Trescothick rejects Boycott fears

Report: Pakistan beat England

England captain Marcus Trescothick has played down the fears of former player Geoff Boycott that sleep deprivation caused a one-day defeat to Pakistan.

Players stayed up late before the match in Lahore to see Andrew Flintoff win the BBC Sports Personality of the year award, drawing criticism from Boycott.

"It's not ideal preparation, but we're all professional enough to understand the situation," said Trescothick.

"We knew well in advance what we were having to do last night."

Boycott expressed surprise that the team had interrupted their sleep patterns.

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"If England had been playing a one-dayer against Australia, would they have stayed up then?" he said.

"If you're playing a big match you shouldn't be breaking your sleep. Do they not regard Pakistan as a threat?"

England lost Monday's match by seven wickets after notching up just 230.

Flintoff wins BBC Sport award

And Flintoff, who had to stay up until past 0300 local time to receive his award, failed to score with the bat and took 1-30 in eight overs.

England's only batting successes were Liam Plunkett (56) and Vikram Solanki (39), both of whom missed the television event.

Boycott told BBC Sport: "It's not the best preparation. It's not what I feel is right.

"I'm sure the players will all put their hands up and say it didn't affect them, but how the hell do they know?

"The two guys who went to bed and had eight hours sleep batted very well."

But England coach Duncan Fletcher agreed with Trescothick's assessment that other factors were responsible for the defeat.

"I don't believe it [Sports Personality] really had much to do with what happened; it was just the individuals not assessing the wicket," he said.