QPR lifted themselves off the bottom of the Premier League after pick up their first win of the season against Fulham at Loftus Road.

Two goals from Adel Taarabt scored twice for the R’s to hand Harry Redknapp his maiden victory since taking over from Mark Hughes, ending their record winless run and giving supporters hope that the club will now mount a serious bid to beat the drop.

Early dreams of Europe have subsided for the Cottagers after a run of one win in their last nine games, which came on Monday against Newcastle, left them marooned in mid-table heading into Christmas.

Performances have visibly improved since Redknapp’s arrival and it was the hosts that started on the front foot and Mark Schwarzer had to be on his toes to gather a scuffed Djibril Cisse effort following a glorious pass from Taarabt.

John Arne Riise then saw a blind back pass go unpunished when Jamie Mackie shot wide from six-yards as the away side struggled to break out of their first half slumber.

A free kick was then wasted Cisse and Taarabt just before the break before the latter handed QPR a deserved lead seven minutes after the restart with his shot trickling past a despairing Schwarzer after flicking off Brede Hangeland.

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Taarabt continued to exert his influence over proceedings and would make certain of all three points in the 68th minute with a stunning goal. The Moroccan international brushed off the attentions of Hangeland before driving the ball home with the outside of his boot from just outside the penalty area.

Fulham had failed to pose an attacking threat all afternoon but bagged a consolation through Mladen Petric’s strike that looped off the boot of Alejandro Faurlin and over Robert Green.

Tottenham Hotspur have made an offer for Benfica left-back Alex Grimaldo, according to Naples-based radio station Radio CRC, as reported in Gonfialarete.

What’s the story?

The 22-year-old was a member of Barcelona’s famous youth academy before he was signed by Benfica in 2016.

The young Spaniard has quickly established himself as a key player for the Portuguese club, making 28 starts in the Primeira Liga last season, scoring one goal and assisting four.

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His form has attracted interest abroad, and according to the report, Spurs are in the driving seat to sign the hot prospect after making a bid, with Napoli and Borussia Dortmund waiting in the wings for the youngster who is valued at £18million on Transfermarkt.

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An exciting prospect

It’s unclear yet whether Tottenham are considering Grimaldo as a potential replacement for Danny Rose or as another option at left-back.

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What is for sure is that he plays exactly in the Tottenham way under Pochettino, as a very pacy and attacking full-back who is great on the ball.

If Rose does indeed leave Spurs this summer, Grimaldo would be a great option, but if not, perhaps there are other areas of the team that need more immediate attention than full-backs where they are particularly strong.

Mathew Dowman and Dominic Cork at last gave Derbyshire supporters a dayto savour when they transformed the match at the County Ground with arecord breaking partnership.The unbroken seventh wicket stand of 225 was the highest for Derbyshireagainst Durham and at the close, Dowman and Cork had taken their sideinto a lead of 369.It was a totally different story shortly after lunch when Durham had thehome side on the ropes at 121-6, only 143 runs in front, and there wasevery chance the game would finish inside two days.But the pitch had by now flattened out, the ball did not swing andDowman and Cork plundered bowling which became increasingly ragged on ahot afternoon.This was Dowman’s best innings for Derbyshire and, after spending 18balls on 99, he reached his eighth first-class century which wasapplauded by all the Durham team.Cork scored his fourth hundred and his unbeaten 105 was his highestscore while Dowman’s 129 not out was his best for Derbyshire.The stand was the highest against Durham this season and has seriouslydamaged their chances of avoiding relegation to the Second Divisionwhile Derbyshire now have an excellent chance of winning their firstgame since late June although they already look doomed to lose theirDivision One status.

