Croft's class exposes England's inadequacy

England 189-9 Wales 191-2 Wales win by eight wickets

England's preparations for this summer's NatWest Triangular one-day series, which starts in earnest against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge on Thursday, had the worst of starts here in Cardiff yesterday after they were totally outplayed in this warm-up match by a committed Wales side in front of a patriotic home crowd.

Motivating any Welsh side when they play their fiercest rivals should be an easy task, but the sight of vendors selling Welsh flags outside the ground should have given England's players a warning that this, the first-ever game of cricket between the two countries, was far more than a friendly game for the benefit of the visitors.

The England discard Robert Croft, who claimed the man-of-the-match award for his all-round performance, described the feeling of beating England as "superb".

An ebullient Croft said: "We are delighted but will all be cheering England on this week." Trying to put on a brave face, Marcus Trescothick, standing in as England captain for the resting Nasser Hussain, cut a more sombre figure and after the embarrassing loss said: "The result is not significant, but it is disappointing to lose to a glorified county side, who we should beat 49 times out of 50."

Yesterday, though, the side that looked like an international side was not Trescothick's. Having lost the toss and been invited to bat on a pitch offering indifferent bounce, England put in a wretched batting performance, with their eventual total of 189 being 79 runs less than Surrey's Alistair Brown scored last Wednesday, against virtually the same bowling.

Nick Knight was first out after carelessly carving a short wide ball from Jacques Kallis, Wales's overseas player for the day, to David Hemp at backward point.

He was soon joined in the dressing room by Trescothick, Michael Vaughan and Graham Thorpe, each guilty of giving their wicket away. Trescothick was caught at third man, having hit the previous four balls from Andrew Davies for four; Vaughan drove softly to extra-cover and Thorpe, in almost identical fashion to Knight, sliced a cut-shot to gully.

With England perilously placed at 55-4, Paul Collingwood and Ronnie Irani, probably rivals for the same spot, attempted to repair the damage but both fell playing injudicious shots to the rejuvenated spin bowling of Croft. Irani's 13 runs came off 54 balls, highlighting both the discipline of Wales's bowlers and England's inability to add any momentum to their innings.

Alec Stewart and Andrew Flintoff, with a partnership of 58, enabled the visitors to lend a touch of respectability to the score, but as they left the field (both were out in the 45th over), so did any chance England had of setting a competitive total.

After a tight spell of spin bowling where he took two important middle-order wickets, it was with the bat that Croft made his biggest impression. Fresh from a 56-ball hundred against Surrey at The Oval five days ago, he hit Matthew Hoggard for four consecutive fours in a 10-ball third over that went for 24 runs.

Once Croft – who was bowled for a 26-ball 30 by England's sole wicket-taker James Kirtley – had quickly knocked the stuffing out of England's defence of such a meagre total, it was left to the Welsh captain Stephen James and his left-handed partner David Hemp to see their side home. Their partnership of 132 in 31 overs suggested that it is not just England's batsmen who need to raise their game.

Flintoff was the best of England's bowlers but even that positive sight was spoilt when the Lancashire all-rounder left the field with a groin strain. His injury will be as much of a concern as the result.

Hussain and Fletcher would have arrived in Cardiff with the view of using this game as a chance to tinker with and put some final touches to their one-day strategy. Returning over the River Severn this morning, they must be wondering whether they have the right team.