CARDIFF: Pakistan, after losing the toss, made 126 for four against England in the first Twenty20 international on Sunday.

England did nothing to lift the gloom surrounding Pakistani cricket by taking charge of the opening Twenty20 clash in Cardiff.

Spin-king Graeme Swann led the way, claiming two for 14 as Pakistan were restricted to 126 for four after they were put in by England skipper Paul Collingwood following a 30-minute delayed start because of rain.

Pakistan’s visit to the Welsh capital was totally overshadowed by “spot-fixing” allegations made against Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer.

The trio, currently suspended following claims in last weekend’s News of the World, are the subject of police and International Cricket Council investigations and England’s bowlers, backed up by sharp fielding, took charge as Pakistan tried in vain to let their cricket take centre-stage.

Michael Yardy supported Swann admirably by taking one for 21, with England’s spinners applying the brakes in conceding just 35 runs between them from eight overs.

Despite a late flourish from Umar Akmal (35 not out) and Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi (16 not out) – Afridi was dropped by Stuart Broad and Luke Wright – England were left chasing just over six an over in their first Twenty20 game since being crowned world champions earlier this year.

Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, promoted to open, earlier skied a delivery during Tim Bresnan’s first over towards a grateful Yardy at mid-off, and although Mohammad Yousuf (26) led a boundary-laced recovery, Swann soon pegged Pakistan back.

Swann struck with his fifth delivery, seeing Yousuf caught on the mid-wicket boundary by Eoin Morgan, then a delivery that turned sharply accounted for Shahzaib Hasan, who was stumped by Steven Davies.

Swann had taken two for five in seven balls, and with Yardy finding an immediate rhythm from the other end, Pakistan reached a pedestrian 61 for three after 10 overs.

Fawad Alam then lobbed a straightforward catch back to bowler Yardy at 88 for four, and although Akmal and Afridi compiled an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 38, England held a tight grip on proceedings.

LONDON: Yasir Hameed, who has made damning revelations about match fixing involving Pakistan team, was on Sunday summoned to the country’s High Commission here.

Yasir reached the High Commission in the afternoon and met the High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan and Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ijaz Butt.

He is in the eye of a storm after his video interview was released by the British tabloid News of the World and in it he was seen and heard making various allegations that many Pakistani players regularly fix matches.

Yasir has, however, denied the interview and tried to take damage control steps insisting the newspaper had cheated with him.

“I never knew they were recording anything. This guy came to me to talk about a bat sticker sponsorship deal. He started talking about the ‘News of the World’ stories and I just repeated them. I had general discussion with him,” Yasir claimed.

The batsman, who played in the last two Tests against England, said the newspaper had called up his brother and offered him large sum of money and even British passport if they do not deny the interview.

Sources close to the batsman said the Pakistan High Commission and PCB wanted to see what legal steps Yasir could take to seek damages against the newspaper.

LEICESTER, England: Pakistan coach Waqar Younis believes his young side are about to undergo a valuable accelerated learning course with their upcoming packed Test programme.

Waqar’s men first face Australia in a two-Test series in England starting at Lord’s on Tuesday.

Pakistan then stay in Britain for four Tests against England that follow almost immediately afterwards.

They ought to have been playing Australia at home but last year’s armed attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore effectively led to the suspension of top-flight international cricket in Pakistan.

Nevertheless the raucous backing the team received while beating Australia in two Twenty20s at Edgbaston in Birmingham, central England, this week suggested Pakistan won’t lack for support.

Waqar, speaking after his side’s drawn two-day game against Leicestershire here at Grace Road, said: “We have a very young but exciting side and I think they are really looking forward to these Test matches.

“It is a very hectic schedule and there will not be much of a breather,” the former Pakistan fast bowler added.

“We have a home series against Australia away from home and an England series, which is always exciting.

“Both these nations are playing superb cricket at the moment. Australia are world-beaters on their day and England are improving every day.

“So it is a tough tour for the youngsters, but also a learning tour for them. In many ways, it is like a restart for Pakistan.

“We have not played cricket in Pakistan for a long time. But we played at Birmingham in the Twenty20 match the other day and had great support.

“If we get something like that at Lord’s and Headingley (Yorkshire’s Leeds headquarters that will be the venue for the second Test with Australia), that would be great.

“We are not really short of the backing here. It is just that we have got to play to our potential.”

Waqar continued: “It is sad not to be playing in Pakistan because we have eight or nine beautiful stadiums.

“It’s a shame and it’s sad, but that’s the way it is. You can’t do anything at the moment and we’ve got to take what’s being given.”

