Date-stamped : 18 Aug96 - 22:32 Tetley's Challenge Series Essex v Pakistanis Chelmsford 17,18,19 August 1996 ====>REPORT (Day 1, 17 August 1996) New Akram awaits call Barrie Fairall at Chelmsford IT was time to draw breath before the final push, though there was no shortage of incidents here as the Pakistanis prepared for this week`s final Test and Essex looked ahead to a run at the Championship. Wickets and runs for the watcher, words for the listener and all neatly packaged in a day`s play. Pakistani fortunes were mixed, as they inevitably are in these matches away from the international arena, but spir- its are high and there is a buzz in the camp about a burgeoning talent. Eng- land beware, because not one but two Akrams will likely be facing them at the Oval. With Wasim, the captain, resting, Mohammad Akram burst into the reckoning with seven for 51 in the win over Leicestershire at Grace Road. Pakistan`s manager, Yawar Saeed, says: "He should be there for the final Test because the Oval wicket will pro- vide a little more bounce." Mohammad is 21, played League cricket in Bristol last summer and is looking to add to his four caps. "Courtney Walsh said he was a good boy and that we should keep an eye on him," the manager said. "He has to be among the quickest in the world and he swings and cuts the ball as well. I think he`s about to be- come a Test-class bowler." For the moment Mohammad had to bide his time, while there were a few alarms in the Pakistani dressing room first thing. Arriving on a high from Leicester, a low point was reached at four down for 63 in the 18th over, be- sides which Inzamam-ul- Haq added to the problems by limping off with a knee injury. Inzamam, who had made 22, laughed off suggestions that he was doubtful for the Test. His left knee has been giving him trouble for a while now, but the Lord`s century- maker said that he re- tired here purely as a precaution and in any case returned at the fall of the seventh wicket. Elsewhere in the ranks it was pride that was in- jured. The tourists won the toss and batted on a glorious morning. Not so glorious, however, was a decline that began in Mark Ilott`s opening over. Swinging and seaming the ball, the left-armer`s fourth delivery came back at Aamir Sohail and bowled him. Ilott brought another one back, too, in his second over to ac- count for Ijaz Ahmed leg before. Two wickets in seven balls, then, for the Essex man, who took a breath- er after Saeed Anwar escaped with a couple of streaky fours to the third man boundary. Saeed, though, fell to Steve Andrew when he edged to second slip and Salim Malik`s return to his former county was cut short by Ronnie Irani, who took out Rashid Latif with his second ball after lunch. But not before Asif Muj- taba had struck him for four successive boundaries in help- ing raise 64 for the fifth wicket. Asif continued the good work by completing a hard-earned half-century during a 45-run stand with Saqlain Mustaq, while Inzamam picked up the threads by reaching his 50 aided by a runner, as the Pakistanis eased past the 200 mark to give the livewire Mohammad something to bowl at later. ====>REPORT (Day 2, 18 August 1996) Tour Match: Pakistan raise tempo with demolition job By Clive Ellis at Chelmsford FORGET sensible preparations for the final Test. The Pakistanis` contemptuous demolition of the Essex attack yesterday smacked of a side already raising the tempo for the one-day internationals. Saeed Anwar, possessed of an almost Lara-like fa- cility for scoring fast without significant risk, made a glorious hun- dred off 90 balls, and Salim Malik subjected his former team- mates to further torment with his first cen- tury of an under- achieving tour. Pakistan are ideally placed to finish their county programme to- day with a fifth thumping victory to set against a single defeat, by Warwickshire. The Pakistanis, like England, have selection puz- zles to solve before gathering at the Oval on Thursday, but theirs are born of riches rather than poverty. The return of Aamir Sohail to fit- ness will leave Shabab Kabir on the sidelines, though the 18- year-old has done very little wrong, and the extra pace of Moham- mad Akram is expected to give him the vote over Ata-ur-Rehman. Essex, well below full strength, resisted nobly for the first 1.75 hours through Darren Robinson and Barry Hyam. Waqar Younis, who generated great pace to take all three Essex wickets to fall on Saturday, was not quite as lethal yesterday and Hyam, making only his third first- class appearance, gave Robinson stout support in a fourth-wicket stand of 93. A miscued pull off Akram was Robinson`s undoing and Hyam fell in the last over before lunch, caught bat and pad one short of a maiden fifty. Ronnie Irani, who took four successive fours off Akram, was caught in the deep off Saqlain Mushtaq, whose four wickets took his tally in the last 3.5 matches to 24. Waqar returned to terrorise the lengthy Essex tail and emerged with his first five-wicket haul of the tour. Anwar and Sohail played with complete freedom at the start of Pakistan`s second innings, and though Sohail has yet to pass 50 in a first-class innings on the trip he looked blissfully unconcerned when bowled for 40, giving John Childs the charge in the last over before tea. Malik, who had been struggling for form throughout the tour, played himself in cautiously while Anwar wreaked havoc. The left-hander was caught at slip immediately he had completed his fourth hundred of the summer, leaving the stage clear for Malik to gather confidence with every ex- uberant stroke. ====>REPORT (Day 3, 19 August 1996) Tour Match: Pakistan in total control By Clive Ellis at Chelmsford THE only note of hope for England to emerge from this embarrass- ingly lop-sided affair was that one of the two all-devouring Pak- istani bowlers who shared 18 of the 19 Essex wickets to fall, Saqlain Mushtaq, is unlikely to play at the Oval. The off-spinner could not have done more to book a Test place. He has taken 29 wickets at less than 16 apiece - all in the last four county matches - and is adding almost daily credence to claims that he is already, at the age of 19, the best bowler of his type in the world. The Pakistani high command are not ruling out the possibility of Saqlain`s inclusion on Thursday, but he will not usurp senior spinner Mushtaq Ahmed and, given that the tourists are likely to insist on some pace back-up for Wasim Akram and the rejuvenated Waqar Younis, the only other means of accommodating Saqlain would be to play five batsmen. Four of the potential top six scored centuries here and, more ominous still for England, Waqar zipped back into top gear after a stuttering performance in the second Test at Headingley. The Essex attack looked respectable on paper, but still got ham- mered on an excellent batting pitch. The bat- ting, on the oth- er hand, combined inexperience in the top order with the lengthi- est of tails, and even lacked captain Paul Prichard in the second innings because of a migraine. Small wonder that Waqar rediscovered his appetite for destruc- tion. His match figures were nine for 68, culminating in the spectacular removal of Mark Ilott`s middle and Peter Such`s off stump. Essex were basking in the illusory comfort of 86 for one before Saqlain weaved his magic with a pre-lunch spell of three for three in two overs. Darren Robinson scored a second accomplished half-century in the match but he was caught and bowled, deceived by a slower ball from Saqlain. The off-spinner finished with five for 34 and a match return of nine for 81. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by Ravi (sista@*.latech.edu)