Dominant England look to extend run
The Preview by Sahil Dutta and Liam Brickhill
September 11, 2010
Match facts
September 12, 2010, HeadingleyStart time 10.15am (9.15am GMT)
2:30pm pakistani time
Big picture
While it seems that nothing could rid the backdrop of spot-fixing allegations from this series, the lingering hope is that a keen contest between these two sides might at least provide a moment of relief. The abject nature of Pakistan's pair of defeats in the Twenty20 series, played in front of half-empty stands at Cardiff, left a fear that the one-day series could descend into a more unappetising farce than even the seven-match trudge against Australia at the end of last summer. Thankfully, without really threatening England, Pakistan still demonstrated enough spirit and backbone in the first game to keep their fans hoping.
The much-hyped introduction of enormous paceman Mohammad Irfan may have failed to match the billing but the veteran Shoaib Akthar sweated through an impressive opening spell and provided enough of a test to keep England's batsmen hopping. Saeed Ajmal continued to weave the confusion that has hounded England all summer and most significantly, Pakistan's fielding was smart and at times - such as Umar Akmal's direct-hit from the outfield to dismiss Tim Bresnan - positively sharp.
The batting too was much improved. Kamran Akmal managed his first decent performance of a chastening summer, while his brother Umar flickered with his abundant talent once again and there were spirited contributions throughout the order. It was enough for Andrew Strauss to unleash that most trite of clichés by declaring after the match that "cricket was the winner". Though It speaks volumes for how low Pakistan had sunk that a comfortable England win was seen as progress, another improvement at Edgbaston could put the teams on more equal footing.
England, for their part, are quietly piecing together a team to challenge for the World Cup in February. Their limited-overs cricket has improved beyond recognition since the 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Australia last summer, and the World Twenty20 champions have now won four ODI series in a row and show no signs of stopping.
The demand for continual improvement saw Craig Kieswetter dumped out of the team for Steve Davies as the England management set a clear challenge - perform now and book your place for the World Cup. Davies' response was perfect, striking the ball sweetly to race to 87 from 67 deliveries and both earn the Man-of-the-Match award and high praise from his captain. Alongside him Ravi Bopara's international rehabilitation continued with a breezy unbeaten 37 to finish the innings. Both still have plenty to prove and that context alone gives England supporters something to follow.