Pakistan scored 280 for seven in reply to Leicestershire’s 296 for seven with fifties from Yasir Hameed, Salman Butt and Umar Amin.

But Test candidates Imran Farhat (six) and Shoaib Malik (10) both failed to spend much time in the middle.

JOHANNESBURG: Two days before the climax of Africa’s first World Cup, silky Spain seemed everyone’s favorite to beat the Netherlands though both are desperate to lift soccer’s ultimate prize for the first time.

From schoolchildren in South Africa’s Soweto township to bookmakers around the globe and even Paul the “psychic” octopus in Germany, all the talk was of Vicente del Bosque’s side.

“They play beautiful football. We want to be like them. Of course they will win Sunday, come on Spain!” said 13-year-old Dumisani Motye, imitating striker David Villa’s shots on a dusty soccer pitch next to tin shacks in Soweto.

Before then, there is of course the matter of a third-place playoff between Germany and Uruguay Saturday. They have to pick themselves up from semi-final disappointment to compete in a game both had hoped they would not be playing.

As if being outwitted by the slick-passing Spaniards in the semi-final was not miserable enough for German coach Joachim Lowe, he came down with flu and had to miss his team’s training session Friday to stay in bed.

Coming into the tournament as favorites, Spain appear to be hitting their best form just at the right time, but they will not be complacent against a Dutch team now boasting a 14-match World Cup winning streak including qualifiers.

“It doesn’t interest me who is favorite for the final, I just don’t care what the whole world is saying,” said Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk.

“We will just go out and play our own game.”

Like the Spaniards, Netherlands have never won a World Cup and want to erase memories of losing the finals of 1974 and 1978. Both nations have produced great and entertaining sides down the decades but earned reputations as nearly-men as they have failed time-and-again to go all the way.

As well as producing a new name on the winners’ list, Sunday’s match is already guaranteed to be Europe’s first World Cup triumph on foreign soil.

That had looked unlikely at the start when South American teams stormed through, while France, Italy and England all flopped. Even Spain lost their first match against Switzerland, while the Dutch started ponderously by their standards.

As the pundits ponder how Spain’s skilful passing game will shape up against the Netherlands’ explosive attack, there was no doubt in the mind of one expert: a celebrity octopus.

Paul, who accurately picked the outcome of Germany’s six World Cup games by choosing food from two containers with different flags on them, went straight for Spain Friday.

“The octopus Paul makes us champions,” crowed Spain’s sports daily Marca on its Web site. Spaniards will be thankful that calls by some Germans for Paul to be grilled and eaten, after he called the semi-final defeat, went unheeded.

Organizers of the World Cup have been congratulating themselves on a highly successful tournament that has defied the predictions of pessimists who said Africa was not up to it.

On a merrier note, Cameroon’s former international Roger Milla challenged the Spanish and Dutch to try and produce a goal celebration Sunday as memorable as his famous corner-flag dance at the Italy 1990 World Cup.

“You need natural rhythm, movement of the hips. It is all about spontaneity, and it has to be personal, your own thing. Of course, you also have to score a goal first, don’t forget!” said Milla, whose goals took Cameroon to the quarter-finals in 1990.

Milla said that South Africa’s ‘Diski dance’ was the best celebration of the tournament so far.

German striker Mirsolav Klose’s acrobatic somersault and Wesley Sneijder’s hilarious tapping of his bald pate after a rare headed goal for the Dutch also drew the master’s praise.

JOHANNESBURG: Spain will meet the Netherlands on Sunday in Johannesburg’s Soccer City when a new champion will be crowned from two sides seen for decades as the nearly-men of international soccer.

Spain killed off Germany with a single goal in a pulsating World Cup semi on Wednesday to set up a final with the Netherlands where a new winner of soccer’s biggest prize will be crowned.

A 73rd minute flying header by defender Carles Puyol from a perfectly placed corner settled one of the best matches of the tournament, in which the ball swung from end to end and Germany mounted waves of desperate attacks in the final minutes.

The Netherlands beat Uruguay 3-2 on Tuesday to reach their first final since 1978.

The result in Durban was a repeat of Spain’s 1-0 victory against Germany in the Euro 2008 final and will mean a European team will now be crowned world champions outside Europe for the first time, at Johannesburg’s cavernous Soccer City stadium.

Spain and the Netherlands are two of the best sides never to have won the trophy, but that will all change — for one of the teams — on Sunday.

Spain, who looked less impressive earlier in the tournament than the high-scoring Germans but have gradually improved, produced their best performance to beat their young opponents.

“Players from defense to attack were extraordinary and played a great game. We have another game to play… Holland represent the values of Dutch football very well and they’ll be very tough rivals,” said Spain coach Vicente del Bosque.

