Pakistan Fight Back Against England

Pakistan fought back to inflict an eight-run defeat on England in the first of three Twenty20 matches.

Chasing 145, Kevin Pietersen (33) and Ravi Bopara (39) put England in a good position but Umar Gul took three quick wickets to revive Pakistan's hopes.

Needing 18 off Junaid Khan's final over, England's Graeme Swann and Jonny Bairstow finished short on 136-6.

Earlier, Swann took 3-13 but Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq's stand of 71 helped Pakistan to a respectable 144-6.

Ultimately their stand proved crucial as England's batsmen fell just short in a tight run chase under the lights.

England retained Pietersen at the top of the order where he had been so successful in the one-day series whitewash and brought back Bopara after a back injury.

Pietersen looked to dominate from the start and England, despite a maiden over from Gul, reached 40-0 after five overs.

But Pietersen, having flat-batted a powerful six to the previous ball, was out for 33 in the sixth over when Asad Shafiq took a well-judged catch right on the boundary edge.

Craig Kieswetter was bowled trying to make room for a big hit and Eoin Morgan went for 14 to Mohammad Hafeez's quicker ball.

Bairstow was almost out first ball, his reverse sweep just falling short of the Saeed Ajmal, but Bopara looked determined to see England home.

The Essex batsman smashed a straight six off Khan and kept the scoreboard ticking along nicely before walking across his crease and being bowled behind his legs by a Gul yorker.

Jos Buttler, having stepped across his stumps in an attempt to flick Gul away, fell to a one-handed catch by Ajmal for three, and next ball Samit Patel was trapped leg before playing across the line of an inswinger.

The inxeperienced Bairstow and Swann struggled to get the ball away, with spinner Saeed Ajmal conceding just four runs off the penultimate over to leave England needing 18 off the final over.

But Khan kept his discipline and ensured his side broke their losing run.

Earlier, Pakistan opener Awais Zia gave his side a bright start on his debut, hitting two powerful boundaries off Steven Finn's first over and then smashing the paceman for a six into the second tier of the stand in his next over.

But Finn got his revenge with a well-disguised slower delivery which Zia lofted into Stuart Broad's hands for an easy catch at mid-off.

Swann dropped Hafeez off another slow delivery, this time from Jade Dernbach, but the spinner's second over with the ball halted Pakistan's momentum.

The spinner got lucky with the dismissal of Shafiq when it looked like he had already broken the wicket with his elbow before claiming a run-out, as four wickets fell for eight runs.

Two balls later Hafeez swept Swann straight to Bairstow and fell for 23, while next over, Swann tempted Shahid Afridi down the pitch and the batsman flicked the ball straight to Morgan at mid-wicket.

Umar Akmal faced three balls before hoicking Swann horribly and Dernbach raced in to take a superb diving catch and hand the bowler a double wicket maiden.

Malik and Misbah batted sensibly to get their side back into the match, both smashing a six each as Pakistan built their total.

They put on 71 before Malik was out to the last ball of the match when trying to smash Dernbach over the ropes but their partnership ultimately made the difference.

Cook in ODI Delight Against Pakistan

England captain Alastair Cook was delighted to put a "frustrating" Test series whitewash to Pakistan behind them with a 130-run win in the first one-day international in Abu Dhabi.

Cook led the way with 137, while there were also good performances from Ravi Bopara (50) and Steven Finn (4-34).

“The way Ravi played, coming in after we lost two quick wickets, was a good knock. He took the pressure off me and I just batted as long as I could.”

"It's been a hard tour, it's been frustrating," said the one-day skipper.

"We haven't played to our potential but today showed what good players we have. It's always good to start well."

Despite their Test series tormentor-in-chief Saeed Ajmal taking 5-43, England managed to post 260-7 - thanks in main to a third-wicket partnership of 131 between Essex duo Cook, who won the man-of-the-match award for his third one-day century, and Bopara.

And, once Finn ripped out Pakistan's top four inside nine overs with a devastating new ball spell, the tourists were always on course for victory.

