Date-stamped : 07 Oct97 - 14:09 Day 1 Report- Dawn Opener Ali Naqvi scores century on Test debut By Samiul Hasan RAWALPINDI, Oct 6: A new star has appeared on the horizon in the form of Ali Naqvi who scored a breath-taking century on his debut as Pakistan finished at 216 om the opening day of the first cricket Test against South Africa at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Monday. Ali Naqvi, who came in the match without any reputation, scored a scintillating 115 to become fifth Pakistani and 63rd world batsman to reach the magical figures on his firstappearance at the highest level of the game. Khalid Billy Ibadullah, Javed Miandad, Salim Malik and Mohammad Wasim are the other four Pakistanis who have established the rare record. "It is a great moment. It had been a surprise Test call but I am grateful to the almighty who justified the decision of the selectors," Ali Naqvi "Initially, I was worried about Allan Donald but as the match progressed, I gained confidence and by the end of the innings, I was in total command," It was Naqvi's back-to-back century after his 113 against the same opposition in a three-day match at Karachi last week. The right-hander has made his brief first-class record even more impressive. After his 316 from eight matches in England, he scored 61 and 113 at Karachi and followed up with 115 here. Naqvi was in commanding form and with the help of his stroke-play, made pacemen like Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock look quite ordinary. He used his feet very well and most of the time tried to dominate the ball rather than let the cherry dictate terms. Naqvi was a model of concentration as well. He batted for 10 minutes under six hours and never looked like throwing away his wicket. However, the only lose shot he played, brought his dismissal. On the fifth ball with the second new ball bowled by Allan Donald, Naqvi tried to hit the paceman over cover and mistimed the shot. Gary Kirsten, fielding at cover took a beautiful catch while back-paddling. The only other time Naqvi made a mistake was when he was 95. At that score, off-spinner Pat Symcox failed to hold on a sharp chance off his own bowling. Naqvi, during his 350-minute knock, faced 270 balls out of which 14 were converted into boundaries with most being perfectly executed and from the middle of the willow. "He has a very sound technique. His defence is solid and stroke-play quite enterprising," South African skipper Hansie Cronje said. Naqvi initially dominated the Pakistan innings scoring 31 in Pakistan's first 50 and then having exactly half the score when Pakistan got to the 100 mark. But then he slowed down a bit though didn't let a lose ball go unpunished. Naqvi's first 50 came off 84 balls with seven boundaries. He took another 152 balls for the next 50 to complete the three figures with the aid of six more hits Naqvi's fellow debutant, Mohammad Ramazan, had a difficult start to his innings when he played and missed while sometimes was beaten by the pace to be hit on thigh. As he settled down, he played some exquisite shots before he committed the mistake of playing back to Shaun Pollock and umpire Javed Akhtar giving him the marching orders. Ramazan faced 92 balls and hit four boundaries. With Naqvi, Ramazan shared in a 69-run second wicket partnership which was easily the highest partnership of the Pakistan innings to date. But the rest of the players were not even the shadow of Ali Naqvi. Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmad and Inzamamul Haq were dismissed while playing reckless and irresponsible shots. Nevertheless, Mohammad Wasim should consider himself very unlucky when he was declared caught bat and pad by S Venkatravaghan off Pat Symcox. Television relays showed the bat was hidden behind his pads. Saeed, after beating his counterpart on the spin of the coin and batting first on a bald and placid strip, tried to drive a rising and out going delivery from Allan Donald and gave a straight forward catch to Dave Richardson who doesn't drop many. Then Ijaz, after hitting a boundary of Symcox's earlier delivery, came out of his crease again but was beaten in the air to be bowled. Inzamam had a wild go at Brett Schultz's delivery and Richardson took a blinder behind the stumps. The way the innings of Saeed, Ijaz and Inzamam terminated, it showed that the trio might have forgotten playing Test cricket and instead thought they were probably probably playing the one-day game. They were, nevertheless, not all at fault. Pakistan are playing a Test after 16 one-day games and the three have been key members in those. But whatever logic might one give, the bottom line is that the Pakistan batting was to revolve around these three batsmen and if they played such stupid shots, what from others. Pakistan coach Haroon Rasheed needs to come hard on them and try to inject in their brains that they were no more playing limited overs cricket. At five-day level, batsmen must apply themselves and that was precisely what is needed from them rather than their attitude of gifting away wickets. The South African, on the contrary, kept the pressure on the Pakistanis by playing with their inexperience and lack of application. They concentrated on bowling at or outside the off stump with three slips, two gullies and a third-man in position. Allan Donald was well rewarded for this strategy when he picked up the wickets of both the Pakistani openers