BRIAN LARA was floored by a Shoaib Ahktar bouncer but the West Indies thrashed Pakistan by seven wickets at the Rose Bowl to set up an ICC Champions Trophy final against England.

West Indies skipper Lara was forced to retire hurt after the Rawalpindi Express struck him on the back of the neck with a delivery that clocked 91.2mph.

The 35-year-old had made 31 from just 30 balls when he came off after complaining of dizziness.

Lara had arrived at the crease in the fifth over after seeing openers Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds both succumb to Shoaib during a hostile opeing spell.

The Pakistani unleashed deliveries at 95.3 mph and averaged more than 93mph to give Bob Woolmer's side hope after a disastrous performance with the bat.

Then he felled Lara in the 15th over, the first of his second spell.

Ramnaresh Sarwan, who finished unbetaen on 56, spoke of his concern while he watched from the non-striker's end.

He said: "At first I thought his jaw might have broken. It actually hit him on the back of the neck but he's okay.

"He wanted to continue but went off because he was feeling dizzy. But he should be okay for the final."

The Windies recovered from the loss of Lara to win with 21.5 overs to spare and will now face England with confidence after beating them twice on the way to July's Natwest Series final.

"It's a great opportunity for us to win something. We wanted to do well as a team in this tournament because of the effects of the hurricane back home but England won't be a pushover," added Sarwan.

"They've been playing well for the last year or so but in a one-day game anything is possible."

Pakistan's 131 was their lowest-ever total against the West Indies and their capitulation followed Inzaman-ul-Haq's bizarre decision to bat first after winning the toss.

Pakistan never recovered after losing debutant Salman Butt to the second ball of the match, and were bowled out in just 38.2 overs.

Man of the match Sarwan added: "We were very surprised by their decision to bat first, it played right into our hands.

"The wicket was pretty dicey to start with but as the game went along it became a lot better for batting."