Rain severely curtailed the first day’s play in the Supersport Series match between Easterns and Eastern Province at Willowmoore Park on Friday, but in the 40.2 overs which were possible, Easterns continued this season’s impressive form, reducing the visitors to 106 for four.Torrential rain early on Friday morning left the outfield sodden and play only started at 1.44pm, with EP getting off to a good start through a 55-run opening stand between Mark Benfield and skipper Carl Bradfield, who had won the toss and chosen to bat.Bradfield was a trifle lucky, being caught in the gully off an Andre Nel no-ball when he had 12, but he rode his luck until, after pulling Albie Morkel to the mid-wicket boundary to move up to 46, he tried to repeat the dose off the next ball, but this time failed to keep it down and was caught by Ernest Mokoenanyane at backward square leg.The diminutive left-hander was the fourth EP batsman to perish and his demise meant the visitors had lost four wickets for 47 runs after the responsible opening partnership he had fashioned with Benfield.The latter got out minutes before tea for 26, edging Kenny Benjamin to wicketkeeper Dylan Jennings. After the break James Bryant, who could manage just a single off 21 deliveries as offspinner Derek Crookes bogged him down from the Chalet End before bowling him, and Dave Callaghan, who steered a lifter from Nel to Deon Jordaan at first slip, fell in quick succession.However, just as Easterns looked as though they might run through the EP line-up, the rain returned with a vengeance and play was suspended until Saturday.

ScorecardKumar Sangakkara saw Surrey home in a small chase•PA Photos

Many very real battles took place at the Kia Oval on Friday night. Spectators battled end-of-week queues on tubes and roads to make it into the ground, then further queues to make it to the equally congested bars. Stewards battled those spectators as they grew restless and unruly, sculpting their beer snakes and shouting their chants.The crowd – barely a spare seat was visible – can claim emphatic victories in both. That they then stuck around in their thousands at play’s end to watch and cheer some of their number sprint across the outfield – battling, as ever, those unfortunate, officious stewards – suggested that they felt somewhat shortchanged by the action in the middle.Out in the middle, either side of the “mascot derby” – adults dressed as furry animals from sports club across London and perhaps the closest the crowd came to seeing actual sport – came the cricket. Chases do not come easier than the 106 Middlesex asked Surrey to knock off and the hosts were not about to break sweat in ensuring success. Middlesex were abject, for the second time in as many days, and have a seventh consecutive defeat in the format to show for it.

Insights

Zafar Ansari produced the sort of intelligent containing bowling performance that explains quite why he is so highly regarded in South London and beyond. Brought into the attack with Gubbins and Malan set and just after Batty’s first over had cost 12, Ansari dried things up and picked up three crucial wickets too. He varied his flight and pace and bowled just short of a hittable length that meant his 24 deliveries yielded 17 singles and seven dots, including those three scalps.

The similarities with their defeat to Sussex across town on Thursday were striking. Once again they batted first, lost wickets frequently, failed to clear the rope enough – seven times to Thursday’s nine – and posted a target wildly under par. They did not score a boundary in the final 80 deliveries of their 120, and no batsman outside of their top three managed it. Sussex beat them with 28 balls to spare, Surrey 32.Surrey must take some credit. They fielded like hawks and bowled parsimoniously, giving Middlesex no rope. The sight of Kumar Sangakkara, 38 this year and a wicketkeeper by trade, haring round from long-off, diving full stretch and flicking the ball up to James Burke in order to save two runs off the bowling of Sam Curran just about epitomised Surrey’s effort.Middlesex’s start did not tell of the inadequacy to come. The runs didn’t flow, but wickets didn’t tumble. Paul Stirling skied Sam Curran to Zafar Ansari at cover before Dawid Malan, who pulled with disdain, shared 40 with the organised Nick Gubbins, who pulled then cut Burke for boundaries. The pair ran sharply as Malan looked to dominate but never quite could, carting Gareth Batty for a cow-bound six in his first over nevertheless.But when Ansari joined Batty in the attack the runs dried up and the rot set in. Gubbins skied the first ball of Batty’s second when trying to follow Malan to the short cow fence, taking on a strong breeze that held it up and saw him caught. Even then, a handy enough platform had been laid at 55 for 2.Eoin Morgan scratched and couldn’t settle before being bowled by Ansari as Middlesex contrived to lose six wickets for 13 runs and end all hopes of a contest. Simpson was bowled by Batty, Malan – who had acted as the innings’ glue – sent Ansari straight to long-on and Neil Dexter attempted to turn a sharp turner to leg next ball and was bowled. Ansari was outstanding, varying his lengths trickily to make each delivery tough to hit.Young bowlers – men who should not be required to bat in a game this short – Harry Podmore and Ravi Patel saw the line and were determined to limp over it, taking Middlesex to the last over with a series of singles and the occasional two before the latter was castled by Tom Curran. It had been a sorry showing indeed.In reply, Jason Roy did as Jason Roy does, but Surrey were in no hurry. He flashed through off and attempted a switch hit, while his pinch-hitting partner Tom Curran – perhaps a permanent fixture up top in this format now – sent Gurjit Sandhu over long-off for six. He then moved to 16 with a French cut off Podmore, who gained his revenge by bowling him four balls later. Roy would follow, also bowled, attempting an audacious ramp.Wise old heads Sangakkara and Gary Wilson new they needn’t rush. Sangakkara strolled to 12 off 17 before hunting Patel. There was a sweep for four, a bunt over long-on for six and a pulled four. Stirling and Malan were given a bowl as the action wound down and the crowd ramped up, both were dispatched by Sangakkara and the game was up. Middlesex can forget this competition once more but Surrey – up to sixth now – might just be on the charge.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMatthew Wade hit nine fours and seven sixes for his 130•K Sivaraman

