

Pakistan eventually leveled the series 2-2 before England won at the Rose Bowl to take the series.

Afridi wants review system in ODIs

KARACHI: Pakistan one-day captain Shahid Afridi has called for the introduction of a system to review umpire decisions in one-day matches, saying that one wrong decision can decide the outcome.

The International Cricket Council introduced the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) on a trial basis in Tests in June 2008, allowing teams to challenge on-field umpire decisions and refer them to a television umpire.

Teams have two opportunities per innings to contest an on-field decision, but the most contentious issue with the system is that hosts have to pay for the technology costs – unacceptable to several countries.

But Afridi said UDRS should be implemented in one-day matches to eliminate umpiring errors.

“I think the referral system is a must in one-day matches,” Afridi told Geo television after his team’s 121-run loss against England in the fifth and final one-day at Southampton, England on Wednesday.

During that match, opener Kamran Akmal’s controversial leg-before decision from English umpire Ian Gould derailed Pakistan’s run-chase of 257.

The television replays showed Kamran edged the ball onto his pads.

England took the series 3-2.

“One decision can change the whole match, some leg-befores... and I am not talking of this match only, also in previous matches, and if such things (wrong umpiring decisions) happen then it changes the whole match,” said Afridi.

England captain Andrew Strauss was given not out by West Indian umpire Billy Doctrove, despite a strong appeal by bowler Umar Gul and wicketkeeper Kamran.

Strauss, then 38, went on to make 126 as England, replying to Pakistan’s 294 for eight, finished on 295 for six. – AFP