to finish with two for 61 while Pat Symcox, playing mainly to restrict the flow of runs, picked up two cheap wickets for 43 runs. Pakistan would still like to add another 100 runs to place themselves in a safe position. And the most enterprising thing for them might be that in the final session, the ball started turning. We need not to mention that Pakistan has world's best spin bowling combination in Mushtaq Ahmad and Saqlain Mushtaq. Source:: Dawn (http://dawn.com/) Day 1 Report - Electronic Telegraph Naqvi's debut a red-letter day By Peter Deeley in Rawalpindi ALI NAQVI'S century on his debut for Pakistan on the opening day of the first Test here yesterday is a reminder that even in the tough world of modern international cricket there is still room for a fairy-tale. Just 20, he became the fifth Pakistan player to score a hundred on his maiden appearance - yet six months ago this opening batsman was unknown to his selectors. Naqvi walked into the national stadium in Karachi with a letter from his local club - a building society - to the Pakistan coach, Haroon Rashid, listing his achievements with the bat. Rashid was then recruiting for last summer's A tour of England. He said: "I read the letter and said I would give him a chance. After a week in the nets I could see his abilities and when we had picked 13 players for England I told the selectors I would like them to find room for a 14th - Naqvi." Naqvi had never played at first-class level before he came to England, where he averaged just under 30 on tour and scored a century against the MCC. Then a week ago he was picked for a Combined XI against South Africa and scored a half-century and a hundred. His astonishing climb to the top continued here where, with immense composure, he batted for all but 10 minutes of the day and contributed over half of Pakistan's 216 for six. Naqvi gave one chance on 96 when off-spinner Pat Symcox put down a return catch. But when much more experienced batsmen were worn down by the tourists' thoughtful bowling tactics, Naqvi reined in his attacking instincts. He had an intriguing battle with Symcox, the 37-year-old off-spinner who bowled unchanged for 22 overs in sapping heat. Naqvi's first 25 runs came in as many minutes but he took almost another five hours to reach three figures. The moment came in spectacular style, however, when he lifted Shaun Pollock 40 yards into the deep over midwicket. He was out trying to hit Allan Donald and the second new ball over extra cover, where Gary Kirsten took a fine catch. Pakistan fielded two other debutants, one of whom, Mohammad Ramzan, also appeared from virtually nowhere. He shared with Naqvi the day's highest stand, 69 for the second wicket, while the third, all-rounder Azhar Mahmood, was fending off Donald at the end in poor light. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Day 2 Report- Dawn Pakistan surge to a respectable score on 2nd day of Test By Samiul Hasan A highly mature innings by debutant Azhar Mahmood put Pakistan in a position from where they can dictate terms in the first cricket Test against South Africa being played here at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. When stumps were drawn for the rain-affected second day on Tuesday, Pakistan had collected a respectable 345 for nine with Mahmood still at the crease on 72. With the debutant was Mushtaq Ahmad on 6. Pakistan resumed their first innings an hour after lunch at an overnight score of 216 for six with Moin Khan on 8 and Azhar Mahmood on 4 after three hours of play was lost because of early morning heavy showers. The umpires, S Venkataraghavan and Javed Akhtar, extended the play by 23 minutes and same will be done in the next two days if light permitted. Pakistan soon ran into trouble in the play before tea break when they lost Moin Khan and Saqlain Mushtaq with the scoreboard reading 231 for eight. But Azhar Mahmood and Waqar Younis played innings of contrasting styles to help Pakistan build up a handsome score. With the wicket taking turn and odd ball keeping low, Pakistan still has an edge over South Africa because of their brilliant spin combination of Mushtaq Ahmad and Saqlain Mushtaq. Waqar Younis might also cause problems specially when the ball is scuff up which will help the great pacer get reverse swing - the art not perfected by many including Allan Donald. Pakistan has already saved the first Test but can take a 1-0 lead provided they go into the field on Wednesday with a positive approach. All they need is to attack and get as many wickets as possible and that too without conceding too many cheap runs. Like the opening day, the second day's proceedings were dominated by a debutant. After Ali Naqvi scored a century on his debut, Azhar Mahmood played an exquisite innings to give a solid lesson to his other colleagues. Local boy Mahmood, batted with admirable concentration and dedication to occupy the crease for nine minutes under four hours and in the process hit an elegant, flawless and chanceless unbeaten 72 that included five boundaries and a six off Pat Symcox. Mahmood, a fast improving all-rounder, reached his half century from 138 balls with two boundaries and hit over the fence. But his high class innings was overshadowed when Waqar Younis held the South African bowlers by the scruff of their necks to play brilliant strokes in his 81-ball 45. Younis blasted five scorching boundaries and two massive sixes to entertain ahandsome