Manchester, England, June 4: Alec Stewart, England’s stand-in captain hailed Pakistan's bowlers after they snatched victory in the second test on Monday, but he rued his side's missed chances.

"We knew they were capable of knocking over a side in a session and they did it to us again, just like they did in 1992 and 1996," he said. "They can take 10 wickets in a short space of time.

"It's a huge disappointment. We knew Saqlain Mushtaq is a world-class spinner and the ball was turning today," added Stewart, leading England because Nasser Hussain broke his right thumb in the first test at Lord's.

England, who lost their last five wickets for nine runs in the first innings, collapsed again at Old Trafford in their second on the final day.

After reaching 174 for one, their last nine wickets went for 87 and they lost by 108 runs. Off-spinner Saqlain took four wickets in a 36-ball spell which cost five runs as the touring side levelled the two-match series 1-1.

Stewart said man-of-the-match Inzamam-ul-Haq had also played a key role for Pakistan with scores of 114 and 85.

"We had him caught off a no-ball in the first innings (for 31) and dropped him in the second (for 36)," he said. "He was the difference between the sides."

Stewart, standing in for injured England captain Nasser Hussain, refused to blame the umpires after four England batsmen seemed to have been dismissed off no-balls on Monday which were not called.

"I'm not going to start moaning or say that umpires' decisions have cost us the match," he said. "We take it on the chin and carry on. They're human beings and all human beings make human errors."

England would have won their fifth series in a row for the first time in 30 years if they had managed to escape defeat at Old Trafford.