England Take on Pakistan in Super Eight Opener

Bridgetown: England coach Andy Flower believes his side can cause something of an upset by beating defending champions Pakistan in the opening Super Eights match of the World Twenty20.

Flower's men face the title-holders at the Kensington Oval here on Thursday, having scraped through to the second round after losing in a rain-affected match to the West Indies, despite scoring 191 for five, and qualifying on superior run-rate after a washout with Ireland.

Pakistan lost to Australia but beat Bangladesh and the Tigers' defeat by the Aussies on Wednesday secured the title-holders' Super Eight spot.

"Pakistan are a very dangerous side, with a history of winning a good percentage of their Twenty20 games," said Flower. "But I think we're pretty dangerous as well.

It would be a scalp. They have lots of talent, and a lot of variety in their attack. But the England guys have shown attacking intent.

England have so far owed much to Dublin-born batsman Eoin Morgan's contributions of 55 against the West Indies and 45 against his native Ireland.

Flower though believes there is more to come from Morgan.

Morgan's ingenuity with the bat has caught the eye but it is the mental side of his game that has impressed Flower as much as anything else.

Kevin Pietersen was sure to set the World Twenty20 alight. Yet two games and two identical dismissals later, we're still waiting for that barnstorming knock. The bouncy track and lively pace attack should get him ticking.

Pakistan, the defending champions, put on an assured performance to beat Bangladesh by 21 runs but were completely outgunned by Australia a day later. It's no surprise, then, that the last time these sides met, in Dubai in February, the series was shared one apiece.

Mohammad Hafeez's spin didn't come off against Australia, Saeed Ajmal showed, once again, how strong he is in this format. He has one of the best doosras in the game and is up against a line-up that, historically at least, prefers pace on the ball.

Team news

Pakistan Mohammad Sami was destroyed by Australia, which will surely point the Pakistan selectors in the direction of Mohammad Asif, who, it should be remembered, has an impressive record against Kevin Pietersen.

Squad from Shahid Afridi (C), Khalid Latif, Misbah-ul-Haq, Fawad Alam, Umar Akmal, Salman Butt, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal (WK), Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, Saeed Ajmal, Hammad Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Sami, Abdur Rehman

England With Pietersen still available, England's only issue is their fast bowling, with James Anderson looking likely to step in for Ryan Sidebottom.

Squad from Paul Collingwood (C), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Ajmal Shahzad, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy, Craig Kieswetter (WK)

Pitch and conditions
The Barbados pitch is the best in the Caribbean, with proper pace and bounce, and some grip for the spinners. It's the kind of pitch that should produce the best cricket, though batsmen should be wary after the low-scoring encounters on Wednesday.

Stats and trivia

• After four games between the sides, Pakistan and England share the spoils 2-2.
• Of players with more than 100 Twenty20 international runs, Eoin Morgan's average of 55.40 is the highest

Match Facts
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Start time 09:30 local (13:30 GMT)