England v Pakistan, 2006

At Bristol, August 28. Pakistan won by five wickets. Toss: England. Twenty20 international debuts: I. R. Bell, S. C. J. Broad, C. M. W. Read, M. H. Yardy; Pakistan (all).

It took a Twenty20 match, of all things, to restore a sense of cricketing normality after the events at The Oval. The ECB had placed an International XI on standby, in case Pakistan refused to complete the tour, but the Pakistanis took the field to achieve a comfortable victory in their first brush with Twenty20 at this level. The return from injury of Shoaib Akhtar and Naved-ul- Hasan, alongside Mohammad Asif, added zest to their attack: England lost three wickets in five balls early on, with Asif snatching two in the first maiden bowled in eight Twenty20 internationals. Only Trescothick held firm, until he became the first of three victims for Abdul Razzaq. The lively Broad made a stunning start to his England career, taking two wickets with successive balls in his second over. But Shahid Afridi survived the hat-trick in typical fashion, with a miscued drive over mid-off, and played that rarest of things, a memorable ten-ball innings, with one six and five fours.

Man of the Match: Shahid Afridi.