Four-wicket Asif wrecks England first innings

18 Aug, 2006

Mohammad Asif took four wickets to spark an England collapse on the opening day of the fourth and final test at The Oval on Thursday. The home side, having already clinched the series with emphatic wins at Old Trafford and Headingley, slumped from 54 for one to 173 all out after being put in.
Asif, playing his first game of the four-test series following elbow trouble, cut through the top order with some classic seam bowling and then switched to reverse swing.
He removed England captain Andrew Strauss (38) and Kevin Pietersen (0) with successive deliveries as part of an 11-ball burst which earned him three wickets for four runs.
He finished with four for 56 while fellow fast bowler Umar Gul also took four wickets, including the last two with successive balls.
Alastair Cook top-scored for England with 40 while wicketkeeper Chris Read made 33 and put on 46 with Sajid Mahmood for the seventh wicket, the best partnership of the innings.
ENGLAND LEAD THE SERIES 2-0.
SCOREBOARD



====================================
England 1st Innings
====================================
M. Trescothick c Hafeez b Gul 6
A. Strauss c Akmal b Asif 38
A. Cook lbw b Nazir 40
K. Pietersen c Akmal b Asif 0
P. Collingwood lbw b Asif 5
I. Bell c Iqbal b Kaneria 9
C. Read b Gul 33
S. Mahmood b Gul 15
M. Hoggard c Akmal b Asif 4
S. Harmison not out 8
M. Panesar b Gul 0
------------------------------------
Extras (b4, lb4, nb7) 15
Total (all out, 53.2 overs) 173
====================================

Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-54, 3-54, 4-64, 5-91, 6-112, 7-158, 8-163, 9-173, 10-173
Bowling: Mohammad Asif 19-6-56-4; Umar Gul 15.2-47-4 (3nb); Shahid Nazir 11-1-44-1 (3nb); Danish Kaneria 8-1-18-1 (1nb)
Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Faisal Iqbal, Kamran Akmal (wkt), Shahid Nazir, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria
Toss: Pakistan
Umpires: Billy Doctrove (WIS), Darrell Hair (AUS)
TV umpire: Peter Hartley (ENG)
Match referee: Mike Procter (RSA)

Read Comments