Wisden
England v Pakistan

World Twenty20, 2009

At The Oval, June 7. England won by 48 runs. England 2 pts. Toss: Pakistan. Twenty20 international debut: Mohammad Aamer.

After the Dutch disaster, England shuffled their pack to play two specialist spinners. More importantly, Pietersen was back after injury - and the team found the passion and fight they lacked 48 hours before to breeze into the Super Eights. Bopara fell early to a stupendous diving catch by Shoaib Malik at backward point, but generally Pakistan's fielding was more 1920 village green than Twenty20 international. ("I have no idea why our fielders are unable to field properly," Younis Khan later lamented.) Wright crashed England's first six of the tournament as they made good use of the powerplay overs, and when he fell to an Umar Gul yorker - others would suffer the same fate over the next fortnight - the score was 62 for two in the sixth over. Saeed Ajmal's doosras reined in the scoring, but England still powered past 180, with Pietersen hitting three sixes - one an audaceous strike over extra cover. England's aggressive short-of-a-length bowling and nimbler fielding never allowed their opponents to settle, and the final margin left Pakistan needing a substantial win against the Netherlands to progress.

Man of the Match: L. J. Wright. Attendance: 20,332.

© John Wisden & Co.