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A heavy drizzle denied Pakistan the opportunity to march towards what could have been a convincing win over England in the first One-day International (ODI) here at the Sophia Gardens on Wednesday night (the match was reported partially yesterday on page 13).

Pakistan needed 159 runs from 32 overs following the Duckworth-Lewis calculation and seemed to be cruising towards victory at 46-1 from seven overs when the match was abandoned because of a steadily increasing drizzle that left the outfield wet and slippery.

The tourists had restricted England to 202 from 49.2 overs and though they lost opener Shoaib Malik cheaply, a Pakistan triumph was the best bet for the night had weather not played a role.

Pacers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif grabbed three wickets each to bowl out England for a low score in which Ian Bell’s 88 was the only notable contribution.

With just 203 required, Pakistan, who enjoy one of the strongest one-day batting line-ups in the world, looked well set to record another thumping win following their five-wicket victory over the home team in a Twenty20 game at Bristol on Monday.

But dark clouds that hovered over Cardiff all day began to look more threatening as the players went into the interval following the England innings. It finally began to rain and play was delayed by almost 95 minutes.

Pakistan’s target was revised and they were set 159 runs to win from 32 overs.

Comeback veteran Darren Gough bowled an expensive, wayward first over but young debutant Stuart Broad caused Pakistan some worries when he caught opener Shoaib Malik lbw in the second over to leave the visitors at 12-1. Broad’s first one-day wicket came off the fourth ball of his first ODI over.

Vice-captain Younis Khan, dismissed early at Bristol, joined Mohammad Hafeez and made his intentions clear right from the start with some aggressive display. Pakistan were aware that rain could interrupt play again at any time and were looking forward to get the required as fast as possible.

England, playing their first ODI at the Sophia Gardens, found it increasingly difficult to cope with a wet ball and a slippery outfield and the Pakistanis just went after the duo of Gough and Broad.

Younis and Hafeez were harsher on Gough as Pakistan extracted 28 runs from the four overs he bowled. Broad, son of former England opener Chris, was more economical and gave away 14 from three overs.

Pakistan raised their tempo in a bid to race to an early finish before rain came down again and the umpires called for the covers. Hafeez was unbeaten on 18 from 34 balls while Younis was batting on a 22-ball 12.

After another frustrating wait, the match was called off as the umpires decided that the heavy drizzle and a slippery outfield made it impossible for the game to resume.

On Thursday morning the teams travelled back to London where the second ODI, a day match, would be played on Saturday.

Scoreboard

Pakistan won toss

England

M E Trescothick c Kamran b Asif 16

*A J Strauss c Afridi b Asif 2

I R Bell run out (Afridi) 88

K P Pietersen c Kamran b Asif 2

P D Collingwood lbw b Afridi 14

J W M Dalrymple b Shoaib Akhtar 27

R Clarke c Shoaib Malik b Shoaib Akhtar 6

†C M W Read c & b Mohammad Hafeez 0

S I Mahmood b Shoaib Akhtar 1

D Gough c Shoaib Malik b Afridi 18

S C J Broad not out 8

Extras (lb5, w10, nb5) 20

Total (all out, 49.2 overs) 202

Fall: 1-14, 2-35, 3-51, 4-98, 5-166, 6-166, 7-167, 8-173, 9-173

Bowling: Shoaib Akhtar 10-1-45-3 (3nb, 2w); Mohammad Asif 10-3-28-3 (2w); Naved-ul-Hasan 7-0-43-0 (3w); Abdul Razzaq 4-1-10-0 (1nb); Shahid Afridi 8.2-0-38-2 (1nb, 1w); Mohammad Hafeez 10-0-33-1 (2w)

Pakistan

Shoaib Malik lbw b Broad 5

Mohammad Hafeez not out 18

Younis Khan not out 12

Extras (lb4, w7) 11

Total (one wkt, 7 overs) 46

Did not bat: Mohammad Yousuf, *Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, †Kamran Akmal, Naved-ul-Hasan, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif

Fall: 1-12

Bowling: Gough 4-0-28-0 (1w); Broad 3-0-14-1 (2w)

Result: No result. Pakistan’s target was revised at 159 runs off 32 overs after rain

Series: 5-match series level 0-0

ODI debut: Stuart Broad (England)

Umpires: B R Doctrove (West Indies) and I J Gould. TV umpire: M R Benson. Match referee: M J Procter (South Africa)

Next match: Saturday (tomorrow) 2nd ODI, Lord’s

Remaining matches: September 5 3rd ODI, Southampton (d/n). September 8 4th ODI, Nottingham (d/n). September 10 5th ODI, Birmingham

Source:The News