It put the smiles back on England faces, after they were humiliated in the five-day format - losing all three matches by heavy margins.

Asked what had made the difference after such a disappointing showing in the Tests, Cook said: "I don't know. It's a different format. The pressure of men around the bat is gone.

"We got a really good score on the board. The way Ravi played, coming in after we lost two quick wickets, was a good knock. He took the pressure off me and I just batted as long as I could.

"Then Steven Finn and the bowlers made it really hard for Pakistan."

All matches are day-night; ODIs start at 1100 GMT, T20s at 1600

Pakistan captain Misbah Ul-Haq laid the blame for defeat at the feet of his batsmen, who failed to deal with England's seam attack before spinner Samit Patel (3-26) finished the job.

"They played wonderful cricket," said Misbah. "Their captain led the team by example. His innings was the key for them.

"Our batting is a matter of concern for us - 260 wasn't a big score here.

"Batting under lights is difficult, but I think we have to do a bit of disciplined batting against the new ball.

"It is a little bit difficult with the new ball but otherwise the wicket played very well.

"It was just a bad day. One bad performance. We'll come back, do the basics right and let's see. It's really important for us to come back."

Pakistan v England fixtures

15 February: 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi

18 February: 3rd ODI, Dubai

21 February: 4th ODI, Dubai

23 February: 1st T20, Dubai

25 February: 2nd T20, Dubai

27 February: 3rd T20, Abu Dhabi

Afghanistan in ODI Loss to Pakistan

Afghanistan suffered a seven-wicket loss to Pakistan in their first ever one-day international against a Test-playing nation in Sharjah.

Half-centuries from Younus Khan and Imran Farhat ensured Pakistan comfortably chased down Afghanistan's 195 all out with 12.5 overs to spare.

Opener Karim Sadiq top-scored for Afghanistan with 40, while Pakistan's Shahid Afridi took 5-36.

Despite the war, Afghanistan is one of the fastest growing cricket nations.

The country earned one-day international status in 2009 while narrowly failing to qualify for the 2011 World Cup, although they did qualify for the 2010 World Twenty20.

Afghanistan will once again attempt to reach this year's World Twenty20 when the qualifying tournament gets under way in the United Arab Emirates next month.

Pakistan's win maintained their unbeaten tour of the UAE, having beaten England 3-0 in the recent Test series .

They begin their four-match ODI series against England in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Pakistan Celebrate England Whitewash

Pakistan completed a 3-0 whitewash of world number one side England with a 71-run win on day four of the final Test in Dubai.

Chasing 324 for victory, England went from 36-0 at the start of the day to 252 all out in the evening session.

Opener Alastair Cook hit 49 and all of the misfiring middle order made starts, but wickets fell regularly and the result never seemed in much doubt.

Matt Prior provided some late resistance but was left stranded on 49 as Pakistan completed victory with a day to spare.

Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal picked up 4-67, taking his series tally to 24, and seam bowler Umar Gul finished with 4-61.

England's shortcomings, with bat but not ball, have been all too evident over the past three weeks - and it is a measure of their fallibility that they should contrive to lose this last Test after having Pakistan 44-7 on the first morning.

Pakistan recovered to 99 all out, yet this is the first example since 1907 of a team winning a Test match after falling short of three figures at their first attempt.

So often in this series, England's out-of-form batsmen have simply been unable to establish themselves at the crease in these alien climes against Pakistan spinners Ajmal and Abdur Rehman.

The final act was merely a variation on that theme, almost everyone coming through the 'danger period' England identified at the start of each batsman's innings only to then get out in pairs just when it seemed the habitual trend of failure might conceivably be bucked.

The afternoon wickets of Kevin Pietersen, Cook, Ian Bell and Eoin Morgan followed those of Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott this morning.

Ajmal was the chief tormentor of England's top order, bowling in tandem for much of the second session with Rehman - who was unchanged for 30 overs.

Gul then accelerated England's descent to defeat. But it was the slow left-armer who struck the first blow when Strauss, who had already survived a straightforward caught-behind chance off Gul, went without addition lbw on the back foot.