Matthew Wade had the weight of four centuries in a year when he was first called up to the Australian team in 2011. The year 2015 has been similarly kind: he scored his third ton in seven months and has made it back to international cricket. His stroke-filled 130 off 106 balls set up a 108-run victory over South Africa A and ensured Australia A maintained a perfect record going into the final of the A-team tri-series in Chennai. The defeat meant that South Africa A were still not on the board after three matches, and they now need to secure a bonus-point win against India A tomorrow to stand any chance of qualifying for the final.Wade had been named captain in place of the rested Usman Khawaja. He called correctly at the toss, chose to bat and had to come out at No. 3 in the very first over. His first scoring shot was a six, helped of course by the fact that it was a free hit. His second and third hits were fours, and he was on his way. Wade’s bottom-handed strength was on show, the sweep shot being utilised frequently and effectively.Wade hit seven sixes and nine fours – 78 of his 130 runs – and that meant South Africa A muting the rest of the top five amounted to very little. He had 50 off 45 balls; his team had 78 on the board. His hundred came off 90 balls; his team had 158 on the board. The numbers give a clear indication of how the rest of the top-five fared: Chris Lynn’s 29 was the next best contribution.So long as Wade was at the crease, South Africa A were never allowed the upper hand. He was gracious enough to pop a catch to square leg on 26, but Beuran Hendricks had overstepped and the cost of that mistake kept growing.The game held little consequence for Australia A. Seven of their numbers will take the field in Chennai on Friday morning for the tri-series final, and then leave for London later at night no matter what had happened today. So giving Wade some batting practice considering he is the only specialist wicketkeeper chosen in the Australian ODI team was sensible: His scores on this tour before today had been 5, 34*, 11 and 2.”We had a chat with selectors, Trevor Hohns is here, and the coaches had a chat before,” Wade said. “They let me know I was going to captain and they wanted me to just go up and have a hit. We’d already qualified for the final so that’ll go back to normal, I’m guessing. Usman will come out and bat at the top and I’ll probably slip down to No. 6.”The impact of having a set batsman at the crease became clear in South Africa A’s chase. Only Dean Elgar with 64 off 85 balls and Khaya Zondo with 47 not out off 49 offered any resistance. The rest of the batsmen struggled for timing, and were outclassed by the Australian bowlers, as five single-digit scores would suggest.Nathan Coulter-Nile, who is among those headed to England, produced a brilliant spell of 7-1-8-2. The only runs scored off him were singles and the wickets he took were off back-to-back deliveries: He bounced Cameron Delport out on a slow pitch and sent Theunis de Bryun’s stumps crashing with an indipper. The hat-trick ball took Elgar’s edge, but it fell short of the slips. Technically, it can be said that he’d created four chances in four balls: the one prior to Delport’s wicket took Reeza Hendricks’ outside edge but was shelled at second slip by a diving Lynn.The new ball left South Africa A at 37 for 3 and as it got older, spinners Ashton Agar and Cameron Boyce took control. They shared six wickets between them as the score slumped from 142 for 4 to 148 for 8. Defeat came not long after.There is an argument that South Africa A have not been able to put their best XI on the park. Quinton de Kock and Wayne Parnell were still recuperating from the stomach bug that had “ravaged” the team a few days ago. Lonwabo Tsotsobe, at the post-match press conference, would not confirm the source of the illness but did mention that de Kock and Parnell had been advised rest by the doctors.”We had food at the Hard Rock and then we had food at the hotel. So you can’t really say which one it was,” Tsotsobe said. “Those were the orders from the doctor and you can’t do anything if the doctor tells you to rest. But like I said earlier, it’s [picking the XI] up to the coaches and we’ll see tomorrow.”