crowd here. His first six came off Symcox while the other was against Donald at long-leg. His sweetly timed six off Donald helped him overhaul his previous best of 34 which was against New Zealand at Christchurch in 1995-96. Nevertheless, Younis got the treatment of his own medicine when a Shaun Pollock inswinging yorker hit him on the toe and in front of the wicket to leave Venkatravaghan with an easy decision. But by the time Younis limped off the field, he had done his job perfectly by sharing in a 74-run ninth wicket partnership with Azhar Mahmood in 101 minutes. If the South Africans had any ideas of folding the Pakistan innings soon after Younis's departure, they were sadly mistaken as the last pair of Azhar Mahmood and Mushtaq Ahmad frustrated them for another 65 minutes to return unseparated. Besides holding the crease, the two also put on 40 runs with Mushtaq being a sleeping partner with just 6. Earlier, Moin Khan was severely tested by Allan Donald with short-pitch and intimidatory bowling. The Pakistan vice-captain and wicketkeeper received telling blows twice when he was hit on the shoulder and arm respectively. Like an intelligent bowler which Donald certainly is, he bowled one straight and Moin was left in no man's land to be adjudged leg before. Saqlain lasted just five balls before Shaun Pollock swung one into the off-spinner to get him leg before. Both Donald and Pollock equally shared six wickets between them. Donald conceded 95 runs from 29.1 overs for his three wickets while Pollock gave away 62 runs in 31 overs to bag three wickets. Pat Symcox failed to add any wicket to his yesterday's two and ended up with the wickets of Ijaz Ahmad and Mohammad Wasim for 81 runs from 39 overs. Source:: Dawn (http://dawn.com/) Day 2 Report - The Star Newspaper Waqar, Azhar ruin SA's day By Iqbal Khan in Rawalpindi Just when South Africa thought they had the game within their grasp, Waqar Younis and Azhar Mehmood took away the initiative and placed Pakistan in a commanding position at the end of the second day's play in the first Test here yesterday. Pakistan, resuming at 216/6, went on to finish an abbreviated second day on 345/9 in their first innings. It was thanks to outstanding contributions from Waqar (45) and a steady unbeaten 72 from Azhar, playing his first Test innings and who could emulate Ali Naqvi if he keeps his head by knocking off a further 18 runs to become the sixth batsmen from Pakistan to score a century on his Test debut. When stumps were drawn, Mehmood had found a valuable ally in Mushtaq, who was on six, and together they defied the South Africans for 65 minutes as they added 40 for the unbroken 10th wicket. Mehmood was as solid as a rock while taking his score from four not out overnight to 72 not out after Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock took two quick wickets within 30 minutes of the second day's play starting. That double loss set back Pakistan, but Younis and Mehmood turned the tables with a record ninth wicket 74-run stand. They defied all odds to break the previous record set by Kabir Khan and Inzamam-ul-Haq at the Wanderers in the 1994/95 season to quickly wrest the game away from the visitors. Surprisingly coach Bob Woolmer said afterwards: "I think we did okay considering we were two bowlers short. It was a tough day for the guys on the field. We kept the scoring rate to under three runs an over." The two bowlers Woolmer talked about are Brett Schultz, who is out of the game, and Brian McMillan, who has a damaged tendon in his arm. The entire morning's play was lost because of a wet field after early morning rain, but the afternoon started promisingly for South Africa as Donald, who had struck Moin Khan twice on the shoulder with successive deliveries, trapped the wicketkeeper in front for 11. With the addition of another run to the total Pollock sent back Saqlain Mushtaq (0) to make the total 231/8. The South Africans were back in the game and their tails were up with Donald and Pollock were bowling at a fiery pace. But that zest was slowly eroded by Mehmood and Waqar's attacking approach. They took Pakistan from 231/8 to 305/9 - the partnership lasting 101 minutes - before Pollock trapped Waqar leg before for 45, almost knocking his foot off. He had struck two sixes - one each off Donald and Pat Symcox - and five fours in his 101-minute stay at the crease and faced 81 deliveries. It was his highest Test score, surpassing his 34 against New Zealand in Christchurch in the 1995/96 season. Donald, Pollock and Symcox worked tirelessly throughout the day. Donald's work earned him 3/95 off 29.1 overs while Pollock, bowling impressively, had figures of 31-11-62-3 and Symcox, always at the batsmen's throats, finished with 2/81 off 39 overs. Saeed Anwar, the Pakistan captain, was all smiles after the day's play. He said: "I didn't think we would get past 300 at one stage. They bowled well in the opening period and then Waqar and Azhar took the game away from them. "I was looking at 300 but 345 is certainly a bonus for us and it's a platform from which we could launch our victory charge." Anwar was impressed with Mehmood, whom he thought had a very good eye and who knew which deliveries to play against an attack he rates highly. Source: The Star (http://www.star.co.za/) Day 2: Electronic Telegraph Mahmood in merry debut By Peter Deeley in Rawalpindi PAKISTAN Test debutants continue to dog the South African