Trott then fell shortly before lunch, sweeping Ajmal straight to deep backward-square.

Cook's luck was in during an ultra-patient 187-ball 49 which took more than four hours.

But England needed much more than a touch of good fortune if their out-of form batsmen were to achieve even qualified redemption on this fair pitch.

Cook passed a notable personal milestone when, with his 22nd run, he became the second-youngest batsman in cricket history to reach 6,000 in Tests.

He ought to have gone last night, dropped at third slip off Gul on just four, and this morning was put down on 31 by Gul himself after mis-sweeping Rehman into the leg-side deep.

He was also the batsman on strike when Pakistan squandered their final DRS option, Ajmal reviewing an lbw for an off-break that pitched outside leg-stump.

England had one precious review still available, after Strauss used up the first one to no avail. But it was to be no use to any of their frontline batsmen.

Pietersen hinted at much better when he went up the wicket to Rehman and hit him for a straight four and then six in the same over - shots that raised stoic England's scoring rate to almost two runs an over.

But Ajmal, scourge of the tourists with his doosras in the first Test here, out-thought both Pietersen and Cook with conventional off-breaks this time.

He bowled Pietersen between bat and pad, on the front-foot defence, from round the wicket - and then had Cook, trying to push his 50th run to leg, very well-caught at slip by a diving Younus Khan.

Bell and Morgan appeared to tame the spinners with the old ball, only to fall in quick succession when Misbah-ul-Haq turned back to Gul's pace.

It was a lack of that which did for Bell, embarrassingly mistiming a cut for a simple catch at cover - and then Gul produced a fine delivery to find Morgan's edge for a caught-behind on the back foot.

England had lost two big wickets for just three runs for the second time in the innings, a statistic they could ill afford if they were to get anywhere near such a tough target.

All but the most fanciful hopes of that were gone by tea - and although Prior and the tail tried to salvage some pride with a counter-attack, it was little more than a token effort from a team who may not now still be top of that Test table when the annual awards are handed out at the start of April.

Azhar Ali Sets England Target

England reached 36-0 in pursuit of a victory target of 324 after Azhar Ali's century kept them in the field for most of day three of the final Test against Pakistan.

Ali turned his overnight 75 into a career-best 157 before Pakistan were eventually all out for 365 in their second innings in the evening session.

England spinners Monty Panesar (5-124 ) and Graeme Swann (3-101) stuck to their task and shared eight wickets.

Andrew Strauss (19no) and Alastair Cook (15no) survived for 20 overs through to stumps, in the process compiling England's highest opening stand of the series as the tourists seek to avoid a series whitewash.

The last and only other time England have made so many to win a Test was against Australia in Melbourne in 1929.

Azhar's 442-ball vigil was a triumph of unstinting concentration, shot selection and restraint, taking in a stand of 216 with Younus Khan (127), and containing just 10 fours and one six.

Pakistan's last seven wickets fell for only 34 runs in 21 overs, to give world number ones England a glimmer of hope that their batsmen might yet redeem themselves on this hugely disappointing tour to date. To that end, they might do worse than take their cue from Azhar.

He was in absolutely no hurry on the way to his second Test hundred and beyond, having previously reached exactly three figures on this same ground against Sri Lanka last year.

He eventually reached the milestone from the 319th ball he faced, with one of the most memorable shots of his long innings - a cut off Panesar for his fifth four.

Azhar might have gone before his third-wicket partner Younus, for 84, but survived when Swann was just unable to hang on to a tough chance at second slip, very low to his left off the bowling of James Anderson.

Instead England's only breakthrough this morning came when Stuart Broad had Younus lbw on the front foot - DRS indicated the ball would have clipped the very top of middle-stump - after a five-hour stay which had helped to shut England out for 82 overs.

Younus was replaced by captain Misbah-ul-Haq, another batsman content to make the most of the ample time available in this well-progressed match.

He and Azhar duly added another 87, until Misbah fell lbw pushing forward to Panesar in late afternoon to kickstart the rush of wickets.