ScorecardTom Curran’s impressive Championship season continued•EMPICS/Surrey CCC

On the day that Chris Tremlett announced his retirement his county, Surrey, were taking on Gloucestershire as they push for a long awaited promotion from Division Two. As a man with 459 first-class wickets at an average of 28 his struggles with injury and form in recent seasons have hampered Surrey’s ambitions to make it back to the top flight in this competition.Tremlett has played three first-class matches this season getting through just 68 overs, with that in mind it is perhaps not surprising that his latest injury setback has led to him calling it a day. Despite his absence Surrey are well placed in the promotion spots in the table and are completely in charge of this match in Bristol. The reason that Tremlett has not been missed has been the emergence of the Curran brothers.Tom Curran, the 20-year-old, made his first-class debut last season collecting a very respectable 19 wickets at 27 during the seven matches that he played. This year he has been ever present in the Surrey team in the Championship and has now gone past 50 wickets for the season. His 6 for 61 means he now has 18 first-class wickets against Gloucestershire at 10. Excellent returns against his father’s former county.In the opening exchanges of this match it was younger brother Sam that was the most impressive. He is just a matter of weeks past his 17th birthday and he already has 11 first-class wickets at an average of 21. He is shorter than his brother, although there is every chance he has some growing to do, and his action is a lot less upright. Bowling left-arm over, Sam gets the ball to skid on and seam.This is exactly how he claimed the wicket of Will Tavare with his first ball – the seventh of the match. The delivery was full and ducked into the left hander trapping him in for a straightforward lbw decision.When the younger Curran bowled Chris Dent as the batsman left a ball alone he had claimed both openers in a six-over spell. From that point onwards it was the Tom Curran show. He found excellent bounce and carry while swinging the ball consistently, in fact for a period in the middle of the Gloucestershire innings his problem was he was swinging the ball too much and therefore not troubling the outside edge.Of the Gloucestershire top order only Gareth Roderick made a contribution of note. His 100-ball 71 was an excellent counter-attacking effort, but when he fell in the middle of a cluster of three wickets just after the lunch break it looked as if Gloucestershire would be shot out for something pretty paltry.James Fuller had other ideas as his team recovered from 111 for 7. His hugely entertaining 48 was full of vim and vigour as he struck seven fours and the only six of the innings. He had an interesting technique to the quick men, charging forward as the ball is delivered. There were a number of occasions where Jade Dernbach saw him coming and a bouncer flew past his nose.While the Currans shone the other bowlers lacked real penetration. James Burke struggled to keep it tight and while Dernbach kept the scoring down but never really troubled the batsmen. Surrey captain Gareth Batty gave himself a few overs but on a green-tinged pitch there was not a lot in the surface for him to exploit, although he did claim the last wicket to bring the Gloucestershire innings to a close. The space inside the salary cap that is freed up by Tremlett’s departure should be reinvested in another seamer with Derbyshire’s Mark Footitt a likely target.The eighth Gloucestershire wicket cost 57 runs and the ninth 56 and on both occasions it was Tom Curran that broke the stand. His six wickets take his tally this season to 54 wickets at 25. If Surrey can make it to Division One for next season it will be fascinating to see how well he does against stronger opposition.What those late-order runs showed is that there is little to cause alarm in this pitch once the new ball has been seen off, and that is just what the Surrey managed to do as they made it to 74 for 2 in the 22 overs they batted before the close. That both openers fell in the closing stages of the day makes the game seem closer than it should have been, but Surrey have a lot of batting to come.If Gloucestershire want to get back into this game they need to find a performance similar to Tom Curran’s. With Craig Miles not risked for this game with the hope that he will recover from his back injury in time for the Royal London Cup quarter-final against Hampshire on Wednesday it is difficult to see where that inspired showing will come from although the regularity with which Fuller beat the edge will allow Gloucestershire to at least hope.

