Date-stamped : 13 Dec95 - 14:36 Pakistan 'A' v England 'A', 3rd TEST Peshawar. 8,9,10,11,12 December 1995 ====> Day 1, 8 Dec 95 England A endeavour to break slumber - Simon Hughes First day of five: England A 102-4. Rain delayed start IT MAKES an odd contrast watching groups of enthusiastic boys playing frenetic matches behind the stand of the stadium here while inside it legions of officials mooch around muttering about the light and inspecting microscopic areas of moist grass. But rules are rules, and in this country if the groundsman has not "handed over" the pitch to the umpires, for whatever reason, there is nothing to be done but loll about sipping frontier green tea. You certainly do not want to stir up trouble in the land of the Pathan, where automatic weapons are as common as tandoori chicken. Even the sight of the England players dragging off the covers themselves only temporarily galvanised the apathetic groundstaff, before they went back to idly clearing feathers from the out- field. Mercifully, at 10.50am the sun broke through the high clouds and the groundsman, obviously one of those types who does not like his beloved grass soiled, declared he was satisfied. Forty minutes later the match had begun but, after only 15 overs, the teams trooped off again for an hour`s lunch to accommodate Friday`s prayers. Sometimes you wonder if the Pakistanis actually want to play at all, and sure enough, over the road a first-class game between Karachi Blues and Peshawar had already been called off for the day because the pitch was "not perfect". Anthony McGrath could have no complaints about his decision, how- ever. He fell for the old three-card trick - two outswingers fol- lowed by an inswinger This was an odd statement from the captain of the Blues consider- ing he used to be the professional for East Kilbride in the Scot- tish Cricket League. The grassless, grey stadium wicket was slightly tacky but not unplayable, just difficult to score on. After an early slash for four, Jason Gallian spent a further 80 minutes adding 12 before checking a drive at the off-spinner, Akram Raza, and miscuing back to the bowler. Nasser Hussain was equally becalmed after a frantic start as the seamers found some reverse swing and cramped him for room. Shahid Nasir, 18, got him with a sharp break-back and the way he moved the ball at a good pace suggests he is a name to watch - for the ailing Waqar Younis as much as anyone. Nick Knight accumulated mainly by deflections and a crude off- side swat, but reached a dogged fifty with an exquisite back-foot straight drive honed in many hours of practice sessions with John Edrich. He is not the most natural player but is dedicated enough to overcome his limitations. Every aspiring batsman needs a bit of help from the umpire, of course, but he was unlucky to encounter a trigger-happy one here and departed heel before wicket with understandable reluctance. Anthony McGrath could have no complaints about his decision, how- ever. He fell for the old three-card trick - two outswingers fol- lowed by an inswinger - and has now suffered three ducks in four innings since his maiden hundred in Lahore. Still, he is too strong a character to suffer terminal damage and the same could be said of the two batsmen left at the crease, Ja- son Pooley and Dominic Ostler. Both have had limited opportuni- ties on this tour but batted confidently until they were offered the light when they strode off with a word or two of advice for the protesting fielders. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com) ====> Day 2, 9 Dec 95 Knight spill denies Headley hat-trick - Simon Hughes Second day of five: Pakistan A are 97-4 in reply to England A 199 all out ANOTHER soulless concrete stadium, another grassless pitch of grey marl, another lunch of cold curry and rice. But an intrigu- ing contest is developing - the first of the tour. Largely through the efforts of Dominic Ostler with the bat and Dean Headley and Ed Giddins with the ball, England gained the upper hand in the first two sessions yesterday, but may rue a couple of lapses which let Pakistan back in the game. The most serious of these came in Pakistan`s first over. Headley`s third and fourth deliveries burst through the crooked defences of Shadid Anwar and Babar Zaman, and the hat-trick ball took the edge of Asif Mujtaba`s bat and flew to second slip where Nick Knight could not hang on. That would have made the score one for three, and it was in the next over, when Giddins found a good outswinger for Shakeel Ahmed. Headley twice took a wicket with a no-ball. With the wicket get- ting easier and England fielding only a four-man attack, these errors have already proved costly. Despite a chronic lack of practice lately, England have the resolve to win the match, and no-one personifies this more than Ostler. His uncomplicated, almost bucolic method held the lower- order together in the face of some impressive swing bowling from the precocious 18-year-old Shahid Nasir. Helped by the fact that the sightscreen at his end was still be- ing assembled, Nasir yorked Ostler, Keith Piper and Giddins and defeated Shaun Udal so comprehensively he was planning to rope in the teenager as next season`s pro for his club, Camberley. It would improve his English, at any rate. All he knows at the moment is "Howzaaat!" Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com) ====> Day 3, 10 Dec 95 Tourists defied by Mujtaba and men in white coats - Simon Hughes Third day of five: Pakistan A are 207-6 in reply to England A 199 RED TAPE hampers the life of any cricketer visiting Pakistan. Travelling to areas like the Khyber Pass requires a permit that is unobtainable at present, drinking alcohol or taking your shirt off in public is illegal and the export of exotic carpets is res- tricted. Worst of all, officials have total power. To beat a Pakistan side, playing well is of secondary importance. First you have to co-operate with the men in white coats. Yesterday was a case in point. After the farce of the first day, when the stubborn groundsman refused to hand the pitch over to the umpires until the outfield was virtually frazzled, you as- sumed every effort would be made to make up for lost time. Not a bit of it. A slight haze filtered the bright morning light, and the umpires hung around peering skywards until the sun actually appeared. When play eventually began 90 minutes late, Dean Headley took two quick wickets but four overs later it was lunchtime. England went wicketless in the afternoon session and took the new ball after tea. Headley bowled three balls with it, the last a bouncer and the umpires promptly removed the bails and marched off without even consulting the batsmen. The time was 3.45pm and an English photographer`s meter indicated the light was adequate, so the only explanation is that the officials had got cold feet. It was a frustrating end to three hours cricket during which Pak- istan wrested the initiative. Headley bowled spiritedly for an hour and a half, but was defied competently by Asif Mujtaba and more fortuitously by Akram Raza, who played and missed frequently and was also dropped at fine leg off Ed Giddins. Nasser Hussain was reluctant to use his spinners, and when he did Mujtaba dispatched an ordinary over from Ian Salisbury for 11 to reach a determined hundred and leave England to lament dropping him at slip first ball. He is that rarity in Pakistan - a batsman who refuses to give up his wicket without a fight, and you do not give people like that two lives. There is a certain repetitiveness to the matches on this tour. England crank up Headley to bowl all day, the Pakistanis capitu- late around the constant presence of Mujtaba, and then the teams go off for bad light. If it is frustrating to read about, imagine what it is like to watch. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@*ogi.edu) ====> Day 4, 11 Dec 95 Umpiring decisions mystify England - Simon Hughes Fourth day of five: England A (199 & 62-2) trail Pakistan (300) by 39 runs AFTER a day of Ifs and Butts, it is easy to see why Pakistani um- pires get people`s backs up. Iftikar Malik and Feroz Butt have made a series of unorthodox decisions, the sum of which should guarantee a draw in a contest which was threatening to become ex- citing. The umpires were also asked by the England management last night if they could inspect the ball. It was deemed satisfactory after the visitors had finished the day on 62 for two in their second innings, still 39 runs behind. Heavy rain had fallen overnight and the umpires announced there would be a pitch inspection at 11am despite the fact that the ground bore little sign of the deluge. Eventually, without con- sulting the England team, who perhaps unwisely had returned to their hotel, they decided on an 11am start. This gave England no time to warm up so a compromise of 11.20 was reached. In a way the delay helped England. Dean Headley and Ed Giddins, England`s most penetrative pair, were able to bowl unchanged un- til they had dismissed Pakistan. England`s objective from then was to bat out the match, but the sedate progress of Jason Gallian and Nick Knight was interrupted by another umpiring blunder. Uncertain of the light, the offi- cials started to go off, then stayed on and when Knight edged a swinging delivery hard into his pad, Iftikar gave him out lbw. Ian Salisbury, who was sent in as nightwatchman, rightly com- plained about short leg`s shadow encroaching, but was waved away. Two balls later Butt gave him out caught in that position. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@*ogi.edu) ====> Day 5, 12 Dec 95 Tourists slide close to ignominy in Pakistan - Simon Hughes Fifth day of five: England A (199 & 191-8) drew with Pakistan A (300) THE fiasco of the third A Test finally turned into something resembling a cricket match yesterday afternoon as England slid ignominiously close to defeat by Pakistan, a result which would have levelled the series. That they eventually salvaged a draw was entirely due to the character of the ninth-wicket pair Jason Pooley and Dean Headley, ironically the only two members of the party not originally selected for the tour. Both players are blessed with that other useful attribute, com- monsense, something other people involved had sadly lacked. On a glorious morning, play failed to get underway promptly yet again, this time because of mysterious wet spots on a length. The groundstaff tried to dry these by wafting burning charcoal across the pitch from large metal urns, but this only succeeded in damaging the wicket further. Nasser Hussain began with a burst of shots certainly not out of place in a town infiltrated by warring Afghan tribes, but his batting lacked composure. Hussain swatted a delivery to midwicket and, in what he admitted afterwards was "a moment of madness", set off for a suicidal run. The non-striker Anthony McGrath remained motionless until they were shaking hands at his end with the ball in the keeper`s gloves. England looked dead and buried at 142 for eight when Pooley was joined by Headley. Pooley is the street-wise type, though, and he soon realised that by being positive the close field would scatter. He hit cleanly straight, cut with care and called "wait der!" deafeningly. Headley hid behind a model defensive bat for 19 overs and the danger passed. By the time the batsmen were offered the light, the fielders were equally happy to call it a day. England deserved their series 1-0 win but, because of cloud, rain, shadow or groundsmen`s incompetence, there had never been a full day`s play, and a total of 34 hours was lost in the three Tests. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@*ogi.edu)