England Elect to Field Against Pakistan

Cardiff: England captain Paul Collingwood won the toss and elected to field against Pakistan in the first Twenty20 international on Sunday.

This was Pakistan's first match since Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif were suspended by the International Cricket Council after newspaper allegations the trio were involved in a betting scam that saw no-balls deliberately bowled in last week's fourth Test at Lord's.

For England, this was their first Twenty20 fixture since they beat Australia in the World Twenty20 final in Barbados in May.

They were without Kevin Pietersen, the man of that tournament, after the batsman was dropped following a run of low scores and told to play county cricket in a bid to regain form ahead of England's defence of the Ashes in Australia starting in November.

England made two changes to their Twenty20 side with Ravi Bopara replacing Pietersen and Steven Davies coming in for injured opening batsman Michael Lumb.

Rain delayed the scheduled start but this match was still a 20 overs per side contest.

Pietersen made a century for Surrey in a 40-over county match against Sussex at Hove on Saturday.

Scores	Upcoming	Results
South Africa vs Pakistan - 3rd ODI 4th Test - Australia v India - December 26-30, 23:30 GMT 1st Test - Zimbabwe v Afghanistan - December 26-30, 07:30 GMT 3rd ODI - Zimbabwe v Afghanistan at Harare Afghanistan won by 8 wickets (with 139 balls remaining) 3rd T20I - West Indies v Bangladesh at St Vincent Bangladesh won by 80 runs

Related links

Pakistan tour of England 2010 News

ICC Give Clean Chit to England-Pakistan Oval ODI [+]

The ICC concluded that there was "no compelling evidence" to suspect anyone of wrongdoing in the third one-day international between England and Pakistan.

Pakistan Return Home After Disastrous England Tour [+]

Afridi called Pakistan's scandal-marred tour of England the "most difficult" of his career as the team staged a low-key return after four gruelling months away.

Akhtar Again Caught on Camera Tampering With Ball [+]

Pakistan cricket was embroiled in another controversy after Shoaib Akhtar was caught on camera tampering with the ball during the final ODI against England.

England Stun Pakistan Complete Another Series Victory [+]

England completed a clean sweep of their 2010 home series when they defeated Pakistan by 121 runs in the fifth and final one-day international.

Four Pakistan Players Clear Random Dope Tests [+]

Four Pakistan players including captain Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Kamran Akmal and Mohammed Yousuf, currently touring England have cleared their respective dope tests conducted by the WADA.

Pakistan Tour Ends with One-day Decider [+]

Pakistan's scandal-filled tour of England reaches its conclusion at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday with the deciding match of a closely fought one-day series.

Akhtar Fit For Series Decider at Rose Bowl ODI Against England [+]

Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed has confirmed that fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is fit to participate in Wednesday's fifth ODI against England at Rose Bowl in Hampshire.

Pakistan Draw Series With Spirited Win at Lord's [+]

Pakistan recovered from a terrible start to their day to complete a spirited victory in the fourth one-day international against England at Lord's.

Collingwood Return As Pakistan Elect to Bat Against England [+]

Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first in the fourth ODI against England, which has been tarnished by further spot-fixing allegations against the tourists.

Pakistan Looks Series Levelling at Lord's [+]

A victory for England will see them get their hands on the ODI series trophy in addition to the test and the T20 trophies, whereas a win for Pakistan will get them to draw level with England at 2-2.