There was no DRS left for Asad Shafiq, sweeping at Panesar to become the 40th lbw victim of this head-scratching series, and Adnan Akmal was soon bowled for a duck by one that turned to beat his defence and hit off-stump.

Swann then scored his first successes, after 32 overs in vain. Abdur Rehman and Saeed Ajmal were both caught at slip shortly before tea - and then Azhar fell bat-pad to the off-spinner, and Panesar completed the innings with yet another lbw to account for Umar Gul.

Strauss and Cook each had a scrape but remained unbeaten at the close to at least give England a platform to start their mission improbable.

Cook was dropped by Taufeeq Umar off Gul at third slip on four and Strauss rightly given not out on 14 - even after DRS - when he got his pad outside the line on impact against Mohammad Hafeez's off-spin.

Broad Battles for England

Stuart Broad was in scintillating form as England dismissed Pakistan for 99 on the first day of the third and final test on Friday before the visitors lost two early wickets in their reply.

Broad ripped through Pakistan's top order as the hosts collapsed to 53 for seven at lunch after winning the toss and electing to bat.

The paceman took four for 21 in a devastating spell as England looked to restore some pride after heavy defeats in the opening two matches.

New ball partner James Anderson got England off to a perfect start when he struck with the last ball of the first over, removing Taufeeq Umar with a regulation leg before decision.

Broad was soon among the wickets when he trapped Azhar Ali in his third over, the batsman sent back to the pavilion when a TV review showed he had feathered a catch through to wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

It was also a poor morning for umpire Simon Taufel, who had a second not out decision overturned by an England review when Muhammad Hafeez was given out lbw to a Broad delivery that was clipping leg stump to leave Pakistan four down.

His counterpart Steve Davis was having a better time of it and was vindicated after two Pakistan reviews - the first ordered by captain Misbah-ul-Haq and the second by Adnan Akmal - both backed up his decision to give them out lbw.

In between the two Taufel reviews, Younis Khan played a loose shot outside off stump to a Broad lifter and when Abdul Rehman gifted spinner Graeme Swann his wicket 20 minutes before lunch, Pakistan were reeling on 44-7 and in danger of not reaching their lowest test score of 53, scored against Australia at Sharjah in 2002.

Asad Shafiq, in tandem with Saeed Ajmal, provided the only real resistance with a fluid innings of 45 which ended shortly after the afternoon drinks break when he attempted to cut a straight one from Monty Panesar which hit him on the back pad.

After Shafiq's exit, Umar Gul entertained the small contingent of Pakistan fans with a brief cameo - including one huge six off Panesar - before Anderson rearranged his stumps to bring the innings to a close with his third wicket.

England followed Pakistan's example and lost two wickets before tea.

Alastair Cook departed early as he played away from his body at a Gul delivery, inducing an edge which was finely pouched by wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal diving in front of first slip.

He was soon followed by Jonathan Trott, who was unfortunate to be given out leg before on two to a Gul delivery which TV replays showed was slipping down the leg side.

Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen steadied the England ship after the interval as England moved on to 54 for 2.

Broad and Monty Steer England

England are on course to level their three-match Test series against Pakistan thanks to Stuart Broad's runs and Monty Panesar's wickets on day three at the Zayed Stadium.

Broad's morning counter-attack brought him an unbeaten 58, and helped England from an overnight 207-5 to 327 all out and a precious lead of 70 on first innings in this second Test.

Then Panesar (three for 44) and Graeme Swann did the damage as Pakistan lost four wickets before they could reach parity, but recovered to 125 for four thanks to a stubborn, often strokeless, stand between Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq.

Broad and James Anderson's new-ball pace, as in the first innings, soon seemed unthreatening. But after Panesar entered the attack for just the sixth over, he began a run of three wickets for seven runs.

Mohammad Hafeez was lbw pushing forward to an arm ball from the left-arm spinner - and Swann struck in his first over with a straight-on delivery from round the wicket to Pakistan's other opener, the left-handed Taufeeq Umar, bowled between bat and pad.