bowling with the all-rounder Azhar Mahmood this time leading a tail-end fight which has put victory in the first Test almost beyond the tourists' grasp. On Monday, it was Ali Naqvi's century. Yesterday, Mahmood was unbeaten on 72 at the close as Pakistan reached 345 for nine on a rain-affected day which left the South Africans so tired and dispirited that their coach, Bob Woolmer, declined to come to the after-play press conference. Like Naqvi, Mahmood, who is 22 and hails from this city, gained much from the Pakistan A tour of England this summer. There, he took 40 wickets in eight matches and scored nearly 400 runs. One innings on as flat a pitch as this does not guarantee Test longevity for either player, but it says much about the depth of talent in this country. Mahmood has been at the crease for almost four hours and while South Africa were badly handicapped by injuries to two key bowlers, Brett Schultz and Brian McMillan, he played with nerveless aplomb, even against Allan Donald with the new ball. Schultz may not bowl again here after straining his shoulder throwing in from the deep. He seems a deeply unlucky player. This is the third time he has broken down in a Test and it is only his ninth appearance in five years because of injuries and operations. McMillan sent down one over yesterday then went off, another sufferer from throwing in, though in his case the elbow took the strain. That left South Africa with three frontline bowlers and Pakistan's end order took full toll. Overnight rain washed out the morning session but in the 50 overs available, Pakistan added 129 for the loss of three wickets. Yet at the outset, it looked as if South Africa would continue their dominance. Donald, who had not taken kindly to being banged on the shin, probably accidentally, by Moin Khan the previous evening, twice hit the batsman when he ducked into short balls and then had him leg before. Saqlain Mushtaq soon went similarly to Shaun Pollock but then Waqar Younis, hitting two sixes - including a hook off Donald - scored a Test-best 45 as he and Mahmood added 74 for the ninth wicket. It took a typical Waqar delivery, a swinging yorker, to end the stand, Pollock hitting the batsman on the toe and making him dance about. Mushtaq Ahmed stayed for the final hour to help Mahmood put on another 40 so far for the last wicket. By the close, the attack was so toothless that even Mushtaq was starting to bang the ball about. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Day 3 Report- Dawn Records galore amidst high scoring 1st Test By Samiul Hasan RAWALPINDI, Oct 8: Local boy Azhar Mahmood rewrote record books when he together with Ali Naqvi became the first pair in 121-year-old history of Test cricket to score centuries in same innings for the very team on debut Tests. After the 20-year-old Naqvi had scored 115 on the first day on Monday, Mahmood, 22, scored a magnificent undefeated 128 as Pakistan posted a mammoth 456 on the third day of the first Test against South Africa at the Pindi cricket Stadium on Wednesday. The home team had resumed this morning at 345 for nine with Mahmood on 72. Together with Mushtaq Ahmad, who scored a career-best 59, Azhar Mahmood equalled the world record of 151 runs for the last wicket established 25 years ago by the New Zealand pair of Brian Hastings (110) and Dick Collinge (68 not out) against Pakistan at Auckland in 1972-73. Mahmood, whose 128 was interestingly his maiden first-class century in 44th appearance, also became the fifth batsman to reach three figures on debut while batting at No 8 or lower than that position. The other three to score debut century at No 8 are: Australian R.J. Hartigan (116) vs England at Adelaide in 1907-08; Indian R.H. Shodhan (110) vs Pakistan at Calcutta in 1952-53 and New Zealander Bruce Taylor (105) vs India at Calcutta in 1964-65. England's R.A. Duff made 104 against Australia at Melbourne in 1901-02 while batting at No 10. Mahmood batted with great courage and determination to help Pakistan reach the total which looked well beyond their reach. But helped with two brilliant partnerships of 74 and 151, Mahmood placed his team from where they, at least, can't lose even if they fail to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Not to belittle the heroic efforts of Ali Naqvi, Azhar Mahmood's innings was a more matured and exquisite one. He played shots on merit and found gaps perfectly to keep the scoreboard moving with twos and threes. Mahmood's 12 minutes under six hours of batting was spiced with 11 boundaries and a six from 267 balls. Today, Mahmood reached his century from his 228th ball by gliding a Shaun Pollock delivery to third-man to pick up a couple of runs. "I can't be more satisfied with my performance. It had always been a dream to represent Pakistan but I had never thought in my wildest dreams that my debut would be like this one," an elated Azhar Mahmood, who is Pakistan's sixth centurion on debut, said. "After being selected for the one-dayers only, I had started thinking if I would ever get a chance to show my mettle at Test level. I am glad that from now, I will not be labelled as a one-day specialist," Mahmood, who holds a first-class batting average of just above 24, said. "I did score a century but Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmad can't be denied the credit for giving me the strength and opportunity. The two batted outstandingly well," Mahmood said. Mushtaq