Shane Watson’s endlessly enigmatic Test career for Australia is over. He had played 59 Tests beginning in 2005, scoring 3731 runs at 35.19 and taking 75 wickets at 33.68. Injury issues afflicted Watson for much of his time around the side, and he never reached the heights that many, including himself, had expected of him in Tests.Watson’s decision to quit the longest format comes in the wake of Australia’s loss to England in the 2015 Ashes, a day after he had to leave the field during a one-dayer at Lord’s due to “minor right calf strain”. He announced his decision after it was decided the strain would keep him out of the rest of the ODI series.”It has been a decision that hasn’t come lightly, over the last month especially,” Watson said while announcing his decision. “I know it’s the right time to move on and still hopefully play the shorter formats of the game, one-dayers and T20s. I’ve been through a lot of different waves of emotion about what is right for myself, my family and most importantly, the team as well. There wasn’t really one exact moment, because I’ve been through a lot of different sort of mindsets: believing the right thing is to play on, to the next day to ‘nah, I think the right thing is to retire from Test cricket’.”The past couple of days, for whatever reason, I had the clarity in my mind about what the right decision is. I just know that I’ve given everything I possibly can to get the best out of myself. I just know it’s the right time to move on. I don’t have that real fight in me, especially for Test cricket, knowing the lengths physically that I’d have to go through, mentally and technically as well, to be at my best in Test cricket, so I just know it’s the right time.”A measure of Watson’s battles with injury can be found in the fact that he has played around half of Australia’s Test matches since his debut against Pakistan at the SCG in January 2005. By that stage he had already fought numerous fitness battles, largely soft tissue injuries related to bowling, and they would continue to a point when he was told by CA medical staff that it would be easier for Watson to simply give up his allrounder status.However he was able to find a greater level of physical durability as a result of work with physios outside the team, including the Brisbane-based Victor Popov and the Rajasthan Royals’ John Gloster. It was in the IPL that Watson first showed he would be able to build a more substantial career, as the dominant player in the Royals’ unexpected victory in the inaugural tournament in 2008. From there Watson would go on to regain his Test place, and develop a highly effective opening combination with Simon Katich after they were thrown together during the 2009 Ashes tour.Over the next two years they were the world’s foremost opening combination, and one of few components of the Australian side to work effectively as Ricky Ponting’s captaincy tenure wound down. Ponting and Watson have always been close, and over this period he was at his most consistent with the bat while also bowling key spells with the ball. Nevertheless, his recurring tendencies to get out lbw and also to lose his wicket short of a century were both in evidence even then.After Katich was unjustly dropped from the list of Cricket Australia contracted players in mid-2011, Watson’s role changed as he became vice-captain under Michael Clarke, bowling more frequently but also losing the thread of his batting. The increased workload with the ball led to another bout of injuries, and he spent much of the next two summers sidelined from the Test team. His leadership axis with Clarke proved unworkable, and their differences were to spiral into the “Homeworkgate” fiasco that enveloped the team on their tour of India in March of 2013.Suspended from the XI to play in Mohali, Watson flew home to be with his wife Lee for the birth of their first son, and made it patently clear he did not agree with the direction of the team under Clarke and the coach Mickey Arthur. Bizarrely he would return to lead the side in the final Test of the series as Clarke was himself injured, but upon returning to Australia the vice-captaincy was handed to Brad Haddin. Subsequent off-field problems during the Champions Trophy in England led to the sacking of Arthur, and Watson took some satisfaction from standing up for his views of how the team should work as Darren Lehmann took over and the Ashes were returned in a 5-0 sweep at home.However the comfort Watson now felt about the team set-up did not translate into the strong performances expected of him, and his run-making would go into an irretrievable downturn following his fourth and final Test century against England in Perth in December 2013. The selectors persisted with Watson, largely due to his bowling, but by the time of this year’s Ashes tour it was clear he was struggling to find his way.Pairs of starts, lbw dismissals and unsuccessful DRS referrals in Cardiff provided a tragicomic last glimpse of Watson at the Test match batting crease, though it was his indifferent bowling that ultimately caused the selectors to lose patience at last. He had plenty of time to think over his career while running drinks in the four Tests that followed, and has now decided to concentrate on ODIs and T20 matches – the two formats where Watson has rather more effectively fulfilled his potential.”There’s a lot that I’m proud of,” Watson said. “The thing I’m most proud of is I’ve given everything I possibly can to get the best out of myself. I haven’t achieved certainly all the things I dreamed of achieving in Test cricket – average 50 with the bat and in the 20s with the ball. That’s obviously the dream as an all-rounder to achieve and obviously I didn’t get anywhere near that, but I do know I gave it everything I possibly can to be able to get the best out of myself. That’s what I’m most proud of.”

Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle’s lack of cricket during the Matador Cup has compelled the national selectors to give the New Zealand tourists an unexpected sighter of one of their likely Test opponents in two warm-up matches in Canberra.In addition to joining Michael Hussey in the day-night Prime Minister’s XI fixture to be played with a pink ball on Friday, Siddle will also play the two-day match with a red ball from Saturday.It is unusual for any touring team to be given a sight of the bowlers they are likely to face in the Tests, with the host nation preferring to field lesser combinations that mean a significant step up to international contests. However, Australia’s selectors were left without a choice by the Bushrangers’ preference for James Pattinson, John Hastings and Scott Boland in their limited overs XI.Some have suggested that Siddle might have played in the Cricket Australia XI added to this year’s Matador Cup as a way of affording further opportunities for younger players, but this possibility seems not to have been considered in the short timeframe that followed the postponement of Australia’s tour of Bangladesh. That decision left numerous players without their previously planned schedules, leading to criticism of how the Australian team will lead into the Gabba.Mitchell Johnson pointed out that it was “not ideal” for the hosts to be playing one Sheffield Shield game with the pink ball before playing two Tests with the red and then the first day-night Test in Adelaide to conclude the series. Meanwhile New Zealand get a pink-ball game against the PM’s XI, then two red-ball warm-ups in Canberra and Sydney, before another pink-ball practice fixture in Perth between the second and third Tests.Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann had previously speculated that Siddle might be left with only club cricket ahead of the sole Sheffield Shield round that precedes the first Test of the summer at the Gabba, after expressing his displeasure at how Victoria had declined to play him in their Matador Cup team.However the selection chairman Rod Marsh said the need to give Siddle decent match practice ahead of the Trans-Tasman series had overruled any desire to keep the Test bowlers away from New Zealand before they reached Brisbane.”We believe it is important to field a strong squad against what we know will be a very competitive New Zealand side in these tour matches,” Marsh said. “Peter performed well at The Oval in the final Ashes Test and as part of his preparation for the summer we want to give him some high-standard match practice.”These tour matches and the first round of the Sheffield Shield give Peter important opportunities to impress ahead of the Test series.”Having spent the past two weeks running drinks and looking on from the sidelines, Siddle was relieved to be getting a chance to play anywhere. He will link up with the PM’s XI coaching duo of Ryan Harris and Greg Blewett next week.”It’s truly an honour to be selected in the Prime Minister’s side,” Siddle said. “I haven’t played in that match before and I’m really looking forward to it and the following two-day tour match. This will give me a good opportunity to experience the pink ball as well as face-off against New Zealand.
”It will be great to work alongside Mike as captain and I’m looking forward to seeing who else may be selected in the squad.”Siddle went to England for the Ashes without the security of a CA contract, and will need to play more Test cricket this summer if he is to secure an incremental version of the deal he had held consistently over the past seven years.

