Broad picks up three quick wickets

Stuart Broad continued his impressive return from injury with three top-order wickets to undermine Pakistan's reply to 273 all out in today's World Cup warm-up match.

After Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood had made encouraging half-centuries to help England to a competitive total, Broad - who took three wickets with the new ball and five in all two days ago in his first match for more than two months - single-handedly reduced Pakistan to 60 for three in 15 overs.

He had Mohammad Hafeez neatly caught at first slip by Andrew Strauss, then saw off a pair of Akmals - Kamran pinned lbw on off-stump and Umar undone by low bounce to be bowled on the back foot.

Broad (three for 12) will surely begin England's World Cup group campaign in great heart, whatever the outcome under lights tonight.

Pietersen's 66 from 78 balls was a welcome sign of potential in his new guise at the top of the order - but much work was left for other England batsmen too after he was stumped in the 27th over.

It fell principally therefore to Collingwood (65), rediscovering his form at an important time, to engineer a defendable total after England had been asked to bat first.