In Spain’s earlier matches, striker David Villa’s killer instinct in pouncing on any chance had brought them victory but today he was frequently stifled by German defenders.

JOHANNESBURG: A new champion will be crowned at the World Cup on Sunday, when Spain meets the Netherlands in a final which has the potential to be a classic.

Well-organized and experienced but blessed with finesse and flair, Spain has the players to outplay any team in the world.

The Dutch have forwards, wingers and midfielders capable of slicing through any defense.

The first World Cup final to be staged in Africa should be a memorable one if both teams bring their best game to Soccer City.

Although some of its stars looked short of fitness and form in the early stages, Spain produced its best performance in Wednesday’s 1-0 semifinal victory over Germany. It looked more like the side that brushed teams aside to win the European Championship two years ago.

“We’ve shown that in the big moments we can grow even more,” said striker David Villa, who is level with Dutchman Wesley Sneijder as leading scorer with five goals. “We should have scored more goals, but one from (Carles) Puyol has put us in the final.

“This is one of the greatest moments for Spain, for us to be in the final of the World Cup, it’s history. And we want to make more history in the final.”

The European champion faces a Dutch side which at times oozes class but has a habit of falling short when it really matters.

Although the Netherlands too has won a European title, that was back in 1988 and this is its first World Cup final since ‘78 — when it lost to Argentina in Buenos Aires.

“It’s quite something to have achieved this after 32 years,” coach Bert van Marwijk said. “That only really sank in right at the end of the match when I was sitting there on the bench. But we can’t stop here. We have one more match to go.”

Van Marwijk is striving to brush aside the tendency to choke in the late stages. The team lost finals in 1974 and ‘78 when it had probably its best ever team and has since wilted in semifinals of both the World Cup and European Championship.

“We lost that (1974) final (against West Germany) when we should have won it,” Van Marwijk said. “We had a unique generation at the time, and Johan Cruyff was the best footballer I ever saw. What we’ve done in the last two years, though, is to try and eradicate that complacency and overconfidence.”

The Dutch have won six World Cup games in a row after eight in qualifying. Van Marwijk is confident he has a team who fight for each other, with attacking players chasing back to help out defenders whenever they lose the ball.

Arjen Robben is a match-winning winger with a fast dribble and powerful left-foot shot. Although Robin van Persie has failed to produce his best form so far, an appearance in a World Cup final may bring out the best in the striker.

Sneijder is there to unlock defenses with accurate and well-timed passes. But the Inter Milan midfielder has also contributed goals and could add the World Cup title to club triumphs in this season’s Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup.

“This is unforgettable,” Sneijder said after scoring in the Netherlands’ 3-2 semifinal victory over Uruguay. “I played in big finals last season for my club, but nothing is better than this tournament. We’ve got to savor this, enjoy it, and then give everything we have to claim the trophy on Sunday.”

NOTTINGHAM: England captain Andrew Strauss insists he has no qualms about leading a side without Kevin Pietersen.

The star batsman will miss the three one-dayers against Bangladesh, starting at Trent Bridge here on Thursday, with a thigh injury – although England selection chief Geoff Miller said the South Africa-born shotmaker would have been rested in any event.

Pietersen has gone 16 ODI innings without a fifty and while his place, when fit, is not yet under threat, the loss of arguably their most talented player meansEngland are set to give one of the Warwickshire duo of Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott a chance to fill the gap.

“He (Pietersen) is a loss because he’s a world-class player but he’s being replaced by people with proven track records in international cricket,” Strauss told reporters at Trent Bridge here on Wednesday.

“It’s not as if we’re blooding a youngster on the back of losing our biggest player. I’m entirely confident we’ve got the reserves in place to cope with that loss,” Strauss added.

Bell, 28, has played 79 one-dayers for England but hasn’t featured in one since facing India in Bangalore back in November 2008.

However, he restated his one-day case with a limited overs best 158, off 143 balls, for the second string England Lions in their dramatic triangular series tied match against India A in Worcester on Tuesday.

Bell, who averages just over 35 in ODIS, has been accused of scoring too slowly to be an effective batsman in the one-day game.

Strauss though said: “His form this year has been excellent. He’s played, by all accounts, very positively and very aggressively for bothWarwickshire and the Lions.”

He’s a good package and potentially he is a world-class player. It’s fantastic to have the likes of him to call upon and Jonathan Trott as well, who has never let anyone down in anEngland shirt in one-day cricket and has been in outstanding form for Warwickshire as well.

“They are two very, very high-quality replacements and that bodes well. “Turning to Bell, who has also played 57 Tests, opening batsman Strauss added: “I think he has made a conscious effort to be more aggressive.”