Panesar then picked up the crucial wicket of Younis Khan as a perfectly-pitched delivery spun past the right-hander's outside edge to hit the off stump.

And things got even worse for Pakistan in the first over after tea when they lost their hard-to-shift captain Misbah-ul-Haq, and a review, via the 21st lbw decision of this series in the first over of the last session.

But Shafiq and Ali, billed together as the future powerhouse of Pakistan's middle order, demonstrated that potential in a determined unbroken stand of 71 which kept their team in the match.

The nearest England came to another breakthrough was Kevin Pietersen's rolled throw at the stumps which, if accurate, would have run Shafiq out for 26 after he was sent back attempting a crazy single.

For his trouble, Pietersen appeared to trip over the batsman as his momentum took him into the stumps and was soon off the field for medical attention.

In the morning session, Broad was the most successful with an evident brief to grab as many runs as possible before Saeed Ajmal (four for 108) et al bowled them out in conditions tailor-made for their skills.

Employing tactics near polar opposite to Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott's admirable crease occupation on the second day, Broad's invaluable ninth Test 50 contained six fours and a six over long-on off Abdur Rehman from just 52 balls.

He was unable to add to his lunchtime gains, though, because Hafeez (three for 54) hurried one through to bowl Anderson and then had number 11 Panesar lbw by similar method to leave Broad stranded. Ajmal managed to add only the dismissal of Matt Prior to the three quick wickets he took on the second evening.

On a pitch offering plenty of assistance to the slow bowlers, England will not want to expose themselves again to Ajmal's skills with anything more than a small target to chase down.

Cook Confident Despite Setback

Alastair Cook believes England are in a strong position to push for victory in the second Test again Pakistan.

Cook and Jonathan Trott shared a stand of 139 before England lost three late wickets for just nine runs to finish the second day in Abu Dhabi on 207-5.

England are 50 runs behind with five wickets in hand and Cook thinks they can build a first-innings advantage.

"We had a good day but the shine was probably taken off it a little bit with those last couple of wickets," he said.

"We're only 50 behind and we've got a couple of excellent players with [Ian] Bell and Matty [Prior] in at the moment, and then obviously our lower order, which played well in Dubai.

"If we can get past that [first] half an hour and then look to build a lead... But if you look too far ahead then you can get stuck."

Pakistan lost their last three wickets for one run in 16 balls as they were bowled out for 257 in the morning.

Cook and Trott helped England to 166 for one in reply, but Saeed Ajmal followed up Abdur Rehman's dismissal of Trott for 74 by removing Cook (94), Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan, the latter with what proved to be the last ball of the day.

Cook added: "Credit to the way Pakistan bowled in that last half-hour, and made it extremely tough.

"These guys are used to playing in these conditions and sniff an opportunity like they did to get a couple of wickets.

"They did bowl very well and it's very difficult to go in there. Unfortunately, losing Eoin in the last over of the day was a shame."

Cook fell narrowly short of a 20th Test century, which would have put him joint fourth on England's all-time list with England batting coach Graham Gooch and Ken Barrington.

"It's always frustrating when you've worked so hard for a milestone, to fall just short of it," said the 27-year-old.

"It's disappointing when you don't get it, because you know it took five hours to get there. But it beats last week, when I got three and five."

Tiger Talks Cricket

Tiger Woods has revealed himself to be a cricket fan as he prepares to tee off at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, only a stone's throw away from the Sheikh Zayed Stadium where England are currently taking on Pakistan.

Normally when you mention cricket to anybody from the US, a confused glaze starts to appear over the eyes. In a country where american football, baseball and basketball dominate, even football (or soccer) struggles to draw the attention, so cricket should stand no chance.

But it would seem Woods is a connoisseur of sport in general and has developed an understanding of cricket thanks to PR commitments with the likes of Rahul Dravid.

Woods said: "Baseball is huge in Japan and the US, but outside of that cricket is huge. So as I have travelled and I have played all around the world, I have started to watch more and more.

"I have met some of the guys, that certainly helps, provides more interest in it. Because now you have personal interest in it, so that's what makes a little bit more exciting."