Match facts

November 26, 2015
Start time 8.00pm local (1600GMT)

Big Picture

England are on a three-match winning streak in T20, but those matches have been spread over more than a year. Since being humbled by Netherlands in their final outing of the 2014 World T20 they have played just four games but are already on the countdown to the next global event which will take place in India during March.So it was not without good reason that Reece Topley pinpointed the three-match series against Pakistan as both a rare and vital chance to hone skills ahead of India. For the likes of Topley, new to international cricket, it is a chance to further press his claims for a place in the final 15-man squad while for more senior figures the matches are an opportunity to focus on the shortest form for more than just a day or two.Pakistan have frequented the format much more regularly than England with 11 matches since the last World T20 – they have also played more T20s (92) than any other side since the format began internationally. They are on a run of six matches unbeaten against a combination of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka so this series gives them a chance to put a poor one-day series behind them.The Pakistan squad is an interesting collection of inexperienced players such as Aamir Yamin and Bilal Asif, experienced veterans in Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, those who just play T20s in Shahid Afridi and Sohail Tanvir and the wildcard of uncapped 39-year-old Rafatullah Mohmand. The shortest format could just be what Pakistan need to free themselves of their ODI malaise.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWWWW
England WWWLL

In the spotlight

Boom Boom is back. Shahid Afridi remains part of Pakistan’s T20 set-up – as captain, no less – and cricket is rarely dull when he is involved. He has just two wickets in seven matches this year, but England will need to be wary of his skidding legbreaks. The batting is even more hit-and-miss but his 45 off 22 balls against Sri Lanka in Colombo was a reminder of what he can do when the mood takes him. And one thing you can be sure of is that the noise level will go up a few notches whenever he has bat or ball in hand.When it comes to the white ball, at least, Jos Buttler is well and truly back in form after his scintillating 52-ball 116 in the final ODI. Key to that innings was his promotion to No. 4, which gave him 13 overs to make the most of the platform laid by the top order – even if the results were more than anyone could have imagined. England are not short on clean strikers but they will want to make sure they give Buttler the optimum chance to make an impact.

Teams news

Pakistan have Umar Akmal available after he was cleared of any wrongdoing by the PCB while they are likely to give the 39-year-old Rafatullah his debut at the top of the order. Yasir Shah and Zafar Gohar are not part of the T20 squad so Bilal Asif could come into the side as another spin option alongside Afridi and Malik. Anwar Ali struggled with the ball during the ODIs and could be under pressure for his spot.Pakistan (possible) 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Rafatullah Mohmand, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Anwar Ali, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Mohammad IrfanIn England’s previous T20, against Australia in Cardiff, Joe Root was rested which meant Moeen Ali slotted in at No. 3 and he responded with a career-best 72 off 46 balls so it will be an interesting decision to see how the pack is shuffled now that Root is available again. James Vince could make his debut but beyond the openers it is likely that England’s order will be very fluid depending on the match situation. Liam Plunkett has been on the tour throughout and Chris Jordan since the first Test, when he replaced Steven Finn, but both are still waiting for their first full appearance in the UAE. They may have to wait a bit longer.England (possible) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 James Vince, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions

There was drizzle in Dubai on Wednesday which meant England had to train at the ICC Academy rather than the main ground but the forecast is fine for match day. The pitch in the ODI was the best for the batting of that series so it bodes well for a free-scoring encounter.

Stats and trivia

• The two teams have met 10 times in T20s with England leading 7-3
• Four of Pakistan’s squad – Hafeez, Malik, Akmal and Afridi – are among the 20 players to have scored 1000 T20 runs. That is the most for any country
• The only team to have played fewer T20s than England since the last World T20 is Papua New Guinea

Quotes

“We have won the last six games. We did make small mistakes, but we are going through a process and are trying some new players.”
“Our strategy is quite simple – to continue testing ourselves, our ability, regardless of any situation we play. We are trying to test our boundaries and capabilities as players.”