Hong Kong, Nov 02: A magnificent all-round performance from Glamorgan's Robert Croft helped England beat Pakistan by 21 runs today to win the us$250,000 Hong Kong cricket sixes tournament. Croft, named man of the final, scored an unbeaten 31 runs and grabbed the vital wickets of Imran Nazir and Abdul Razzaq in his over as Pakistan tumbled to defeat at the Kowloon Cricket Club.
Defending champions Pakistan, seeking a hat trick of Hong Kong titles, put England into bat and restricted them to 86 in the five-overs-a-side match.
Apart from Croft's 31, Kabir Ali hit 31 while captain Matthew Maynard made 20. Tight bowling then prevented Pakistan's free-scoring batsmen from piling on the runs.
"It is disappointing not to do the hat-trick, but England performed very well," said Pakistan captain Moin Khan.
England booked their berth in the final earlier in the day with an accomplished five-wicket win over New Zealand in the semifinals.
Chasing a total of 86, England reached home with three balls to spare with Kabir Ali (35) and Croft (24) manufacturing runs at a brisk pace.
In the other semifinal match, Pakistan took a similar path into the final, defending a modest total of 86 against Sri Lanka.
Nazir took two wickets for nine runs and Razzaq two for two, as Sri Lanka floundered in their run chase once openers Indika de Saram (19) and Saman Jayantha (29) were dismissed. Bureau Report