Pakistan 235-8 England 237-2: Strauss shows way as England win at last

It just wouldn't be cricket if an England versus Pakistan match passed without incident, but last night's spat, when Inzamam-ul-Haq claimed a catch that was turned down by the third umpire, was minor compared to recent events. Yet the decision of Ian Gould, who gave Andrew Strauss "not out" when he was on five, ultimately had a major impact on the result of the fourth one-day match.

Strauss scored 78 as England successfully chased Pakistan's total of 235 for 8 to win their first major one-day game of the summer. Ian Bell continued to impress in what was an excellent team performance, hitting an unbeaten 86 as England coasted to an eight-wicket victory.

Kevin Pietersen saw England home with a belligerent 41 but it was the 110-run stand between Strauss and Bell that gave England a chance of levelling the five-match series at Edgbaston tomorrow. Batting under lights is always difficult and England needed to be watchful against the new ball. Mohammad Asif accounted for Ed Joyce in an excellent opening spell but the shorter nature of Pakistan's other seamers caused the ball to skid on, which helped England.

Strauss drove the seamers with confidence and pulled or cut the spinners when they dropped short. Bell looked confident too, waiting for the bad balls to come rather than taking risks. This is his second major score in the series ­ he scored 88 in the abandoned match in Cardiff ­ and the No3 position, in the short term anyway, appears to be his.

When a replay of the Strauss catch was shown on the giant screen, the capacity crowd booed in a manner that suggested they thought Inzamam was attempting to claim a catch that did not carry. Daryl Harper, the umpire at the bowler's end, then had a word with the Pakistan captain and the conversation appeared to become quite animated. But the pair made up seven overs later and, thankfully, the remainder of the game passed without incident.

Fielders can never be totally sure that a catch has carried and if there is doubt the batsman is entitled to stand his ground. Umpires are only allowed to refer a catch if both of them are unsighted. Television replays were inconclusive and Gould had no option but to press the "not-out" button.

Michael Yardy, on his one-day debut, was as responsible for England's win as Bell and Strauss. Yardy will never be described as a stylist, but the pugnacious all-rounder bowled with intelligence and skill as Pakistan initially limped towards a competitive total. Yardy claimed 3 for 24 but the context of the match changed when he finished his spell.

That was the signal for Abdul Razzaq to launch a ferocious onslaught, and 69 were smashed off the final four overs. Razzaq struck five mighty sixes during his 72-ball innings of 75 to give Pakistan hope.

In the final two overs, Sajid Mahmood and Jon Lewis were hammered for 47 runs, and both bowlers were guilty of failing to bowl yorkers when they were required. Before the late onslaught, Pakistan had struggled to get the ball away on a pitch offering assistance to seamers and spinners.

England would have feared the worst when Mohammad Hafeez smashed two boundaries in the opening over but two early wickets from Lewis gave Strauss the control he was looking for. In the absence of Marcus Trescothick, who was dropped by England for the first time in his international career, Strauss caught Hafeez at first slip. Mohammad Yousuf added 74 with Inzamam-ul-Haq before becoming Yardy's first victim. And two balls later he had his second when Shoaib Malik chipped a simple catch back to him. Inzamam fell in identical fashion to Jamie Dalrymple and England took complete control. But for Razzaq's pyrotechnics, it would have been an even more comprehensive victory.

Trent Bridge scoreboard

Pakistan won toss

Pakistan

Mohammad Hafeez c Strauss b Lewis8

7 min, 8 balls, 2 fours

Shahid Afridi lbw b Mahmood23

46 min, 27 balls, 2 fours, 1 six

Younis Khan c Collingwood b Lewis0

8 min, 6 balls

Mohammad Yousuf b Yardy29

101 min, 80 balls, 1 four

*Inzamam-ul-Haq c and b Dalrymple47

79 min, 56 balls, 6 fours

Shoaib Malik c and b Yardy0

2 min, 2 balls

Abdul Razzaq not out75

73 min, 72 balls, 5 fours, 5 sixes

ÝKamran Akmal c Strauss b Yardy10

21 min, 22 balls

Shoaib Akhtar c Joyce b Broad10

23 min, 19 balls, 1 six

Naved-ul-Hasan not out9

22 min, 8 balls, 1 four

Extras (lb8 w16)24

Total (for 8, 195 min, 50 overs)235

Fall: 1-11 (Mohammad Hafeez) 2-17 (Younis Khan) 3-41 (Shahid Afridi) 4-115 (Mohammad Yousuf) 5-115 (Shoaib Malik) 6-117 (Inzamam-ul-Haq) 7-138 (Kamran Akmal) 8-165 (Shoaib Akhtar).

Did not bat: Mohammad Asif.

Bowling: Broad 7-1-33-1 (w3) (4-0-23-0; 2-1-9-0; 1-0-1-1); Lewis 10-1-49-2 (w2) (8-1-20-2; 2-0-29-0); Mahmood 8-1-58-1 (w8) (6-1-25-1; 2-0-33-0); Dalrymple 10-0-38-1 (w1) (9-0-30-1; 1-0-8-0); Collingwood 2-0-9-0 (w1); Yardy 10-1-24-3; Pietersen 3-0-16-0 (w1) (one spell each).

Progress: Power Play 1: overs 1-10 41-2. PP2: overs 11-15 49-3. PP3: overs 16-20 78-3. 50: 67 min, 92 balls. 100: 105 min, 148 balls. 150: 162 min, 253 balls. 200: 189 min, 292 balls.

Abdul Razzaq's 50: 68 min, 65 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes.

England

A J Strauss b Mohammad Hafeez78

125 min, 100 balls, 10 fours

E C Joyce c Kamran Akmal

b Mohammad Asif13

44 min, 23 balls, 2 fours

I R Bell not out86

151 min, 111 balls, 10 fours

K P Pietersen not out41

70 min, 48 balls, 7 fours

Extras (lb6 w9 nb4)19

Total (for 2, 196 min, 46.2 overs)237

Fall: 1-38 (Joyce) 2-148 (Strauss).

Did not bat: P D Collingwood, J W M Dalrymple, M H Yardy, +C M W Read, J Lewis, S I Mahmood, S C J Broad.

Bowling: Shoaib Akhtar 8-1-36-0 (w1) (4-1-16-0, 2-0-9-0, 2-0-11-0); Mohammad Asif 10-2-34-1 (nb1) (7-1-25-1, 3-1-9-0); Naved-ul-Hasan 9-0-56-0 (nb2 w3) (7-0-39-0, 2-0-17-0); Abdul Razzaq 8-0-48-0 (nb1 w1) (3-0-20-0, 5-0-28-0); Shahid Afridi 5-0-25-0 (w1) (3-0-18-0, 2-0-7-0); Shoaib Malik 2-0-11-0 (one spell); Mohammad Hafeez 4.2-0-21-1 (w3) (3-0-13-1, 1.2-0-8-0).

Progress: Power Play 1: overs 1-10 38-1. PP2: overs 11-15 57-1. PP3: overs 16-20 85-1. 50: 60 min, 80 balls. 100: 92 min, 125 balls. 150: 132 min, 189 balls. 200: 179 min, 252 balls.

Strauss's 50: 93 min, 72 balls, 7 fours. Bell's 50: 74 min, 53 balls, 8 fours.

England win by eight wickets

Man of the match: I R Bell.

Umpires: D J Harper (Aus) and M R Benson.

TV replay umpire: I J Gould.

Match referee: M J Procter (SA).