Date-stamped : 05 Aug96 - 18:27 Tetley's Challenge Series Durham v Pakistanis Chester-Le-Street 3,4,5 August 1996 ====> REPORT (Day 2, 4 Aug 1996) Tetley Challenge: Brown finds best on home patch By Simon Hughes at Chester-le-Street Second day of three: Durham (307 & 96-7) lead Pakistan (309) by 94 runs SINCE the opening of their new ground, Durham have had the same sort of aversion to Mondays as the Boomtown Rats. That was predictable with Thursday starts on the newly laid and there- fore slightly unreliable Riverside pitch. The wicket is slightly better now, and this match began on Satur- day, but still at 5pm yesterday when Durham were 15 for four, only 13 ahead, it looked as if the only player activity today would be on the nearby golf course. David Ligertwood is developing into a valuable all-round crick- eter, however. Coming in higher because of Mike Roseberry`s swol- len finger, he saw Robin Weston off his pair, then pluckily nego- tiated a ferocious spell from Wasim Akram - all 12 consecutive overs of it. He looked so composed Roseberry even decided it was worth coming in for a knock himself when Weston was taken at slip. Together they escorted Durham away from immediate danger. A typical 22-yard slab of mud in Pakistan tends to make the ball skid and keep low, and their batsmen do not particularly relish bouncy wickets like this one. Consequently they batted in the morning as though every ball was a potential grenade, throwing the bat at anything full and laying back to slash shorter deliveries regardless of their line. Simon Brown suspected before play started that he was out of the England squad, and bowled as though it was a weight off his mind. Bounce, late swing and a flying edge from Shadab Kabir tested Ligertwood`s agility and both openers were soon back in the pavi- lion. Inzamam-ul-Haq fastened onto some looser offerings from the other bowlers, but neither he nor Ijaz Ahmed hinted at permanence. After a languid on-drive, a one-handed hook and several thumping cuts, Inzamam launched himself at a wide half-volley from former Norfolk seamer Martin Saggers and gave Ligertwood another diving catch. Ijaz had already carved a long-hop to point. Wasim arrived with a clear `them or me` attitude and prospered for a change, rustling up a cavalier fifty with some uncomplicat- ed blows. Rashid Latif followed suit. Only Brown`s figures (five for 88) survived the carnage perpetrated by the seventh-wicket pair and he would have finished off the innings if Ata-ur-Rehman had not survived a skier to long off. The miss cost Durham a small lead and their morale was in tatters when Rehman got to work with the new ball, finding discomforting lift. Pakistan have a bowler for every day of the week. ====> REPORT (Day 3, 5 Aug 1996) Tour Match: Pakistan grateful for safe passage By Simon Hughes at Chester-le-Street Pakistan (309 & 136-3) bt Durham (307 & 135) by 7 wkts PROVIDED the weather held it was always a racing certainty that Pakistan would be #2,500 better off after this match, rather than Durham land a #7,000 windfall. The county have not beaten anyone in first-class cricket since last September. Wasim Akram hardly paused to draw breath during several typically searching spells and he was well supported by Atar-ur-Rehman and Saqlain Mushtaq. Most of the Pakistani batsmen took the chance provided by some variable bowling to free their spirit. The Durham bowling, still heavily reliant on Simon Brown, at least unsettled the Pakistani batsmen with the occasional nasty lifter, an emphatic reminder to the tourists that English cricket is not a complete pushover. In fact, when Pakistan went in again to seek 134 for victory, avoiding injury was a high priority. Aamer Sohail is already out of the Headingley Test with the wrist injury he sustained at Lord`s, and his replacement, Shadab Kabir, damaged his hand fielding on Sunday. Asif Mujtaba was pressed into service as an opener and clearly recognised his opportunity, batting through the innings for 19 not out while the strokeplayers whittled away at the deficit. Brown, helped by the spongy surface, is always a handful here: after some crisp shots Saaed Anwar touched one down the leg side and Ijaz Ahmed was lbw falling over working to leg. Inzamam-ul-Haq hobbled out rather as Gordon Greenidge used to when he meant business and dealt some uncompromising blows to the other bowlers. But having been hit on the arm trying a legside pick-up, he got a leading edge attempting the same. Salim Malik, enjoying the vagaries of this pitch less than most, quickly knocked off the remaining runs. The sight of 200 children playing Kwik cricket in the lunch in- terval was an invigorating sight for all local supporters, and they have plenty to look forward to. The ground will look even more impressive when the members` stand is built in the winter, by which time Durham may also have signed Waqar Younis, who is in preliminary talks with them. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by Ravi (sista@*.latech.edu)