ENGLAND v PAKISTAN 1992

At Lord's, May 20. England won by 79 runs. Toss: Pakistan. Eight weeks to the day after losing the World Cup final, England gained a measure of revenge by producing the kind of efficient performance they had hoped for against Pakistan in Melbourne. It was Smith, bitterly disappointed to be left out then, who claimed the top score and the match award after an uncertain start.

Put in on a slow but true pitch, England quickly lost Gooch, but first Stewart, reclaiming the opener's role from Botham, and then Smith and Lamb compiled half-centuries to guarantee a commanding total. Stewart, in particular, never allowed leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed to dominate - as he had in Melbourne- and it was left to Wasim Akram to peg back the scoring-rate a little towards the end. Pakistan's fielding was surprisingly sloppy and their batting, too, lacked conviction, save for a brief, early flurry from Salim Malik, which was ended in Botham's first over. Botham also held a bat-pad return catch to remove Inzamam-ul-Haq- the last of three wickets in the space of 14 deliveries just before tea which left Pakistan 78 for five. The sequence effectively decided a contest producing record gate receipts for a day's cricket in England.

Man of the Match: R. A. Smith. Attendance: 26,654; receipts £707,584.