Date-stamped : 15 Nov95 - 14:32 Tour Match: Pakistan Cricket Board XI v England `A` Lahore, 11,12,13,14 November 1995 ====> Day 1, 11 Nov 95 Headley leads charge on a `pukka` pitch - Simon Hughes First day: PCB XI are 249-4 THE Urdu word `pukka` is normally used to describe a road with an excellent surface. It would have been just as appropriate for this pitch, which muted the England A attack to such an extent they were probably rather relieved when at 4.30pm the umpires de- cided the light was too bad and play was abandoned. The sun was still shining, but the shadow of the incongruous Thai-style pavilion had encroached on to the wicket. It was not a good toss to lose as conditions in the morning were perfect for batting and England had been obliged to rest their main strike bowler, Sussex`s Ed Giddins, in preparation for the first Test next Friday. He spent the day playing Sega golf, leav- ing Dean Headley as the spearhead and Craig White to share the new ball. Headley was up to the task, bowling with spirit and control throughout and making an early breakthrough in each ses- sion. White was relatively loose and admitted to a shortage of rhythm and confidence. Only one Pakistan batsman, Saeed Azad, took full advantage of the situation after an early reprieve when the umpire failed to detect a snick off Richard Stemp. "Did you edge that?" Stemp asked later. "Yes," replied the batsman. "Then why didn`t you walk?" "Because I`m trying to get a place in the Pakistan Test team." A one-day international might be more suitable, as Azad clearly only understands the word `block` as a chunk of wood. He raced to fifty in a blaze of scything drives and pulled one Ian Salisbury over for 14. England`s fielding held up, both Nick Knight, diving, and Jason Gallian, sprinting, taking fine catches, all the more creditable considering the murky backdrop of thick foliage round the ground. With numerous varieties of tree, lush grass, meticulously tended flowerbeds and birdsong rather than traffic hum, the match feels as if it is occurring in Kew Gardens rather than the capital of Punjab. A truly pukka setting, in fact. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com) ====> Day 2, 12 Nov 95 Hussain remains supreme - Simon Hughes Second day: England (199-5) trail PCB XI (301) by 102 runs Score- board THERE IS no disputing the dominant force in this England A team. In the field the captain Nasser Hussain seems to have the Midas touch and his batting has been supreme. Hussain encouraged Dean Headley and Craig White to bowl aggres- sively with the new ball and they blew away the Pakistan Board XI`s last six wickets for the addition of only 42 to their over- night score. Then Hussain`s silky 83 threatened to give England a substantial lead until a mini post-tea collapse. After two days the last game before the first Test is evenly poised. It is also being played in a friendly spirit. The Board XI`s cen- turion, Saeed Azad, survived purely by the will of Allah, admit- ting edging a catch early in his innings and alternating between flashing drives and wild swishes, but his hundred was sportingly applauded by everyone. There was also none of the hysterical ap- pealing you associate with matches on the sub-continent. A fast, true wicket has helped. Bowlers have found no movement or uneven bounce, and thus batsmen are rarely hit on the pads - of the 15 wickets to fall so far 12 have been caught. White started the sequence by digging one in at Wajahtullah, whose name is a fair description of the shot he played. A tum- bling Ronnie Irani held on to it by the square-leg umpire. Work- ing up a lively pace, White then struck the pocket-sized Iftakhar on the head, found his edge next ball, was too quick for Fahed and ran out Shoaib with a left-foot volley. The persistently hos- tile Headley at last lured Azad into a mis-hook to finish with five for 68. Then after the early loss of Nick Knight, wafting loosely, Hus- sain and Gallian added 117 with style and purpose while the rest of the team debated their paltry summer salaries over an extended lunch of curry and bananas. Gallian took 16 off an over from Mubashir Nazeer, a 19-year old fast-bowler who had Waqar Younis`s action but less pace and no swing. Hussain, irrepressible, thumped the seamers beautifully straight, and milking the spinners with cuts, eases through the on side and a fine paddle. "I`m in the best nick in my life," he said afterwards and so it appeared. Gallian eventually skied to long-off, more a product of a sore hamstring than good bowling, and as a precaution he will sit out the rest of the match. The composure of Anthony McGrath while wickets fell to the Waqar look-alike marked him out as a star of the future, but Hussain is the name on everyone`s lips. It seems only a matter of time before Hussain reaches a hundred after making 60 and 64 in one-day games and 89 and now 83 in first class. