Broad's England sink to defeat against Pakistan in Twenty20 opener

By
Sportsmail Reporter

Last updated at 7:50 PM on 23rd February 2012

England succumbed to Umar Gul in Thursday night's eight-run defeat, as Graeme Swann's career-best bowling again proved in vain against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Gul took three crucial wickets to undermine England's chase of 144 for six, to help his team go 1-0 up with two to play.

On top: Pakistan have taken a 1-0 lead in the T20 series after restricting England to 136 runs

History therefore repeated itself for
Swann, whose three for 13 bettered by one run his previous best – which
came in defeat against these opponents on this very ground almost two
years ago.

Swann's eventful night, in front of
the biggest crowd of England's tour to date, began with a glaring drop
to reprieve Asad Shafiq on nine. But he returned to first of all see off
the same batsman, with a clumsy and marginal run-out, and then take
three wickets for one run in eight balls.

Defeat: England got their T20 campaign off to the worst possible start after losing in Dubai

A double-wicket maiden featured in
the off-spinner's personal best; yet it was to be Gul (three for 18),
who eventually had the most telling impact.

Kevin Pietersen, in particular, and
Craig Kieswetter got England's chase off to a handy start in an opening
stand of 48. Pietersen took 13 runs from Junaid Khan's first over but
was then responsible for five of the dots in the second, from Gul.

Star of the show: Gul took three wickets as England were restricted to 136 off their 20 overs

He looked in the mood nonetheless
with 33 from 21 balls – and had just clubbed Shahid Afridi over long-off
for six when he did not get quite enough on the next ball, in the
leg-spinner's first over, and was very well held by Shafiq almost on the
rope at midwicket.

Kieswetter was doubly culpable,
getting out in the very next over – to an embarrassing shot, backing so
far away to Mohammad Hafeez that he could not reach a ball which bowled
him leg-stump.

Much therefore depended on Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan, who had to begin with just one run between them.

Morgan missed a drive at Hafeez and
lost his leg-stump but teamed up with Bopara, who top-scored with 39 and
dominated another useful stand with Jonny Bairstow.

Bopara showed no signs of the back
injury which ruled him out of England's fourth successive one-day
international win here on Tuesday, after his consecutive half-centuries
in that format.

He scampered four twos, and hit a
straight six, in one over from Junaid. But just when it seemed he and
Bairstow might finish the job, Bopara achieved a 'Kieswetter' in
reverse, going so far across outside off that he did not cover leg-stump
and duly lost it to Gul.

Pakistan's premier seamer then saw
off Jos Buttler, caught at short fine-leg, and had Samit Patel lbw to a
yorker first ball. Swann stopped the hat-trick, but could not tilt the
match back in England's favour.

He had induced a significant
mid-innings wobble for Pakistan, before Shoaib Malik (39) and
Misbah-ul-Haq kept the hosts' total competitive. After Stuart Broad won
the toss, the captain himself did most to quell an explosive start –
with a first spell of two overs for five runs, in powerplay.

But debutant opener Awais Zia had
already fulfilled his brief, clubbing a six and a four in his 18 from 12
balls, before mistiming a slower ball from Steven Finn straight to
mid-off.

No 3 Shafiq had his moment of
fortune, dropped by Swann off Jade Dernbach running back from mid-off,
as he and Hafeez more than doubled the score. Swann then earned his
first moment of redemption when he somehow managed to dislodge the bails
- it was not evident with which part of his body and whether it was in
contact with the ball – to complete the run-out of Shafiq.

That began a run of four wickets for
the addition of eight runs – Swann having a hand, or something similar
in the first – and then the bowler for the rest. Hafeez picked out the
man in the leg-side deep; Afridi chipped straight to midwicket.

Then Umar Akmal went for a duck as
Dernbach, clearly holding no grudges for Swann's drop, took a fine
tumbling catch at long-off. Shoaib and Misbah therefore had to bat
sensibly, and fared admirably in a stand of 71 – which included a
blatant Swann misfield at short third-man to concede an extra boundary
in the final over, off a grimacing Dernbach.

By the end of the night, he was not the only one with a scowl on his face in the England camp.