Ahmad was in a class of his own on Wednesday. The little fighter improved his previous best of 42 against New Zealand last year here by hitting three sixes and a four off successive balls from Pat Symcox's over. Mushtaq batted for a little over three hours during which he received 101 balls and struck four sixes and as many fours. The tenacity shown by Mushtaq made one remember the Test between Pakistan and Australia three years ago where Mushtaq shared in a match-winning 10th wicket partnership of 59 to help Pakistan win the Test by one wicket and the series 1-0. "I am happy for Azhar Mahmood. He deserved the century because he was a model of concentration and application. As far as my innings is concerned, I wanted to give as much support as possible to him so that he can reach a figure which I wish to get sometime in my career," Mushtaq told Dawn. "I had no idea that I needed a single to create a world record for the 10th wicket. Had I been told, I would not have played that shot," Mushtaq, whose leg-stump was sent cart-wheeling by Hansie Cronje off an inside edge, said. South Africa, who started their first innings after lunch with their first target being 257 to avoid follow-on, finished the day at 139 for one. However, the score doesn't reflect the discomfort the South Africans enjoyed in the centre against some accurate bowling from Mushtaq Ahmad and Saqlain Mushtaq, backed up by some athletic fielding. Opener Adam Bacher was the only South African batsman to get out when he was caught bat and pad by Mohammad Ramazan at silly point of Saqlain Mushtaq. Bacher became the 14th touring party's batsman from 16 to fall to the spinners on the tour. Bacher scored 50, his third half century in sixth Test, that came off 142 balls with three fours. Gary Kirsten, who has pleasant memories of this ground where he scored World Cups best ever individual score of 188 not out against UAE, was batting on 62 laced with five boundaries from 210 balls. He provided South Africa with a much-needed solid start of 107 for the first wicket in 200 minutes. With Kirsten was Jacques Kallis on 20 when stumps were drawn for the day. Source:: Dawn (http://dawn.com/) Day 3 Report - The Star Newspaper Back from the brink in Rawalpindi By Iqbal Khan Rawalpindi South Africa dragged themselves away from the brink of disaster to finish the third day of the first Test against Pakistan at the Pindi stadium here yesterday on a somewhat even keel. The South Africans, thanks to a solid opening start from Gary Kirsten and Adam Bacher, were 139/1 after 64 overs. That, after Pakistan made a mammoth 456 in their first innings with some hefty contributions from tail-enders Azhar Mehmood (129 not out), Waqar Younis (45) and Mushtaq Ahmed (59). While South Africa may have won the battle yesterday, the war is far from over as they are still 118 runs short of the follow-on target of 257. But there's certainly nothing in the pitch, as shown by Kirsten, who has 62 to his credit, Bacher, who made 50 before falling to Saqlain Mushtaq at silly mid-off in the 50th over, and Jacques Kallis who accumulated 20 runs in his 55-minute stay at the crease. Kirsten, becoming the cornerstone of so many South African innings and who is batting with the same determination as he did in India last year, spent 257 minutes at the crease yesterday, facing 210 balls. He hit five boundaries. From this showing, the rest of the batsmen will need to get their heads down and work hard for runs as did the Pakistanis, who resumed yesterday on 345/9 and went on to add a further 111 runs for the loss of their last wicket. The South Africans once had Pakistan at their mercy but lost the initiative when Mehmood, first with Younis, took the play away from them with a 74-run eight-wicket stand and then along with Mushtaq swung the game in his team's favour early yesterday. At 231/8 on the second day Pakistan were dead but Mehmood's patience, Younis' belligerence and Mushtaq's arrogant approach revived their flagging hopes. Mehmood and Mushtaq pulverised the South African bowlers in the two-hour period before lunch as they went to new landmarks in their careers. Symcox was blasted all over the field and finished with 2/130 off 47 overs while Allan Donald, who bowled well, ended with 2/108 off 33 overs while Shaun Pollock, the pick of the seamers, had a superb return of 37-13-74-3. Mehmood became the second player to score a debut Test century in the match. In the process Mehmood and Ali Naqvi, who did the trick on the opening day when he scored 115, went down in the record books as the first Test batsmen to have scored a ton each in the same innings in the same Test for the same team. Mehmood was unbeaten on 129 which came off 267 deliveries and in 348 minutes with a six and 14 fours. It was his first first-class century. The two-ton debut feat was almost achieved at Lord's last year when India's Saurav Ganguly scored 131 on his first appearance and Rahul Dravid was out five runs short of a century. The two young Pakistanis join Khalid Ibadulla, Javed Miandad, Salim Malik and Mohammad Wasim as the six Pakistanis to have scored centuries on their Test debut. Mushtaq made a career-best 59 - his previous best was 42 against New Zealand at this venue last season. The rotund Mushtaq hit Pat Symcox for a six, six, four and six off successive balls in one over by the the tall off-spinner. And then the pair equalled the world 10th wicket record of 151 set