G1: Pakistan Defeat England

A youthful Pakistani outfit has defeated an equally youthful English outfit in the opening match of the NatWest challenge in Manchester.

In his debut one-day international as captain, Michael Vaughan won the toss and elected to bat on the Old Trafford wicket.

The English side held few survivors from their last ODI match - Marcus Trescothick, Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles and James Anderson - and included 3 debutants in Rikki Clarke, Anthony McGrath and James Troughton, while Darren Gough, Vikram Solanki and Chris Read were making their long-awaited return to the national fold.

The new-look side then ran out to an imposing 0/45 after 7 overs before Trescothick was dismissed by a beautiful delivery from Mohammad Sami, extracting the edge and finding Rashid Latif's gloves after making 18.

Solanki made a promising 36, justifying his recall to the top level following his run-a-ball knock. When he was bowled by Mohammad Hafeez, England were 2/64 at the completion of 10 overs.

James Troughton and captain Vaughan then built a 32-run stand before Umar Gul snared the double breakthrough of the left-handed debutant (6) and the skipper (27) both caught behind.

Andrew Flintoff and Anthony McGrath then set about a rescue mission, with the star-player and the seasons star-performer adding 46 for the 5th wicket over the best part of 12 overs.

Flintoff's brisk 39, however, came to an end when he handed Abdur Razzaq a wicket in the 32nd over, exposing England's lower order to the surprisingly efficient Pakistani attack looking more competent with Azhar Mahmood as the premier bowler.

Shoiab Malik's triple breakthrough ripped the heart out of the English batting as the Saqlain Mushtaq type-clone snared debutant Rikki Clarke for 0, Chris Read for 5 and McGrath for a composed 33 in his 10 over spell.

Ashley Giles was run out for just 3, and thanks to Darren Gough's unbeaten 14 with Jimmy Anderson (6*), England were able to sneak up to 204 following their allotted overs.

For Pakistan, Malik took 3/28 from his 10 overs while fellow offie Hafeez finished with 1/41. Mohammad Sami bowled far better than his figures of 1/52 suggest, Umar Gul took 2/33 and Abdur Razzaq the wicket of Flintoff.

Pakistan's run chase then began in smooth fashion, reaching 60 before a wicket was lost.

Imran Nazir gifted Rikki Clarke a wicket with a long hop in his first ball of ODI cricket, leaving Pakistani fans naturally disappointed at the incompetence of the shot and the fact that Nazir had made a polished 33 at the time.

Yasir Hameed added 23 runs to the Pakistani cause before he was dismissed by an impressive Ashley Giles, leaving Hafeez at the crease and the guests at a comfortable 2/116.

The next 2 wickets both fell with the total on 139 as Michael Vaughan's fielding and Jimmy Anderson's bowling completed a double breakthrough.

Yousuf Youhana was the first to go when he was run out clearly from a direct hit after making 8, while Younis Khan was clean bowled in the next over for 0.

Mohammad Hafeez's sturdy knock then finally came to an end following his well-fought 69. He handled the new ball with aplomb, while mixing singles and two's as a support batsmen in the middle overs before succumbing to Anderson.

Shoiab Malik (24) and Azhar Mahmood (16) edged Pakistan ever closer to the required 205 before both fell to Darren Gough in between the dismissal of captain Latif for 1.

Abdur Razzaq's 12*, along with the support of the unbeaten Sami with 7, allowed Pakistan to scrape through to victory.

For England, Anderson was unusually expensive, going for 59 from his 10 overs despite taking 3 wickets. Darren Gough enjoyed a solid return with 2/38, Ashley Giles 1/29 and Rikki Clarke his maiden wicket at the top level.

Scores

England 9/204 (A Flintoff 39, Shoiab Malik 3/26)

Pakistan 7/208 (Mohammad Hafeez 69, J Anderson 3/59)

Pakistan won by 3 wickets.

Cricket Web Player-of-the-Match: Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan).

Pakistan lead the 3-match series 1-0.

Posted by Andre