Captain Misbah-ul-Haq found some solace in an improved showing from his batsmen, but not enough to shrug off the ultimate disappointment of falling to another defeat at the hands of England in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

Chasing a testing target after Alastair Cook's second century on the trot had pushed the English to 250 for four, Pakistan's top order put in a far better collective performance than the dismal showing that saw them fall to a mere 130 all out in the series opener.

230 all out, though, was ultimately not enough as captain Cook and company fetched a 20-run win for an unassailable two-nil lead in the four-match series.

47 apiece from Misbah and Imran Farhat promised, only to not delivery, while a string of 20s and 30 from Mohammad Hafeez and the like flattered to deceive. Left to make up for the shortfall of the specialist batsmen, the tail-enders were asked to do much - and predictably failed. Numbers eight through 11 managed just 14 runs between them as England fast bowler Steven Finn landed a career-best haul of four for 34.

"The batsmen realised their duties, especially the top order. They played well. The guys played well at top but again we keep losing wickets at the wrong times," admitted Misbah.

"The job of the first six is to do the job and get the runs. You can't expect the tail to come in and get the runs against a quality bowling side."

The third ODI gets underway in Dubai on Saturday, when Misbah's men will look to turn the tables on an opposition entirely weak in the preceding Test series but quick to bounce back in the limited-overs leg of the tour thanks largely to Cook and Finn's performances.

"This team can do anything the way they're playing," added the Pakistan captain. "They can come back at any time. I believe in our team."