CRICKET TWENTY20 INTERNATIONAL:ENGLAND DID their best to put cricket's week of crisis behind them as they returned to the Twenty20 format with a five-wicket victory over Pakistan yesterday.
Captain Paul Collingwood was delighted with a “100 per cent” performance which owed much to an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 67 between Eoin Morgan and Michael Yardy, to aid the recovery from a mid-innings wobble in reply to 126 for four at the SWALEC Stadium.
His opposite number Shahid Afridi could wear a smile too – because although his team were well beaten in the end, it was at least a step in the right direction for them after the stresses of the “spot-fixing” controversy.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” said Collingwood. “Our strategies seem to be working in the Twenty20 form of the game. It has been a tough week. But the guys focused 100 per cent on their cricket, and we enjoyed our win today.”
It is almost four months since England beat the world for the first time in an International Cricket Council tournament, with victory over Australia in the Barbados final.
They were up against significant, if perhaps still distracted, opponents in Pakistan – who have had to contend with the ICC suspension and charging of three of their initially-selected players following newspaper allegations of a plot to bowl no-balls to order in an attempt to defraud illegal bookmakers during the Lord’s Test.
Afridi said: “At one time, it looked like we were going to win this game. But the way Morgan and Yardy played, they did very well.”
Even so, Afridi believes his own team did themselves justice – especially after the disruptions of the past week. “The way my boys played, I am very happy. We missed some opportunities, like catches and run-outs. In this kind of cricket, fielding is a main weapon if you want to win.”
“After what has been going on for a week or 10 days, it’s been very difficult. But this is my job and the coach’s job, to lift the morale.”
Collingwood’s pleasure was simply at a task completed with little fuss. “It’s been a few months since some very fond memories and that success in the Caribbean.
“I didn’t have to say anything (today). You just look at each other, and those smiles go on your faces. We’ve got great memories of that. But from a captain’s point of view you’ve got to try to tell the guys to restart . . . and we did it 100 per cent.”
Like Afridi, Collingwood simply asked his team to ignore the controversy and concentrate on their job. “A lot has gone on this week in terms of strong decisions, and we just want the cricket to do the talking. I’m happy that the guys responded well to what has been a difficult week. We just want to get on with the cricket . . . that can do the talking now.”
Scoreboard
England beat Pakistan by five wickets.
Pakistan innings
Kamran Akmal c Yardy b Bresnan 6
Shahzaib Hasan st Davies b Swann 21
Mohammad Yousuf c Morgan b Swann 26
Fawad Alam c and b Yardy 20
Umar Akmal not out 35
Shahid Afridi not out 16
Extras: (1-w, 1-lb) 2
Total: (four wickets; 20 overs) 126
Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-50, 3-56, 4-88.
Did not bat: Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Razzaq, Wahab Riaz, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul.
Bowling: Sidebottom 4-0-32-0, Bresnan 3-0-18-1, Broad 4-0-32-0, Swann 4-0-14-2, Yardy 4-0-21-1, Collingwood 1-0-8-0.
England innings
Craig Kieswetter c K. Akmal b Akhtar 6
Steve Davies c Riaz b Gul 33
Ravi Bopara c Yousuf b Akhtar 11
Paul Collingwood b Afridi 4
Eoin Morgan not out 38
Luke Wright b Afridi 0
Michael Yardy not out 35
Extras(lb-1, w-1) 2
Total(five wickets, 17.1 overs) 129
Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-42, 3-55, 4-57, 5-62.
Did not bat: Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan, Ryan Sidebottom.
Bowling: Razzaq 2-0-20-0, Akhtar 4-1-23-2, Riaz 2-0-11-0, Afridi 4-0-27-2, Gul 2.1-0-17-1, Ajmal 3-0-30-0.
