Date-stamped : 06 Nov95 - 22:29 Tour Match: Pakistan Cricket Board XI v England 'A' Thatta, 3 November 1995 Hussain sets an example on missionary trip - Paul Newman One day game: England A (168) beat Pakistan CB XI (161) by 7 runs ENGLAND A visited the `MCG` yesterday and found a stadium still under construction in an area of Pakistan with little cricketing history. They then pulled off their second excellent one-day vic- tory in front of a large, but mainly baffled crowd. The Makli Cricket Ground in Thatta, 60 miles east of Karachi to- wards the Indian border, is a green oasis surrounded by miles of barren land which has yet to stage a first-class match. It had a pretty decent introduction to the game yesterday, when Eng- land managed to defend a mediocre total to defeat a second Pak- istan Cricket Board XI by seven runs with eight balls left. The tour`s longest day began at 6am with an adventurous two-hour coach journey before England were greeted by a pitch which resem- bled Derby on a wet day, so moist and green was it after a soak- ing from an over-enthusiastic groundsman. The toss appeared crucial, with the game being reduced to 45 overs while the wicket dried out, and Nasser Hussain duly lost it. But then the A team captain repaired the damage together with a young opener of whom much more will be heard. Anthony McGrath, just turned 20, showed no signs of nerves before his debut at this level. Indeed, one of his major tour priorities so far has been to make sure his mum in Bradford rings here every Saturday night with the Manchester United result rather than wor- rying about anything that awaits him on the pitch. It was that composure which enabled the technically correct McGrath to add 71 for the second wicket with his captain in ad- verse conditions before receiving a taste of questionable sub- continent umpiring. The Yorkshireman`s firm cut appeared to bounce in front of home captain Kabir Khan at cover, but an ap- peal was upheld and McGrath, who later took two awkward boundary catches, was forced to make a premature departure. Hussain, though, carried on to complete his second commanding in- nings in the two tour matches with five fours coming in his 91- ball 64 as England fell, perhaps, 20 runs below par. They then produced an outstanding performance in the field which earned them a victory that looked in doubt when the home side were 93 for two after 30 overs. Central to it was the display of a spin bowler who was given just three one-day appearances by his county last season. Yorkshire`s Richard Stemp, introduced by Hussain for the 24th over, gained pace and turn to take two wickets in successive balls at a cost that would have been miserly in the extreme had he not been struck for three sixes by the hit or bust Pakistani batsmen. The hosts` rather naive chasing tactics also led to three run- outs, Stemp featuring in the best of them with a direct hit from backward point to dismiss Zafar Iqbal, and the match ended in suitably chaotic fashion when Dominic Ostler, who earlier took a tumbling catch at deep midwicket, took advantage of a last pair mix-up in the penultimate over to end any hopes of a home victo- ry. Hussain, during several post-match presentations, earned 5000 ru- pees (around #100) as the man of the match selected by a panel which included Zaheer Abbas as well as sundry gifts from England`s hospitable hosts. The players will enjoy a well-earned day off today before the pace of the tour slows down tomorrow with the start of England`s first four-day match against a combined XI. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)