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England and Pakistan are heading into a final match showdown in the NatWest Challenge.
Lord`s, England, June22: Having each won a game, they will contest the final match with plenty at stake for two teams making their way in international cricket.
Lord's, England, June22: Having each won a game, they will contest the final match with plenty at stake for two teams making their way in international cricket.
The momentum may be with the home team after their thumping win at The Oval on Friday, but it would only take a couple of early wickets to expose a fragile, inexperienced middle order.
England's captain, Michael Vaughan, could do with some runs to boost his confidence, though thus far he has shown plenty of tactical nous and is bringing out the best in most of his colleagues.
Another player in need of a score is the left-hander at number four, Jim Troughton.
On both occasions he has batted, Troughton has had little pressure on him following rapid scoring from the top three.
But both times he has nicked a ball early on, and assuming he does retain his place for Lord's - Kent's Robert Key is also in the squad and could conceivably be given a match - it may be a case of third time lucky.
The only other England conundrum is to try to establish who is the most likely fifth bowler. Anthony McGrath did not bowl at all at Old Trafford, but was more impressive than Rikki Clarke at The Oval.
< It may be that Vaughan and McGrath should each expect to bowl half a dozen overs each. Clarke is really in the side for his batting and fielding and his bowling action needs a bit of work to iron out some flaws.
As for Pakistan, they have to decide whether to persevere with Shoaib Akhtar on what could be an equally fine batting pitch without the extra pace of The Oval. Shoaib was blasted about south London by Trescothick, going for 69 runs in his nine overs.
Umar Gul took 2-33 at Old Trafford, snaring both Vaughan and Troughton, but it was Umar who lost his place when Shoaib was brought into the team.
Meanwhile, Younis Khan's place in the middle order is under threat from Misbah-ul-Haq.
Pakistan captain Rashid Latif praised England's tactics at The Oval.
He said: "It was a good tactic by Michael Vaughan and the England team to play like that because they only have Trescothick, Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff in their batting with experience.
"If Shoaib had taken his two wickets in his initial five overs it would have been a very different game".
Bureau Report
Another player in need of a score is the left-hander at number four, Jim Troughton.
On both occasions he has batted, Troughton has had little pressure on him following rapid scoring from the top three.
But both times he has nicked a ball early on, and assuming he does retain his place for Lord's - Kent's Robert Key is also in the squad and could conceivably be given a match - it may be a case of third time lucky.
The only other England conundrum is to try to establish who is the most likely fifth bowler. Anthony McGrath did not bowl at all at Old Trafford, but was more impressive than Rikki Clarke at The Oval.
< It may be that Vaughan and McGrath should each expect to bowl half a dozen overs each. Clarke is really in the side for his batting and fielding and his bowling action needs a bit of work to iron out some flaws.
As for Pakistan, they have to decide whether to persevere with Shoaib Akhtar on what could be an equally fine batting pitch without the extra pace of The Oval. Shoaib was blasted about south London by Trescothick, going for 69 runs in his nine overs.
Umar Gul took 2-33 at Old Trafford, snaring both Vaughan and Troughton, but it was Umar who lost his place when Shoaib was brought into the team.
Meanwhile, Younis Khan's place in the middle order is under threat from Misbah-ul-Haq.
Pakistan captain Rashid Latif praised England's tactics at The Oval.
He said: "It was a good tactic by Michael Vaughan and the England team to play like that because they only have Trescothick, Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff in their batting with experience.
"If Shoaib had taken his two wickets in his initial five overs it would have been a very different game".
Bureau Report