England have the last laugh

When England lost the opening match against hosts Bangladesh in the inaugural ICRC International Cricket Tournament for People with Physical Disabilities, not many had thought they would go all the way to lift the title.

But they exactly did it, and did it in some style, defeating Pakistan by 19 runs in a high-scoring final of the five-nation T20 tournament at the BKSP yesterday.

On a hot and humid morning in the tranquil settings of the country's lone sports institute in Savar, England never looked behind once they won the toss and put up a beefy 175 for 5 in their share of 20 overs.

Openers Alex Hammond (30) and Gordon Laidwan (40 off 28 balls) laid the foundation. England progressed at a good rate throughout the innings, racking 79 in the first 10 overs against a Pakistan attack that had an off day yesterday.

Pakistan also started aggressively with Hasnain and Matloob putting on 39 runs inside the first five overs. But once the former was dismissed for 26 by Fred Bridges, the player-of-the-final with 4 for 24, their innings never looked comfortable in the hunt of the massive target.

England's Callum Flynn was named the player-of-the-tournament for his wonderful flow of runs that included a 29-ball 45 in the final. Pakistan's Fayyaz Ahmed was adjudged the bowler-of-the-tournament that also featured India and Afghanistan besides hosts Bangladesh.

Deputy Sports Minister Arif Khan Joy gave away the prizes among the winners of the tournament organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross.