Pakistan v England, 1st ODI, Abu Dhabi
25 overs England 113 for 2 (Cook 66, Bopara 25 ) v Pakistan
Shahid Afridi wasted little time in advancing his credentials as the best one-day spinner in world cricket during the opening ODI in Abu Dhabi as England's trials continued against the turning ball. England stuttered at their first sight of him as Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott fell in successive balls in his second over. Spin will remain a centrepiece of the remaining one-day matches to come.
What had changed was the identity of the England captain. Andrew Strauss had departed and Alastair Cook was in charge, a one-day captain whose ability in the limited-overs game is hotly debated. He did his reputation no harm, reaching the mid-point unbeaten on 66 as England moved to 113 for 2. With anything above 250 appearing competitive, Cook was keeping England in the match.
Ravi Bopara brought up the fifty partnership off 72 balls just before midway with two successive off-side drives against overpitched deliveries from the left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz, an indication of the sedate nature of the surface once the spinners took a back seat.
Afridi must have watched England's distress against spin during Pakistan's 3-0 victory in the Test series and licked his lips at the fun to come in the one-day internationals. He was not to be disappointed. After bamboozling Pietersen and Trott with a legspinner and googly respectively, he should also have quickly followed up with Bopara, who had made only 2 when he tried to cut a straight one and was reprieved presumably because the umpire, Ahsan Rana, imagined in inside edge.
Afridi had warmed up with five wickets against Afghanistan while England were attempting to restore morale with victory against England Lions. A quicker, turning legspinner ended Pietersen's skittish innings on 14 and Trott groped forward to a googly and was comprehensively bowled through the gate.
Pietersen was at the top of the order for the fifth time in an ODI but there was no escape from the spinners; Pakistan had picked four of them and Mohammad Hafeez took the new ball. A characteristically risky single to get off the mark might have seen Pietersen run out if Imran Farhat had not fumbled at mid-on and even his one shot of authority, a legside whip against Umar Gul looked too manufactured for comfort, as if he had added a frill or two to disguise the poor quality of the cloth.
His troubled innings also included two let-offs from DRS when he was on 2. Hafeez drifted one away to hit his back leg but Pakistan wasted their review as the ball was shown to have struck Pietersen outside the line. Then Pietersen overturned umpire Rana's decision when he wandered across his stumps to one that Gul cut back and escaped when Hawk-Eye suggested the ball was too high. Pietersen's incredulous expression as he called for a review summed up his desperate state of mind. Never has a man formally tapped the top of his bat with such a BAFTA-winning performance.
Cook needed a reprieve himself, on 30, when Simon Taufel's decision that Hafeez had dismissed him lbw was overturned because of a big inside edge. He reviewed in a quiet, matter-of-fact manner, lacking Pietersen's penchant for the stage. His slog sweep against Afridi to reach his half-century was England's most confident moment against the spinners.
England, who chose to bat after winning the toss, brought in Bopara, Samit Patel and Steven Finn. Tim Bresnan and Jos Buttler were both ruled out on fitness grounds. Pakistan kept the same eleven that beat Afghanistan by seven wickets in Sharjah on Friday.
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