by Brian Hastings and Dick Colling of New Zealand against Pakistan in Auckland in the 1972/73 season. Source: The Star (http://www.star.co.za/) day 3 report - Electronic Telegraph Mahmood in record mood By Peter Deeley in Rawalpindi THIS first Test with South Africa continues to produce the kind of story-lines that once filled the pages of Boys Own. Not only did local boy Azhar Mahmood make history by becoming the second Pakistani debutant in an innings to score a century, he figured in a world record-equalling last-wicket stand, opened the bowling - and then shook hands with the Queen, here on a State visit, who was presented to the teams. Yet South Africa, after a nightmare two days when Pakistan's last two wickets almost doubled their score from 231 to 456, showed plenty of character by reaching 139 for one at the end of the third day. They still need 118 to save the follow-on, but though the home spinners Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq have already sent down 47 overs, the ball is turning only slowly. Less comforting for the tourists are the signs of wear where Mushtaq is pitching the ball. They are already handicapped by the shoulder injury to fast bowler Brett Schultz, who is being sent home at the weekend. After feeling discomfort when throwing in from the deep on the first day, Schultz was sent to a specialist in Karachi who discovered muscle damage in the left shoulder and some internal bleeding. He will now miss the last two Tests but the South African selectors have not yet decided whether to send for a replacement. These events all took second billing, however, on a day which demonstrated Pakistan's remarkable facility for producing Test cricketers, if not out of the hat, certainly almost off the street. On day one opening bat Ali Naqvi, 20, scored a Test debut 115 on the back of three months' experience at first-class level. Mahmood, 22, joined him with an unbeaten 128 which took 5.75 hours and was without a false stroke till he got to 94 and appeared to give a low chance to short leg off Pat Symcox. No side has featured two century-makers on their maiden appearance in a Test before, let alone the same innings. Mahmood, played more for his bowling than his batting, came in at No 8 when Naqvi was dismissed and stayed while 250 runs were added, scoring more than half himself and reaching his first hundred in first-class cricket. If anything his was the more impressive of the two hundreds. He played very straight, with bat close to pad, but still produced a perfectly timed four through midwicket off Allan Donald at the start of the day and then pulled Shaun Pollock so accurately that the shot bisected two fielders not 10 yards apart. His partner Mushtaq played the Test innings of his life. He defended stoutly until Mahmood passed his hundred, then launched a outrageous attack on Symcox, taking 22 off an over which included three sixes over midwicket posted on the rope. Eventually Mushtaq played on when he had recorded a Test-best 59, off 106 balls, having batted for three hours. By then the two had drawn level with the highest 10th wicket Test stand of 151, by New Zealand's Brian Hastings and Richard Collinge - against Pakistan - 25 years ago. The wicket-taker was South African captain Hansie Cronje, who immediately turned to Mahmood and shook his hand in recognition of a memorable innings. Gary Kirsten led South Africa's struggle for survival with an immaculate half-century and Adam Bacher, though less assured against the spinners, also reached fifty in an opening partnership of 107 before he was snapped up off Saqlain at short extra cover. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Day 4 Report: Electronic Telegraph South Africa defy marathon man Saqlain By Peter Deeley in Rawalpindi A MARATHON spell of 33 overs from the Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq failed to break South Africa's resistance on the fourth day of the first Test here yesterday, which means the tourists have almost certainly made sure they will stay level going into the last two games of the series. Saqlain bowled from 11.30 in the morning until after five o'clock in the afternoon, though four wickets in the day helped keep his adrenalin flowing to the end. He finished with five for 126 and outshone his fellow spinner Mushtaq Ahmed, whose 50 overs have yielded 109 runs and no wicket. The two have sent down 109 of the 150 overs and Saqlain would be celebrating a Test-best sixth wicket but was no-balled when Dave Richardson was stumped. His chance should come again today when South Africa, who at 359 for six are only 97 runs behind Pakistan's first-innings total, bat on to ensure the draw. A placid pitch has reduced even Waqar Younis to near-impotence, the ball has turned slowly and only Saqlain was able to get occasional response. Gary Kirsten, who fell two runs short of a fifth Test century, piloted South Africa clear of any potential disasters. Adam Bacher, who had oened with Kirsten, and then Jacques Kallis shared century partnerships but the left-hander shouldered the major responsibility during a seven-hour stay. Kirsten was not dismissed until he had seen his side almost past the follow-on mark. Then, on 98, Saqlain got a ball to bite and lift and Kirsten's instinctive push was held at second slip. That was Saqlain's second wicket in 11 balls. In his previous over, Kallis, with a Test average of eight coming into this match, was leg before when the spinner made a delivery straighten. But with a first half-century, Kallis, who batted without blemish, should now go on to richer pastures. Saeed Anwar's captaincy was puzzling. He hardly used Waqar when South Africa were still facing the threat of the follow on, holding the new ball back and concentrating on the spinners. Saqlain responded nobly. He may have been lucky to win a leg-before decision against Daryll Cullinan but Brian McMillan, who does not seem to relish playing on the sub-continent, presented him with his fifth wicket. Hansie Cronje set no better an example by chipping a wide ball from Azhar Mahmood to point to give the previous day's century-maker his first Test wicket. At that stage, South Africa still might have buckled but positive batting from Shaun Pollock and Richardson, in a two-hour unbroken stand of 77, drew what little sting was left from the Pakistan attack. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Day 4: Dawn Saqlain takes 5 as South Africans avoid follow-on By Samiul Hasan RAWALPINDI, Oct 9: Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq and South African opener Gary Kirsten were thwarted of personal achievements as the first cricket test headed for a high scoring draw at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday. When stumps were drawn for the penultimate day, South Africa were 359 for six in reply to Pakistan's 456. With the first innings yet to get over, there seems to be no other result possible than a draw of a 15-day duration, a result might have been drawn out as the wicket is very slow and not conducive to stroke-play. And Pakistan playing with four bowlers including a half-fit Waqar Younis, it would have needed more than an effort to bowl the South Africans out twice in a match. Hosting Test match on this type of wickets is a murder of the sport. It is after nearly three years that Pakistan is hosting one of the best teams and the spectators are more interested in watching good cricket rather than high-scoring draws. Pakistan should prepare sporting wickets, keeping in mind that after the South Africans, it has to host the mighty West Indians for a three-Test series and then have to play an equal number of Tests against South Africa in South Africa. If the authorities can't prepare sporting wickets, they can certainly make spinning tracks which can help the Pakistan spinners. To make the records straight, the South Africans on this tour have lost 21 wickets with three going to the pacers, 11 to a wrist spinner and seven to two finger spinners. The statistics clearly prove that the tourists are vulnerable against quality spinners and their weakness should be exploited. Reverting to the day's proceedings, the fourth day's play was an amazing contrast to what was seen in the first three days marked by records galore. Saqlain Mushtaq was denied of his career-best figures by umpire Javed Akhtar when he declared the ball which got Dave Richardson stumped as no-ball. Had Mushtaq got Richardson, it would have been his sixth scalp of the innings. Thus, it would have improved his previous best of five for 89 which was against Sri Lanka earlier this April. Similarly, Gary Kirsten sweat hard for his laborious 98 to miss a painstaking and well deserved fifth Test century by two runs. Kirsten resumed this morning at 62 and slowly cruised to 88 at lunch. After lunch, he tried a couple of nervous shots in an effort to immediately reach the three figures but failed. At 98, Saqlain Mushtaq produced the ball of the day when he made the ball spun sharply across the left-hander to leave Kirsten without any other option but to edge it to second slip where Ijaz Ahmad made no mistake. Saqlain Mushtaq, who finished the day with five for 126 from a marathon 59 overs including 33 at a stretch, had 11 balls earlier trapped the other overnight batsman, Jacques Kallis, in front of the wickets. Kallis scored his six-Test career best 61 with six boundaries from 155 balls. Kallis was associated in an innings building 114 runs second wicket stand with Kirsten who on Wednesday had put up a century opening wicket partnership with Adam Bacher. Mushtaq added the cheap wicket of Daryll Cullinan (16) who was unfortunate to be given leg before. Television replays showed that the ball had pitched outside the line of the stumps and had hit him high. The other significant thing which strengthened Cullinan's claim was that Mushtaq was bowling round the wickets. Saqlain Mushtaq completed his tally of five wickets when an out-of-form Brian McMillan tried to sweep him and ended up spooning the ball behind the substitute wicketkeeper Mohammad Wasim where Ijaz took an easy catch. Although Saqlain was hit for runs in the final session of play that yielded 100 runs, but it should not be forgotten that he bowled unchanged in the final two sessions of play and must have caused pain to his fingers. Besides, he would also be feeling exhausted after playing almost four months of cricket in English climate. Mushtaq Ahmad, the leg-spinner, also bowled his heart out but without any success. He bowled 24 overs unchanged but was mostly off target. The good balls really caused problems for the batsmen but couldn't provide a wicket. Azhar Mahmood also had a second successive memorable day. After scoring a century on debut on Wednesday, Mahmood picked up his first Test wicket when he had South African skipper Hansie Cronje caught at point