And when asked if he has been following the Test series between England and Pakistan, he added: "I am a baseball guy. But have I followed cricket? I have, a little bit. From just what I saw in the news, its been - I think it's been like a batsmen's paradise here."

Ajmal Records Career Best

England collapsed to Saeed Ajmal at the start of their first Test series as the world's top team - against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates - but there was hardly anybody there to witness it at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Ajmal removed three batsmen in five balls on his way to a career-best seven for 55 - including five lbws - in a total of 192 all out as only England's number seven wicketkeeper-batsman Matt Prior (70no) managed to resist for long on day one of this three-match series. 

After Pakistan responded with an untroubled 42 without loss at stumps, the indications were that England might be significantly under-par on a pitch yet to misbehave. 

Prior dug in against type and showed great resilience and technique amid his team-mates' failures, finding significant assistance only from Eoin Morgan and then Graeme Swann - with whom he added 57 for the eighth wicket. 

Andrew Strauss' tourists lost Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott in the first hour even before the intervention of Ajmal, who had taunted them with talk of a new mystery delivery in the build-up to this tough examination of their new world-beating credentials. 

Whether the off-spinner was profiting from those mind games was a moot point. But either way, clever disguise of his off-breaks, doosras - and maybe even a 'teesra' or two - proved too much for a succession of England batsmen. 

Once he entered the attack at 42 for two, he bowled 16 overs unchanged almost until tea - and then returned to finish the job, leaving only Prior unbeaten. 

In their first attempt to consolidate since reaching the top of the International Cricket Council world table against India last summer, England found themselves playing a stone's throw from the world governing body's headquarters. 

In front of a paltry crowd of hundreds rather than thousands at the 25,000-capacity Dubai International Cricket Stadium, almost exclusively English in this neutral territory for Pakistan's 'home' series, they appeared to be set for a low-key start to this first of 15 Tests this year. 

But Cook soon departed, to only the third delivery of spin after Pakistan had turned for the first time to one of their slow bowlers in only the sixth over. 

England chose to select just Swann as their spin option, with Kevin Pietersen also able to bowl part-time off-breaks. 

Pakistan, meanwhile, named two frontline slow bowlers. But it was neither of them, but instead occasional off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez, who struck. 

Cook went back to cut, and a small amount of turn was enough to take the edge for caught-behind. 

Strauss was joined by Trott, who registered England's first three boundaries before going too far across to Aizaz Cheema to edge behind down the leg-side - the only batsman to be dismissed by pace, and departing exactly as he did in his first innings of this tour against an ICC Combined XI during England's warm-up schedule. 

But it was the introduction of Ajmal, Pakistan's fifth bowler used, which spelled real trouble for England. 

Strauss paid for an apparent misjudgement, attempting to pull off the front foot and bowled by a ball which did not seem to be short enough. 

Ian Bell then went for a first-ball duck, in Ajmal's next over, pushing forward in defence only to get a thin edge behind to a delivery that appeared to have spin imparted but barely moved off the straight.

Three balls later, Pietersen was lbw - via the series' first DRS ruling - to one that snaked past the outside edge and hit him low on the front pad. 

Ajmal ought to have had his fourth wicket almost immediately when Morgan survived an obvious stumping chance on three, and England reached the end of a tortured session with no further losses.

Morgan and Prior were threatening to also negotiate the first hour after lunch, and had almost doubled the score, when the left-hander missed a sweep at Ajmal and was lbw. 

England failed with a DRS attempt to overturn that decision from Bruce Oxenford, and the Australian was proved right again after Stuart Broad made the same mistake. 

Swann drove well, kept Prior company for much of the latter's richly-deserved 115-ball 50 and could hardly be blamed for losing his off bail to a perfectly-pitched delivery from Abdur Rehman which also turned sharply. 

Prior grabbed another 41 for the last two wickets as numbers 10 and 11 lent fair support until succumbing, almost inevitably, to Ajmal in England's first sub-200 total since their Ashes defeat in Perth more than a year ago.