Pakistan returned to the depths of despair with a telling six-wicket defeat in the second Twenty20 International in Cardiff, while England found it all too easy in clinching a two-nil series win.

The small positives they managed to string together in Sunday's five-wicket loss in the series opener were promptly undone on Tuesday, with their fourth sub-100 score of the tour adding to their status as international cricket's latest whipping boys - on and off the field.

Winning the toss and opting to wield the willow first across a pitch that promised to be a touch quicker than the sluggish nature of the weekend's surface, captain Shahid Afridi heralded a change in gameplan and batting order, neither of which worked.

Intention to clobber anything and everything quickly had the tourists four down with next to nothing on the board, as Kamran Akmal (11), Mohammad Yousuf (four), Shahdaib Hasan (three) and Afridi (two) all perished to short balls.

Man of the Match Tim Bresnan (three for 10) and sidekick Stuart Broad (two for 18) chose to bang it in rather than pitch it up, and the top- to middle-order's stubborn lack of change in approach quickly forced Umar Akmal (17) and Mohammad Hafeez (14), chosen ahead of Wahab Riaz, to steady the oft-rickety ship.

The duo ground out what they could, eking their side to a pedestrian 37 for four at the halfway mark of the knock.

The introduction of Graeme Swann, as usual, saw the resumption of Pakistani disorder. Tonked for a couple of sixes by Umar, whose anchor role had by now taken a back seat to the counterattack, the sly spinner flighted the slowest of deliveries to snipe through the right-hander's slog through the arc, and then played his part in the run-out of Hafeez.

Two deliveries later, Fawad Alam lazily feathered an edge to wicketkeeper Steven Davies to leave the toothless tourists sitting at 56 for seven thanks to Swann's scalps and Mike Yardy's miserly economy.

Ryan Sidebottom was expensive on Sunday and again chased plenty of leather after perplexingly cracking the nod ahead of James Anderson, with Abdul Razzaq (11) and Umar Gul (16) enjoying some last-gasp hitting. The southpaw seamer had the last laugh, though, removing both all-rounders with successive deliveries.

Bresnan returned to the attack to rearrange Shoaib Akhtar's stumps, leaving Pakistan's dismal deal sealed at 89 all out.

England's reply was swift enough, but as was the case in the series opener, took go-to guy Eoin Morgan (18 not out) to succeed where the top-order failed.

With Davies caught at midwicket for nine and Kieswetter having managed to run himself out at the non-striker's end for 16, Paul Collingwood (21) and Ravi Bopara (12) respectively failed in the face of Saeed Ajmal's doosra and Afridi's quicker delivery.

A tad uncomfortable at 63 for four, the home side were all too pleased as Morgan kicked into gear straightaway to slap three quick boundaries with Yardy (six not out), who partnered the unorthodox left-hander to victory in the series opener, again along for the triumphant ride at the turn of the 14th over.

The victory gives England their seventh Twenty20 International triumph on the trot, a world record run fitting of a team who laid to waste all before them in the World T20 in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, Pakistan's series loss hardly bodes well for the upcoming five one-dayers, with another whitewash the likelihood come Friday's first ODI and beyond.

Delivery of the Day
"There was only going to be one winner," Collingwood said in reference to Swann's beauty to get rid of Umar. Too right, was the England captain. Having been lambasted down the ground for six a delivery prior, many spinners would've opted to dart the next one in. Not cavalier Swann, who offered so much flight that the right-hander couldn't resist a triple-step down the track. Head in the sky and swinging for the fences, Akmal got nowhere close to the pitch of the ball as it fizzed through the gate to crash into the stumps. The wily slow bowler's understated celebration of the wicket was testament to just how much he knew the batsman was never going to have the final say.

Shot of the Day
After copping a blow to the stomach from an Akhtar snorter minutes before, Collingwood thought the best way to avoid more of the same would be to charge the pace ace. That he did, swiveling off the front foot to crank the mightiest of sixes over midwicket, watching from a metre from his crease as the ball screamed into the crowd. The audacity of it all was typical of the steely skipper.

Defining Moment of the Day
Afridi spoke volumes at the pre-match press conferences and at the toss of how he planned to lead by example more than ever. His subsequent decision to promote himself higher in the order may well have brought fruition to his wish to be captain courageous, but ultimately didn't. The occasion was there for the taking as he strode to the crease with his side battling their usual batting woe. Unfortunately a characteristic rush of blood to the head soon had him back at the dugout and the result, already, all but in the bag for the English.

Jonhenry Wilson