Pakistan Looks Series Levelling at Lord's

London: Both teams will have everything to play for in this match. A victory for England will see them get their hands on the ODI series trophy in addition to the test and the T20 trophies, whereas a win for Pakistan will get them to draw level with England at 2-2.

Pakistan and England will return to Lord's for the first time after the tainted 4th test in the recently concluded Test series. Pakistan just about managed to break the shackles the spot fixing controversy seem to have put them in with a great win against England, but the game was once again plunged into controversy with reports of the 3rd ODI being fixed.

Ian Bell is poised to return to international duty with England after being recalled to the one-day squad for the final two matches. Bell was been in prolific form for Warwickshire since returning from his metatarsal injury and though he might have hoped for more pleasant circumstances in which to cement his England spot, with a challenging winter ahead he will be looking to make the most of every opportunity.

Ravi Bopara's return to England's middle order has only been partially successful, and either he or Luke Wright could sit out if Paul Collingwood has recovered from the virus that kept him out of the third match and Bell slots back into the line-up.

Shahid Afridi showed glimpses that he was beginning to return to his destructive best at The Oval and if he can find form with the bat and rhythm with the ball he is dynamic and charismatic enough to be a dangerous player regardless of any off-field distractions.

An embattled Pakistan are likely to stick to the same starting XI, both because this unit was successful in the last match and to present a unified front as the storm surrounding the most recent round of allegations gathers force.

Team from

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Steve Davies (wk), Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Michael Yardy, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Luke Wright, Ravi Bopara, Ryan Sidebottom, Ajmal Shahzad

Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Kamran Akmal (wk), Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Yousuf, Fawad Alam, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Azhar Ali, Shahzaib Hasan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan

Pitch and conditions
Saturday's CB 40 Final, which was also a day/night affair, gave a good indication of what to expect at Lord's. In a match Imran Tahir's returns were the most impressive. The seamers also found plenty in the pitch to keep them interested. Although temperatures are likely to be on the low side once again, rain shouldn't be an issue.

Stats and trivia

• Bell's performance against Somerset extended his domestic limited-overs tally this season to 554 runs at 61.55, including six fifties and hundred Hampshire last week in final.
• Umar Gul clearly enjoys bowling at The Oval, and has taken 20 wickets at an average of 11.00 across three formats there. He is less enamored with Lord's, where has 12 wickets in two Tests and three T20Is at 31.08.

Match facts
Monday September 20, 2010 (day/night)
Start time 13:00 local (12:00 GMT)