Date-stamped : 20 Aug97 - 03:04 Saturday 16 August 1997 Tour Match: Pakistan fall to spin of Such By D J Rutnagur at Chelmsford First day of four: ECB XI (114-2) trail Pakistan A (227) by 113 runs THIS match, meant to be the high spot of the Pakistanis` tour, should perhaps have been played earlier in their visit, for there was a distinct end-of-term air about their batting, which did not do full justice to the best pitch they have played on. Their indiscretions were understandable, for the average age of the side is well below 20. However, when the ECB XI batted, the Pakistani bowlers showed remarkable maturity and considering that Abdul Razzak, only 17, bowled with genuine pace, his control during a long opening spell was highly impressive. It was Razzak who struck both blows before David Hemp, 51 af- ter being reprieved at 44, and Paul Grayson established the in- nings with an attractive, unfinished partnership of 75. Jonathan Lewis, Durham`s main run-getter, did not prosper on his return to his old stamping ground. Playing back to a ball of high pace pitched well up, he played on. Darren Maddy, pushing forward, was caught behind. Maddy`s fast-bowling Leicestershire team-mate, James Ormond, was under close scrutiny of Graham Gooch, who is managing England`s young hopefulls. Gooch must have been disappointed, for Ormond was hard put to find his rhythm. Ormond`s partner in the new ball attack, Graeme Welch, struck an early blow, getting Mujaheed Jamshed to slice a drive, but it was Peter Such, who bowled his 22 overs unchanged, who did the damage taking five for 74. The doughtiest of the Pakistanis was Hassan Raza, who stayed 88 minutes to score 47 off 68 balls. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Paul Grayson, the Essex all-rounder, did his chances of cap- taining England A this winter no harm by compiling an assured 77 against Pakistan A. Watched by England selector Graham Gooch, who was also their team manager, the First Class Counties XI were on course at tea on the second day of four for a decent lead on a pitch offer- ing turn. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Tour Match: Brown`s haul eclipsed by dashing Mahmood By D J Rutnagur at Chelmsford Third day of four: Pakistan A (227 & 311-9) lead ECB XI (439) by 99 runs VICTORY for the ECB XI, set up by a career-best haul of seven for 83 by Warwickshire`s Dougie Brown, is still well within their compass, but its completion was delayed by a day by a brave, red- blood- ed innings of 92 by all-rounder Azhar Mahmood, 21, also Pakistan A`s leading wicket-taker on this tour. At one stage, the life expectancy of this four-day match was tea-time on the third day at the outside for, 30 minutes after lunch, the tourists were 137 for six, and that despite a reso- lute, 57, off 99 balls, by 15-year-old Hassan Raza, who hit two sixes and five fours. Assisted by Farhan Adil, who made 43, Raza had rallied the Pakistanis from an initial collapse wrought by Brown in his opening spell, reducing them to 34 for three before the innings was 10 overs old. He captured the wickets of Mujahid Jamshed, Salim Elahi and cap- tain, Muhammad Waseem. Peter Such ended the Adil-Raza partnership 20 minutes before lunch, getting Adil to snick an attempted cut. Brown also dis- missed wicketkeeper Javid Qadeer and Raza, faultless for 99 min- utes, who edged to Nixon. Mahmood and another all-rounder, Abdul Razzak, then put on 84 from 20 overs. Mahmood played a supporting role, while Razzak, played a flurry of classic off-side shots and hit 10 fours in making 55 before being dismissed by Ashley Giles, who induced a slip catch. Once Razzak had left, Mahmood cut loose and traded mainly in the coinage of sixes, hoisting as many as half a dozen, one of them driven straight off Brown, who had his revenge when he edged another massive drive. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Pakistan shown exit by Brown By D J Rutnagur at Chelmsford ECB XI (439 & 109-5) bt Pakistan A (227 & 318) by 5 wkts ON A pitch which remained in impeccable condition, save for the rough created by the bowlers, the ECB XI were made to work hard and beyond lunch to achieve their modest victory target against a young Pakistan A side, playing their final match of a seven-week tour. The cornerstone of the final innings was a 63-run stand for the third wicket between David Hemp, who made an accomplished 41, and Paul Grayson. They had to mend some early damage caused by the new ball and though only 33 runs remained to be scored when they were sep- arated, the ECB batting looked to be feeling some pressure as they gingerly closed the gap on the visitors. However, the winning stroke, a mighty clout to leg, was flam- boyantly made by Warwickshire`s Scottish all-rounder, Dougie Brown, who had an outstanding match with an aggregate of eight wickets and in- nings of 43 and 13 not out. The openers, Jonathan Lewis and Darren Maddy, again failed to bring their rich championship form to bear on this match, which man- ager and England selector Graham Gooch looked on as a "show window", if not a formal trial. Maddy edged a ball from Abdul Razzzak which bounced as it left him, while Lewis, forward only in name, was trapped lbw by an Azhard Mahmood in-swinger. Grayson was tested early on by a Razzak out-swinger but there- after he and Hemp both put away the overpitched ball with firm, hand- some shots. Sixes by Hemp against each of the spinners, a lap at Ali Hus- sain Rizvi, and a straight drive off Shoaib Ma- lik, the 15-year-old off-spinner hastened ECB`s progress. But he was subdued by the added responsibility he shouldered when Grayson, dismissed by Rizvi in the classical leg-spin- ner`s manner - caught at slip - and David Sales, who holed out, fell in rapid succession. The young spinners both bowled with wit and con- trol and Hemp, trying to shake off his fetters, lofted a catch to cov- er. Manager Gooch said he was impressed with the way his team had played. "They had got together for a one-off match, but they gelled nicely and showed a consciousness of representing our cricket if not the country." The tourists` coach, Agha Zahid, deplored the fact that they were not alloted representative matches as England A are when they go abroad. While the Pakistanis finished with only one first-class win and four defeats, Zahid was not disappointed. "The boys are all going home better cricketers and that is enough for me." Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)