“He’s always had the shots, the key is always when to use them. At the moment, he’s taking on the shots more and finding he’s a good enough player they’ll come off more times than not.”

“He’s really maturing as a cricketer. I don’t think he’s trying to prove to people he can play. He’s more comfortable with his game and I think that’s why his results have been better.”

Bell has been criticised throughout his England career for not making runs when they are most needed but innings of 72 against Australia on the first day of last year’s final Ashes Test and 140 in Durban that set up a second Test victory away to South Africa went some way to answering that charge.

“He was very keen to play an innings of real substance when England were under pressure and he’s been able to do that a couple of times in the last six months, which is a nice step forward for him,” Strauss said.

Asked if Bell would fill Pietersen’s position at No 3, a coy Strauss replied: “There’s a chance, let’s put it that way”.

BIRMINGHAM, England: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has rallied his players to carry forward their consistency in the Twenty20s against Australia to the two-Test series that begins at Lord’s on July 13.

After getting hammered by Australia in all formats of the game earlier this year and in the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, Pakistan hit back by winning both the Twenty20s at Edgbaston to get their England tour off to a resounding start.

“I think now that we have regained our winning habit we must work harder to maintain it and make winning a habit,” Afridi told a Pakistani sports channel. “I knew sooner or later we will win back-to-back matches because we have been performing well since the Twenty20 World Cup but missed out in close matches.”

Twenty20 cricket has suited Pakistan both technically and temperamentally and their crowning moment was the World Twenty20 title win in 2009 in England. However, their form in Tests hasn’t been up to the mark, having been beaten 3-0 by Australia away, and drawing a three-Test series in New Zealand 1-1 before that. Afridi, whose leadership has won himself admirers, is determined to reverse that trend in the longer format.

“There is a difference and we have to be aware of this,” Afridi said. “But the good thing is that a win is a win in any form of the game and this series win should serve a confidence booster for us ahead of the Tests.”

The coach Waqar Younis agreed that the team can take a lot of confidence into the Test series. “I think these two wins are really going to help us to get into the momentum,” Waqar said. “Test matches are a different ball game fair enough, but with victory behind you it always helps.”

With senior players Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan missing the tour despite their bans being lifted by the PCB, Afridi threw his weight behind the younger players to fill the gap. Yousuf hasn’t yet come out of retirement while Younis was left out due to disciplinary reasons.

“Obviously we will miss their experience. I wanted them in the team for this tour and I tried my best to see they were in the team but for different reasons this couldn’t happen and it is unfortunate,” Afridi said.

“But one has to manage with the available resources so right now I am focusing completely on the team I have, on the new players because they are the ones who will fight for Pakistan in the Test matches and I retain confidence they can do this.”

MADRID: The whole of Spain erupted with joy as the national side reached the World Cup final for the first time ever with a 1-0 win over Germany — and the fiesta looked set to last well into the night.

“It’s over! We are in the final of the World Cup! It’s historic, what joy!” shouted a commentator from the television channel La Cuatro as the final whistle went.

A cacophony of firecrackers, vuvuzelas, car horns and cheers rang out across Madrid, where Spanish red and gold flags adorn balconies, roofs and bars.

Thousands of ecstatic fans sang and waved flags outside Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium where the match was broadcast on giant screens.

The crowd shouted “Yes, yes, yes, this year, yes!” and “I am Spanish, Spanish, Spanish!” to celebrate the win, which takes Spain into the final against Holland on Sunday.

“We’re euphoric, we deserved to win,” said Julia, 17.

Spain “opened up the match” and “had far more chances than Germany,” said Juan Sierra, 17.

Spain “dominated the match and in the second half the German team was already tired, and with the changes we made we were fresher,” said Tomas Vasquez, a 41-year-old father who was watching the game with his son.

Puyol’s 73rd-minute goal was greeted with red smoke from firecrackers.

The city was earlier gripped with excitement and anticipation ahead of what sports newspaper AS said was “the match of our lives”.

The streets were empty ahead of the game as residents rushed home or into bars to watch the game.

Police also set up barriers around the fountain in the Spanish capital’s Plaza Cibeles, where Real fans traditionally celebrate their victories.

Almost all towns and cities throughout the country installed giant screens for people to watch the match.

One notable exception was in Barcelona, the capital of the nationalist-minded region of Catalonia, even though seven players in Spain’s starting line-up for Wednesday’s game are from the Barcelona team.

But while most people in Spain were ecstatic, one corner of the country was in despair, as tens of thousands of German tourists in a Majorcan beach resort were left with broken hearts.

