Shane Watson scored a brilliant hundred

Pakistan v Australia, 5th ODI, Abu Dhabi

Bulletin by Shwe Wai

50 overs Australia 250 for 4 (Watson 116*, Ferguson 41*) v Pakistan

	Shane Watson led Australia to 250 with an unbeaten 116

Shane Watson's second one-day international century has helped propel Australia to an impressive total of 250 for 4 in the fifth and final ODI against Pakistan.

Watson's 116 off 146 balls was a superb mixture of power and patience as Australia controlled the opening half of this dead rubber, setting the highest total of the series so far as they pushed for a 4-1 result.

The Queenslander continued a rich vein of form following his 85 not out on Friday, but today he was far more fluent. He punished the bad balls that were presented. He was particularly vicious on anything fractionally short, the highlights being two massive straight sixes complimenting six boundaries. But a real feature was his composure against the spinners that have so frustrated him throughout this series.

Watson was the anchor to three partnerships of more than 50. The highest was an unconquered 84 with Callum Ferguson.

Ferguson, starved for a bat through most of this series, overcame a nervous start to provide sound support for Watson finishing with 41 not out. Neither player panicked despite an unproductive Powerplay. However they did have a near-calamitous mix-up, with Ferguson fortunate to escape thanks to an awkward throw that was not collected by Saeed Ajmal. But for the most part the running was sound whilst Ferguson's placement and timing was superb.

Earlier, Watson and Brad Haddin produced the brightest opening stand of the campaign by racing to 51 in just eight overs with some glorious strokeplay on a very good batting surface. Haddin was the spark, striking seven crisp boundaries, before he got a little overambitious and holed out to mid-off after charging Shoaib Akhtar, who really struggled with fitness, rarely clocking more than 140kph.

After conceding 71 from the first ten overs, Younis Khan applied the brakes in the form of Ajmal and Shahid Afridi. The spinners operated through the bowling Powerplay, with Ajmal claiming Marcus North with a crafty piece of work from around the wicket. He delivered a doosra first before flighting an offbreak that lured a tentative North down the track and Kamran Akmal completed the simple stumping.