Strauss leads England to one-day victory

14 April 2012

Andrew Strauss emerged unscathed from another NatWest Series controversy to set the stage for England's first one-day international victory of the summer against major opposition.

The stand-in England captain hit a determined 78 at Trent Bridge to help his side clinch an eight-wicket victory over Pakistan with 22 balls to spare.

It was England's first limited-overs triumph since a 38-run success over Ireland in June. They had lost all but one of the nine one-day internationals and two Twenty20 games since - and that when rain prevented the prospect of another defeat in Cardiff.

England finally emerged from that losing run under the Nottingham lights - but only after Strauss had been given the benefit of the doubt over an edged catch to slip.

The tourists were convinced Strauss - who had reached only five at the time - had edged Mohammad Asif low to captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, who claimed a low catch.

Strauss' reaction was to tell Inzamam "no way" and stood his ground, prompting umpire Daryl Harper to firstly consult square leg official Mark Benson before referring the catch to third umpire Ian Gould.

Television pictures were inconclusive, but Inzamam was clearly unhappy and remonstrated with Harper at the end of the over.

Strauss survived to hit 10 boundaries and share a 110-run second-wicket stand with Ian Bell which effectively settled the contest.

The incident was the latest in a series of controversies which have marked contests between the two sides since the final Test at The Oval, which was forfeited and awarded to England after Pakistan refused to play on in protest at being accused of ball-tampering.

Shoaib Akhtar was also cleared of ball-tampering after Pakistan's victory at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday when television pictures again proved inconclusive and today's contest was again clouded in controversy.

Given a reprieve by the TV replays, Strauss went on to play superbly after losing new opening partner Ed Joyce, who edged Mohammad Asif behind to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal in the 10th over.

Joyce had been brought into the side after England took the difficult decision to drop Marcus Trescothick for the first time in his international career following his announcement he would be missing the Champions Trophy.

Once Joyce had departed, Strauss teamed up with Bell and frustrated Pakistan to distraction in a stand spanning 20 overs with the tourists becoming increasingly resentful of every run he scored following the catch controversy.

Strauss otherwise looked comfortable his 100-ball innings before he was bowled around his legs by off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez trying to sweep. At that point England needed a further 88 from the remaining 20 overs to overhaul Pakistan's 235 for eight.

Kevin Pietersen was fortunate to survive six overs later after reaching eight when he drove Abdul Razzaq to short extra cover only for Inzamam to put down the low catch and all but end Pakistan's hopes of seizing victory.

Pietersen survived to drive Hafeez down the ground and score the winning runs while Bell finished unbeaten on 86, just two runs short of equalling his previous best one-day international score.

Strauss' contribution made amends for an earlier error which allowed Pakistan to recover with Razzaq propelling them to a competitive total with a stunning display of clean-hitting.

Gloucestershire seamer Jon Lewis had inflicted early damage by claiming two wickets in his first two overs as Pakistan slipped to 41 for three inside the first 11 overs.

Inzamam and Mohammad Yousuf repaired the early damage with a 74-run fourth wicket stand but a further loss of three wickets in 11 balls, two of which were claimed by debutant Michael Yardy, left Pakistan facing a modest total.

Instead, Razzaq made the most of his early reprieve when Strauss dropped him diving at slip after he had edged Yardy on just six. He went on to make England pay by hammering a stunning unbeaten 75 off only 72 balls to transform Pakistan's innings in the final stages.

He hit Sajid Mahmood's penultimate over of the innings for 26 and ended the innings with successive sixes off Lewis, two of five he hit in the last two overs.

His powerful hitting, which included five sixes and five fours, helped add 69 runs in the last four overs and left England facing the prospect of yet another one-day defeat.

But Strauss bounced back from his role in Razzaq's display to stand his ground and lay the foundations for a long-awaited victory which will at least give the selectors food for thought with the Champions Trophy squad due to be announced on Tuesday.

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