Pakistan lose 2-0 to England in T20 series
CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — Pakistan’s disastrous tour of England hit a new low yesterday after making their worst Twenty20 total to lose by six wickets for their second defeat in the twomatch series.
Reeling from match-fixing allegations that have resulted in three of its players being suspended by the ICC, Pakistan were bowled out for 89 and then England reached 90-4 in 14 overs to win a record-equalling seventh straight T20 match.
Pakistan’s previous lowest T20 total was 125-9 at Australia in February.
Tim Bresnan took 3-10, while England teammates Ryan Sidebottom, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann took two wickets each.
England captain Paul Collingwood made 21 and Eoin Morgan 18 not out in front of 5,821 people, just over a third of Sophia Gardens’ capacity.
“It was irresponsible and immature the way we played,” Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said. “England are the world champions and we needed to be more responsible with better shot selection and show more pride. Our morale is very low but I am sure one win will change that.”
England levelled the record jointly held by South Africa and Pakistan for consecutive wins in the game’s shortest format.
“It is a special achievement,” Collingwood said. “In this form of the game, it can be tough to win consistently, so to have that kind of win is a great effort from the boys, especially carrying the added pressure of being world champions.”
Pakistan’s tour is going from bad to worse. It has now lost five of its six internationals against England, having lost the test series 3-1 and 2-0 in the Twenty20 matches. Pakistan also suffered its heaviest test defeat less than two weeks ago at Lord’s.
Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and 18-year-old prodigy Mohammad Amir were suspended by the International Cricket Council last week for corruption-related charges that followed allegations of bowling no-balls for money.
There were more allegations in yesterday’s British newspapers, and the negativity looks to be seriously affecting the team’s performances.