Pakistan vs England 1st One Day Match Today - Delayed by Rain

England team is leaving no stone unturned to add to the humiliation of Afridi and his team. First, the test match series was lost in an unconvincingly fashion by Pakistan, then came the spot-fixing allegations after which the defeat in both the T20 matches added more misery to the Pakistani Team.


Pakistan team would be looking to settle down and only win in the one day series can provide them some relief from all the criticism, however it would be a tough job as Shahid Afridi has admitted that the morale in the dressing room is quite low in light of the spot-fixing allegations.

It is true that Pakistan trio cricketers who have been suspended are the backbone of the Pakistani Team; however I would have to admit here that this is the only team in world who is capable to produce magnificent performances even in the odd time like this. It is the only nation which have been producing amazing bowlers and who knows may be the replacement for trio can do the trick for them. Asad Shafiq, who played his only ODI against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup earlier this year and Mohammad Irfan, a 7 foot left arm debutant pacer will be filling the empty spaces in the team.

On the other hand, it seems England is more ready than ever to climb the stairs of success. They are so confident that one of the best batsman in the world cricket 'Kevin Pietersen' has not been included in the side, English team is on the top of their game and will be hoping his exclusion doesn't prove costly.

Rain has delayed the start of the game and it is now scheduled to start at 12:30 PM (UK Time). Pakistan have won the toss and elected to field.

Playing Teams:

England: Andrew Strauss(c), Steve Davies(w), Jonathan Trott, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Michael Yardy, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal (w), Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Yousuf, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi (c), Fawad Alam, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Mohammad Irfan, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar

Prediction:
We always like to run against the wind and today is no different. I would say Pakistan has much to prove and say and they would find a better day to do this, hence we'll be putting my money on Pakistan. Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq would be the players to watch out for today.