Broad, Davies Give England Hard Earned Win

Dubai: Steve Davies and Stuart Broad shared a resolute seventh stand of 61 to help an unimpressive England to win the three-day tour opener against ICC Combined XI by three wickets on Monday.

It was a case of second batting failure for the tourists as, chasing 261 to win, England owed the win to captain Andrew Strauss (78), Ian Bell (39) and Jonathan Trott (35) on the final day at the Global Cricket Academy ground.

Kevin Pietersen (1) and Eoin Morgan (3) flopped a second time in the match and when Bell departed at 199-6, England looked down and out before Davies (37 not out) and Broad (31) saved their blushes.

Despite the win England's batting looked rusty ahead of the first of three Tests against Pakistan which starts from January 17.

England will have another opportunity to settle their batting on the slow, dusty pitches as they play the second warm-up game against a Pakistan Cricket Board XI, also in Dubai, from January 11-13.

Strauss and Alastair Cook (26) looked solid during their opening stand of 63 but Afghanistan's spinner Mohammad Nabi (3-66), George Dockrell (1-28) and Majid Haq (1-42) derailed on the run chase.

Strauss and Trott added 70 for the second wicket but England lost five more wickets before reaching the 200-mark. Strauss hit 13 boundaries and a six during his 96-ball innings but his departure put England in trouble.

It was left to Broad and Davies to carry their team within one run of the victory.

Earlier, the ICC Combined XI declared their second innings at 164-9 with Afghanistan's wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Shahzad notching a second half-century of the match with a defiant 74.

Shahzad, who scored 51 in the first innings, held the Combined XI innings and added 43 for the eighth wicket with Haq who scored 256 not out. Shahzad hit 13 boundaries during his attractive 104-ball knock.

Broad finished with 3-22, a match haul of seven wickets, while James Anderson took 2-62.

Brief scores
ICC Combined XI 281 (Viljoen 98, Broad 4-46) and 164 for 9 dec (Shahzad 74, Broad 3-22)
England XI 185 for 8 dec (Cook 76) and 261 for 7 (Strauss 78, Nabi 3-66)
Result England XI beat ICC Combined XI by three wickets

Scores	Upcoming	Results
Pakistan vs New Zealand - 4th T20I Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore - 41st Match 42nd Match - Kolkata Knight Riders v Punjab Kings - April 26, 14:00 GMT 43rd Match - Delhi Capitals v Mumbai Indians - April 27, 10:00 GMT 40th Match - Delhi Capitals v Gujarat Titans at New Delhi Delhi Capitals won by 4 runs 39th Match - Chennai Super Kings v Lucknow Super Giants at Chennai Lucknow Super Giants won by 6 wickets (with 3 balls remaining)

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