arm spinner Michael Yardy insists the team can play better despite going an unbeatable 3-0 up in its one-day series against Australia. The host's run has prompted talk of a clean sweep ahead of the fourth of its five-match series with the Aussies here at the Oval Wednesday. Yardy, a member of the England team that beat Australia in last month's World Twenty20 final in Barbados, was adamant the team's current success was in no way diminished by Australia having come to England without injured first-choice quicks Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus. “They are a very competitive nation and they are still ranked as the best team in the world,” Yardy told reporters here Tuesday. “The most important thing is to concentrate on the things we've been doing well in the series. There are things to improve on and make sure the focus is on what we do well. “I think that's been the big thing this series; we haven't worried too much about Australia and more about what we do and our plans. So far they have worked pretty well.” He added: “Obviously 5-0 would be nice but we have to deal with this game first. We still have a few areas top improve on and we'll be hoping to do that Wednesday. It's nice to be 3-0 against the Australians, who are ranked as the top team in the world, and 3-0 is fantastic but we're still trying to keep improving and moving things forward.” Umar in runs again In England, Umar Akmal carried on from where he left off at Lord's by scoring a century on the opening day of Pakistan's first-class three-day tour match against Kent here Monday. Akmal made 153 out of a total of 360 all out just a day after top-scoring with 51 in Pakistan's tour-opening six-run Twenty20 win over MCC at Lord's. His innings against Kent was much needed by the tourists as Pakistan slumped to 53 for three with hard-hitting captain Shahid Afridi out for a duck. Kent's seamers made the ball nip around and the Pakistan top three were dismissed inside the first hour, all lbw, with Umar Amin, Fawad Alam and Salman Butt falling cheaply. And before lunch Kent's Mark Lawson had Shoaib Malik caught at backward point. All-rounder Alex Blake struck twice after the interval, having Kamran Akmal caught in the gully before Afridi sliced to deep backward point. Akmal held firm and went to his fifty with a six off Lawson but largely kept himself in check on his way to completing a 150-ball hundred. However, once he reached the landmark, he opened up and hit four more sixes, three off Lawson before he was stumped off the spinner by Paul Dixey. Lawson finished with four for 93 on his Kent debut and, in the day's remaining over, the hosts reached two without loss. Pakistan will play Australia in two Twenty20 internationals on July 5 and 6 at Edgbaston before playing two Tests against the same opponents at Lord's and Headingley. After playing Australia, Pakistan will feature in four Tests, two Twenty20 and five one-day games against England. The tour ends on Sept. 22. Australia captain Ricky Ponting had fallen on the crutch used by many a beaten England captain when he urged his team to play for “pride” as the one-day series against their old rivals was lost. “What we have to do now is show a bit of pride in our performances in the last two games and try and salvage whatever we can,” Ponting told reporters. “It's a bit of the same old, same old from the first two games, we just didn't get enough runs again,” the star batsman, stumped for just three in four wickets for England off-spinner Graeme Swann, the man-of-the-match, said. While the bowling attack may be depleted, Australia's top order, with the exception of wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, is at full strength and Paine, the gloveman's deputy, was the second top-scorer on Sunday. “We've played five games on tour now, so you'd like to think that we'd be making runs on a more consistent basis than we are,” Ponting said. “You've got to give England some credit for the way they've bowled through the series so far. They've executed really well.