Cries of “Nein!” (No!) erupted throughout Playa de Palma, a traditionally German resort in the Balearic island, as Puyol scored.

But, after the final whistle, glum faces and a few moments of stunned silence were quickly followed by music, including a German version of “Viva Espana!”, fireworks and more glasses of beer.

“We lost to Spain in Euro 2008, now we’ve lost to them in the World Cup. Twice in important matches is too much,” complained Judith, an 18-year-old German tourist in the Deutsche Eck (German Corner) bar and restaurant.

“Now we have to at least beat Uruguay for third place,” she said, a garland in Germany’s red, yellow and black colours round her neck.

“If we’d had (suspended player Thomas) Mueller, we wouldn’t have lost,” said her boyfriend Pierre, also 18, wrapped in a German flag.

In sweltering heat, Germans crammed into overflowing bars and restaurants along the Playa de Palma beach to watch the match.

Majorca is nicknamed ‘Germany’s 17th Land’ because of the millions of tourists from that country who visit every year.

JOHANNESBURG: Germany and Spain do battle on Wednesday for the right to meet the Netherlands in the World Cup final, in a semi widely expected to be one of the most exciting clashes of the tournament.

A 3-2 Dutch victory on Tuesday against a Uruguayan side who fought until the last minute in a thrilling encounter, guaranteed Europe would win its first trophy outside the continent in the final at Johannesburg’s Soccer City on Sunday.

The semi-final in Durban on Wednesday promises to be another thriller with both teams committed to attack and fast passing.

The speed and quality of the German side has been one of the surprises of the tournament while European champions Spain are one of the world’s most stylish teams, able to torment opponents with precision passes and possession.

Germany will be looking for revenge for their defeat by Spain in the 2008 Euro final.

But German coach Joachim Loew says they have got better and the speed of their game has improved since then, while Spain are the same, admittedly efficient, side as two years ago.

The Netherlands, in their first final since 1978, had to endure some nail-biting moments in the other semi-final on Tuesday when Uruguay pulled a goal back in added time and looked in danger of scoring another in the dying seconds.

Before the Netherlands, considered the best team never to have won the World Cup, were grabbing their place in the final, Africa’s heroes Ghana were feted on Tuesday when they returned home after narrowly failing to reach the semi-final.

The Ghana team, the only one of six African sides to do well, was granted a $20,000 bonus for each player and hailed by both President John Atta Mills and former United Nations chief Kofi Annan, who said they were moral victors.

They were controversially beaten by Uruguay in a penalty shoot-out after becoming only the third African team to reach the quarter-finals in a World Cup.

ONE DEFEAT EACH

Germany and Spain have suffered only one defeat in the tournament, both to small teams — Switzerland beat Spain and Serbia defeated Germany in the group stages.

But Germany have been the most impressive scoring four goals on three separate occasions: sweeping aside Australia, England and most sensationally favorites Argentina who were crushed by the speed and quality of the youngest German squad for 76 years.

Germany and Spain share a healthy respect for each other.

German coach Loew said Spain would be much harder to beat than Argentina and Vicente del Bosque paid tribute to his opponents’ blend of youth and experience.

Loew has built a formation that tries to incorporate English pace, Italian defense and the fluidity of their Spanish opponents.

Spain started more slowly in this tournament and have scored fewer goals, but striker David Villa is deadly in pouncing on the slightest chance and Xavi and Andres Iniesta orchestrate a constantly mobile midfield.

Both teams represent one of the features of Africa’s first World Cup — that success is built on teamwork rather than sides that revolve around the many big names who have flopped here including Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.

There was one hiccup in German harmony on Tuesday when World Cup captain Philipp Lahm said in a newspaper interview he saw no reason to give up the armband when Michael Ballack returned to fitness after the injury that kept him out of the side.

But team officials shrugged this off, saying it represented no dissent or conflict.

Germany will be without suspended midfielder Thomas Mueller. Loew has several options to replace him.

Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas is likely to be available after an injury to his leg proved less serious than feared.

More of a worry for Del Bosque may be the continuing failing form of striker Fernando Torres who has not hit his stride properly since returning from surgery.

But Villa’s deadly form has made up for that in previous matches. He has rarely missed when given even half a chance near goal.

Superstitious German fans may be worried that an allegedly psychic octopus which has correctly predicted the result of all their matches so far here, foresees a loss against Spain.

Paul the octopus, which lives in an aquarium in western Germany, makes his prophecy by picking food from containers marked with the flags of the two teams.

Perhaps to counter the octopus, Germany coach Joachim Loew is refusing to change his trademark blue sweater on the touchline because staff and players think it brings them luck.