One-day international: Quick bowler Darren Gough returned from a year of injuries to share five wickets with James Anderson but the pair could not stop Pakistan winning a tense first one-dayer last night.

Having restricted an inexperienced England side to 204 for nine with a fine display in the field, Pakistan looked in cruise control on 116 for one before losing four wickets for 42.

But, after leaking another three wickets for 13 runs to Gough and Anderson, they recovered their poise just enough to scramble home by two wickets and with four balls to spare in the Old Trafford day-nighter.

Abdul Razzaq made sure with a hoiked four over mid-on in the final over.

Michael Vaughan endured an uncomfortable first day at the office as Pakistan made the running in what was a novices' race. After his team had underachieved with the bat, the bowlers had a hard time putting pressure on a side with little imperative beyond keeping the score ticking over.

The captain is paid to lead from the front, though, and his intervention, as Pakistan seemed to be cruising to a comfortable win - altered the tone of the contest and gave his side some hope.

A possible quick single was on the mind of the young opener Mohammad Hafeez as he played the ball to cover before changing his mind. His partner, Yousuf Youhana, failed to regain his ground at the bowlers end as Vaughan, collected the ball, swivelled and threw down the stumps.

Youhana might have considered himself unfortunate. From Jonty Rhodes, it would have been stunning: but given that last winter began and ended with a fumbling Vaughan misfield, it was a minor miracle.

It put England back into the match. By now the sun had gone and the lights were starting to take effect, that period when bowlers can begin to hold sway.

Immediately James Anderson was called into action and whistled a ball through the defences of Younis Khan, trumping that in his next over by inducing a leading edge from Hafeez, Rikki Clarke taking the catch at mid-on.

With some strong driving against the harder ball, and careful use of the angles, Hafeez had made 69 from 112 balls with eight fours and was comfortably the highest scorer in the match but it left Pakistan edgily on 158 for five. Pakistan chose to counter-attack, and Azhar Mahmood made a decisive move by striking Anderson thrillingly over long on for six. It was still anyone's game.

Vaughan completed his first duty as the next generation captain by winning an important toss, so that his side might avoid the pitfalls that occur when chasing totals during the English summer evening.

England would have been hoping to reach 240 but instead, the thumping beat of Losing You, by Eminem, booming out as batsmen walked to the crease, was heard rather too frequently as England lost their way against tightly disciplined bowling, with the Saqlain Mushtaq bowl-alike Shoaib Malik outstanding.

Only Vikram Solanki, when the ball was at its hardest and the pace of the virile young fast bowler Mohammad Sami brought it firmly on to the bat, and later Andy Flintoff, restrained by the responsibility of batting at five, and the pragmatic battling Anthony McGrath, topped 30. Late order nurdling alone from Gough and Anderson, marshalled by McGrath, took the score limply beyond 200 to 204 for nine.

It was barely competitive. To defend, England would require concentration and extreme discipline if Pakistan were not to romp home in front of the masses of their own supporter. But Imran Nazeer got off to a flyer against Anderson to set them on their way towards a target that would require little more than four runs per over.

England's inexperience with the bat told against them, no player early on (including the captain) was able to assess the surface, and have the confidence to identify, on the hoof, a competitive total which the team could make their prime aim.

On difficult surfaces, simply saying "as many as we can get" is both naive and doomed. But Solanki has something on which to build (although his cross-batted dismissal was unworthy), and the best stand, just 46, came from Flintoff and McGrath.

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