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To steal a football phrase: ‘It’s a funny old game.’ Just a couple of weeks after England’s world number one status was made a mockery of by a 3-0 Test series drubbing, the one day side today cruised to a 4-0 retaliation in Dubai.
For England, the series became a tale of two double centurions. After Alastair Cook calculated his way to three figures in the first two ODIs, Kevin Pietersen dramatically recaptured his form of old to record consecutive tons in games three and four.
Pietersen is at his best with all eyes on him, and they certainly were in Dubai from the first over of England's reply when Cook fell to Junaid Khan’s second ball. But Pietersen, who adores playing the hero role, dismantled Pakistan once again to secure for England a notable series whitewash in the desert.
The tourists took advantage of having wrapped things up with a game to go by ringing the changes. Jos Buttler and Danny Briggs made ODI debuts, while Tim Bresnan and Jade Dernbach returned as Ravi Bopara, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson dropped out.
Briggs impressed in low-key fashion after Pakistan won the toss and batted, taking 2/39 from his ten overs to help restrict the ‘hosts’ to a below-par 237. It had looked like being a considerably higher total at 112/1 in the 23rd over, but the loss of Asad Shafiq for a well-crafted 65 started a regular fall of wickets as Pakistan again underachieved.
There was an element of rust about the returning Dernbach and Bresnan, but the former finished with 4/45, including the scalps of openers Mohammad Hafeez and the promoted Azhar Ali.
But the limelight inevitably belonged to the box office favourite Pietersen. Supported largely by Craig Kieswetter (43), he led his side to within two runs of victory with 130 runs to add to his 111 from Saturday’s third game.
It was Bresnan’s privilege to flail the winning runs to the vacant third man boundary to avenge, at least in part, the Test series debacle as England’s proactive approach against the spinners once again proved fruitful with Hafeez and Shahid Afridi bowling 20 wicket-less overs between them.
Four months will pass before England’s 50-overs side have another go, but the signs of both youth and genuine strength in depth bode well so early in a World Cup cycle.
*We'll be back from 3.45pm on Thursday for the first T20 between Pakistan and England.