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England squanders early advantage against Pakistan

Off-spinner Shoaib Malik and paceman Rana Naved-ul-Hasan shared five wickets yesterday as England squandered an early advantage with some poor sweep shots on the opening day of their final Test.

England were well-placed at 101 without loss before a spirited fightback by the Pakistani bowling duo reduced the tourists to 248-6 at stumps in Lahore in the third meeting between the two sides. All-rounder Paul Collingwood was unbeaten on a solid 71 and Shaun Udal on 10 when bad light stopped play with 13 overs remaining.

Malik struck three times in the space of 17 balls after skipper Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick hit half-centuries during a century stand for the opening wicket.

The off-spinner bagged 3-58 while Naved took two wickets in the last session to finish with 2-62.

England, trailing 1-0 in the three-match series, won an important toss on a easy-paced pitch and gained the early initiative after Vaughan and Trescothick frustrated the home bowlers in the first session.

But the tourists were undone by a succession of poorly-executed sweep shots against Malik as Vaughan fell for 58, Ian Bell for four, and then Trescothick for 50.

The 23-year-old Malik, reported for his suspect bowling action after the first Test, had Vaughan caught sweeping by Mohammad Yousuf at square-leg in the third over after lunch.

The Pakistani spinner said he was under no pressure after being reported.

"I bowled in my normal style and since England batsmen were trying to score at a brisk pace they got out playing shots," Malik said.

Trescothick, who took 27 balls to open his account, survived a chance early on when Kamran Akmal failed to catch an edge which hit his thigh.

Collingwood, who carries England's hopes of posting a challenging total, said his top priority today would be to stay at the crease as long as possible.

"We will see tomorrow how it goes. If we reach 350 then it is a good score. You need to score big in the first innings," he said.
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