Pakistan win but down to 11 on troubled tour

TAUNTON: Pakistan's first match since a betting scandal engulfed the team on their tour of England ended with them having just 11 fit players at their disposal on Thursday.

Pakistan won a one-day tour game against southwest county Somerset by eight runs in the last over in their final match before Twenty20 and one-day series against England.

But the fixture itself was overshadowed by the announcement that Test captain Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif had withdrawn from the remainder of the tour after being named in a fixing 'sting'.

Britain's News of the World newspaper had alleged on Sunday the trio had all conspired with a 'fixer' to deliberately bowl no-balls during the fourth Test against England at Lord's last week.

Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal was hit in the face batting in the nets at Somerset's County Ground before play started on Thursday and missed the warm-up match entirely while all-rounder Abdul Razzaq suffered a back problem warming-up between innings and was unable to bowl.

Shafqat Rana, Pakistan's associate manager, told reporters Razzaq's condition was being assessed.

Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed, speaking before play started, said he expected Umar Akmal to be fit for the remainder of the tour.

Saeed added replacements would be called up to take the squad back to its original 16-man size but said he did not know who the new players would be.

Butt, Asif and Aamer all pulled out from the tour after a meeting with Pakistan's High Commissioner (ambassador) Wajid Shamsul Hasan and Ijaz Butt, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board in London on Thursday.

A statement released on their behalf said they were in no state to play cricket because of the "mental torture" they'd suffered in recent days.

Their withdrawal effectively paved the way for the rest of the tour to continue as scheduled.

"If they do something bad, you need to give them a punishment, but we are still waiting for the result and I'm praying that what happens is good for the team," said Pakistan one-day captain Shahid Afridi at the toss.

In the match itself, Pakistan made 264 all out after being sent into bat.

Shazaib Hasan top-scored for Pakistan with 105, off 120 balls with two sixes and 10 fours, while Fawad Alam made 97.

The pair put on 169 runs in 31 overs for the fourth wicket.

Debutant medium-pace bowler Lewis Gregory led Somerset's attack with four wickets for 49 runs.

Somerset finished on 256 for nine with South African Zander de Bruyn unbeaten on 122.

Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal took three for 40 and paceman Umar Gul three for 66.

The match passed of without incident and a collection amongst the crowd of 4,000, who acknowledged all the to urists' good play with traditional polite applause, raised 2,580 pounds (3,971 dollars) for the Pakistan flood-relief fund.

Somerset chief executive Richard Gould told reporters the club would round that figure up to 5,000 pounds (7,696 dollars).

Pakistan play the first of two Twenty20 internationals against England, both in Cardiff, on Sunday.

The teams then contest a five-match one-day series starting at the Riverside, the home ground of northeast county Durham, on September 10. AGENCIES