by Ijaz Ahmad. The South Africans were pegged at 66 in the first session of the play while in the the second session they were under further pressure after losing three wickets for the addition of only 54 runs. However, with the bowlers and fielders tired, Shaun Pollock and Dave Richardson took the liberty of scoring some easy runs. They two have so far added 77 runs for the unfinished seventh wicket. Pollock was batting on 35 and Richardson was 30 not out when bad light forced an early closure by three overs. Source:: Dawn (http://dawn.com/) Day 5 report- Dawn Azhar first Pakistani to hit a ton & 50 on Test debut BySamiul Hasan RAWALPINDI, Oct 10: Inzamamul Haq and Azhar Mahmood rescued Pakistan from a late charge by the South Africans as the first cricket Test ended in a draw at the Pindi Cricket Stadium here on Friday. Inzamamul Haq slammed a brilliant and hard-hitting 56 while Azhar Mahmood followed up his first innings contribution of 128 not out with an undefeated 50. He became the first Pakistani to score a century and a half century on his debut. For this superb effort, he was adjudged Man-of-the-Match. The two batsmen shared in a priceless 68-run sixth wicket partnership in 69 minutes after the tourists had reduced the home team to 80 for five with more than 43 overs of the match still remaining. When play ended with 12.2 overs still remaining, Pakistan were 182 for six. With Azhar was Moin on 6. Half-an-hour after the match ended, it started raining cats and dogs. The local authorities became so panicked that they forgot to cover the square which in a little time became a pool of water. The Pindi Cricket Stadium will be hosting Quaid-i-Azam Trophy matches from next week. Earlier in the day, Pakistan dismissed South Africa for 403 to snatch a 53-run first innings lead. Pakistan had scored a mammoth 456 in their first innings. In an amazing turn around to what looked a high-scoring draw, Jacques Kallis and Pat Symcox equally shared four wickets between them to leave Pakistan reeling at 80 for five after Allan Donald had accounted for an out-of-form Saeed Anwar who slashed at a wide delivery to be caught by substitute fielder Jonty Rhodes at point. Kallis struck in quick successions when he first had an over-confident Ali Naqvi (19) caught by wicketkeeper Dave Richardson and then sent back Mohammad Ramazan (7) who was caught at mid-wicket by Shaun Pollock. Off-spinner Pat Symcox then delivered telling blows on Pakistan when for the second time in the match, he shattered the symmetry of Ijaz Ahmad's stumps and then got a nervous Mohammad Wasim to leave Pakistan tottering at 80 for five. But Inzamamul Haq and local boy Azhar Mahmood showed guts, courage and immense fighting qualities to guide Pakistan out of hot waters. Inzamam slammed 10 scorching boundaries in his 82-ball 56 - his 18th half century in 38th Test - while Azhar Mahmood had eight boundaries and a six in his magnificent 50 off 96 balls. The South African bowlers looked more disciplined and calculated while bowling in the second innings. They kept Saeed Anwar and Ali Naqvi feeding outside the off-stumps to finally have them behind the wickets while tested Mohammad Ramazan with short-pitched deliveries until the debutant put one into the hands of Pollock at mid-wicket. Ijaz's 16 was quite uncharacteristic of his style as he never looked at ease. In an amazing contrast to his first innings dismissal, he was beaten in the flight and dragged the ball onto his stumps. Wasim, who was unfortunate to be out for 11 in the first innings, remained unsettled and attempted a few lofted drives over mid-wicket until he hit into the throat of Pollock. The Pakistan batting once again crumbled under pressure and against a planned bowling. In the first innings, it was salvaged by record-making centuries on debuts by Naqvi and Mahmood while in the second, Inzamam and Mahmood came for help. Saeed Anwar, since his 194 against India in May, is due for a long innings and apparently the additional job of captaincy istaking a heavy toll of him. Earlier, Mushtaq Ahmad excelled with the second new ball to capture three out of the four remaining South African wickets as the visitors were dismissed for 403 in 73 minutes of batting on the final day. They had resumed at 359 for six. After a wicketless but hard fought penultimate day, Mushtaq finished with three for 126 but Saqlain Mushtaq was bowled for only three overs today in which he couldn't get the wicket he needed to record his career-best figures. He finished with five for 129. After Azhar Mahmood got his second wicket of the match when Shaun Pollock was spectacularly caught by Mohammad Wasim behind the wickets, Mushtaq had Symcox stumped by Wasim off a wrong run. He then got a frustrated Allan Donald caught at mid-off before folding the South Africans innings by having Brett Schultz leg before. It must have been a great satisfaction for Mohammad Wasim who had conceded 20 byes while deputising for an injured Moin Khan. On Thursday, he was robbed off a stumping when Saqlain Mushtaq's ball that got Dave Richardson was declared no-ball. Richardson, who was 3 then, remained unbeaten on 45 with five boundaries from 143 balls. Shaun Pollock, who was overnight 35, was out after scoring 48 that included four fours and a six from 100 balls. The two batsmen put on 106 runs for the seventh wicket. Source:: Dawn (http://dawn.com/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)