England back on form at the expense of Pakistan

After being blown away 3-0 in the Test match series, England turned the tide as they inflicted their own revenge whitewash on Pakistan in the limited overs arena. 


Being set an under-par target of 238 from 50 overs England got off to a stuttering start which was started by the early dismissal of captain Alastair cook for just 4 runs, before being reduced to 68-3 in the 16th over. However a solid century from Kevin Pieterson (130) ensured Pakistan went home without a victory on the board. 


Pakistan batted first on a wicket that should have produced a par score of at least 270. However disciplined bowling from England's attack restricted them to 237 in the final day-night game in the Dubai Stadium. 


Asad Shafiq top scored with 65 and useful knocks from Azhar Ali (58) and Misbah-ul-Haq (46) steered Pakistan to a below target 238 all out. England paceman Jade Dernbach finished with 4-45. 


Injury hit Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first a decision that was seen by many as correct. However constant wickets for England ensured that Pakistan were never going to set an imposing target. 


Experienced batsman Younis Kahn failed to recover after missing the third match and the left-handed opening batsman Imran Farhat was left out due to a groin strain picked up in Saturday's game. 


Paceman Junaid Khan, spinner Abdul Rehman and all-rounder Shoaib Malik were included in place of Farhat, Umar Gul and Aizaz Cheema.


England were forced to leave out Ravi Bopara (sore back), Graeme Swann (calf) and opted to give Stuart Broad and James Anderson a rest, a decision made easier by the unassailable 3-0 lead England had going into the game. 


Their places were taken by Jos Butler, Jade Dernbach, Tim Bresnan and Danny Briggs.


The biggest positive from the game was the second successive century scored by Kevin Pieterson, the first coming in the previous game, his first since 2008. Also the pressured situation of already being four wickets down made the knock even more impressive. 


Also the introduction of Briggs and Jos Butler into the side showed that England do have strength in depth in the form of the game that they have always struggled. 


Becoming the number one Test side in the world was a massive achievement, to become the one-day international best team would be nothing short of a miracle. This series win is just the start of the marathon, but it should give this young England side the belief that they can win in the limited overs game, and if they install some consistency they can go on to become the best. 

Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Junaid Khan, Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal, Umar Akmal, Abdul Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Azhar Ali

England: Alastair Cook (capt), Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach,

Umpires: Kumara Dharmasena (SRI) and Zameer Haider (PAK)

Tv umpire: Simon Taufel (AUS)

Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)