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com) ====> Day 3, 13 Nov 95 McGrath`s graft earns prize of maiden century - Simon Hughes Third day: PCB XI (301 & 67-4) lead England A (355) by 13 runs IT is one thing for a 20-year-old to register a maiden century in his seventh first-class match. It is quite another to achieve it 5,000 miles from home representing your country. When the chunky Yorkshireman, Anthony McGrath, nudged a ball on the leg- side after 5 hours 30 minutes at the crease, he punched the air elatedly. While England`s spirited attack undermined the Pakistan Board XI`s second innings, McGrath was putting his feet up in the pavi- lion resting a sore knee. It was an innings of great skill and maturity, prompting John Em- burey to crow about his technique and call his temperament "Boycott-esque." He is not a pretty player, but his defence is well organised, he hits the ball generally straight with an un- flamboyant punch rather in the manner of Dennis Amiss and has a good range of strokes. These were unleashed when the No 11, Richard Stemp, walked to the wicket after Ian Salisbury and Dean Headley had departed to suc- cessive balls from the Waqar Younis impersonator Mubashir Nazir. Only on 56 at that point, McGrath suddenly carved the other open- ing bowler for a memorable six over extra cover, then thumped a straight drive into Nazir`s forehead. It ricocheted into the mid-off area where two fielders collided attempting a simple catch and the ball fell safe. The bowler was led off with damaged pride as well as cranium. McGrath milked the bowling after this, cleverly manipulating the strike, though Stemp never looked in trouble and helped his young county colleague to relax as he neared three figures. The scoreboard was one of those primitive prop-me-ups you normal- ly find at council grounds and it only displayed his score when he went into the eighties with a straight six. McGrath`s unwavering concentration was finally breached by a shooter - the first ball that misbehaved all match - and he stood there in disbelief for several seconds, almost willing the wicket to rebuild itself. McGrath was born in Bradford and played for East Bierley, not a million miles away from Ray Illingworth`s club, Farsley. It was clearly the chairman who had a hand in his selection for this trip, possibly on the back of two large centuries for the England Under-19 team in the past year. It seems to have been an inspired choice. The A team are unani- mous in their appreciation and several have already laid bets that McGrath will be a Test cricketer in two years. Meanwhile, McGrath will be phoning home for replacement bats be- cause he has broken three out here. They will have celebrated yesterday`s news in the Ridings, but it was harder in the Pearl Continental Hotel here. Insipid Pakistani lager is available with a special licence, but 90 cases of Tetley bitter sent by the sponsors have been impounded at Karachi har- bour. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@*ogi.edu) ====> Day 4, 14 Nov 95 Team have all-round hand full of trumps - Simon Hughes Fourth day: England A ( 355 & 100-2) beat Pakistan Cricket Board XI (301 & 153) by 8 wkts WHEN this England A team assembled at Gatwick Airport on Oct 26, they faced a daunting task. Not only were they destined for Pak- istan, about as enticing a prospect in the minds of some players as venturing to the North Pole, but also it was going to be dif- ficult to emulate the performance of the A team in India nine months ago. But so far all expectations have been exceeded. The side have achieved a 100 per cent record on the field, maintained by yesterday`s resounding eight-wicket victory over a youthful Board XI, and away from the cricket they found life most palatable. Admittedly they are obliged to gather round the card table most evenings (it is dark by 5.30pm and there is no night life in Pak- istan), but actually that is what many of them often do to relax during a British summer. English and American food is available in the hotels, and the lunch spread at the ground is a lavish selection of chicken cur- ry, tasty noodle dishes, roast potatoes and mixed vegetables. Ja- son Pooley has not even opened one of the eight tins of tuna he carefully packed. Like their recent predecessors, this squad have gelled together strongly, bonded by collective ambition and an eagerness to learn. All have made a contribution apart from Mike Smith, the Gloucester left-armer, still something of a passenger nursing a torn side-muscle. If he has not recovered by next week, he will come home. John Emburey should take some of the credit for this early suc- cess The most noticeable characteristic of their play has been atten- tion to detail. In this last match the seam bowlers realised that looking for swing or movement was pointless - the air was too clear (surprisingly unpolluted) and the wicket too good. So they pinned the batsmen on the back foot, then offered them the occasional tempting morsel further up. John Emburey should take some of the credit for this early suc- cess. He eats and talks cricket, more loudly than usual at the moment because of an ear infection. He watches players carefully, videos them and makes meticulous notes in a large black book. Probing bowling by Dean Headley in the morning deserved more than one wicket, a brilliant falling overhead catch by the substitute Dominic Ostler. Ian Salisbury`s leg-spin was too much for a tail that had a prim- itive strategy - block or wah-hoo. Requiring 100 to win, England soon lost Pooley, edging a ball slanted across him, but Knight was dogged and Irani destructive, his fifty arriving in only 63 balls. The team fly to Multan today, 500 miles south, for the first Test, which begins on Friday. It is Pakistan`s turn to be wor- ried. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@*ogi.edu)