Pakistanis in control at stumps
by Ant Sims 26 January 2013, 18:29
The Pakistanis ended day two of their warm-up match against the South African Invitation XI in a strong position, leading by 116 runs after their batsmen put 329 on the board.
Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal both picked up two wickets as the hosts were restricted to 213-7 at Buffalo Park in East London on Saturday.
Openers Andrew Puttick and Davy Jacobs both fell cheaply in the South Africans’ reply, followed by Cody Chetty, leaving the South African Invitation XI in a spot of bother at 31-3.
Stiaan van Zyl and Vaughn van Jaarsveld then got together for an 89-run partnership before Van Zyl was run out for 45 (88).
Skipper Justin Ontong joined Van Jaarsveld at the crease, but the Cobras man was soon dismissed, playing a loose shot which had him caught behind off Mohammad Irfan.
Van Jaarsveld, who had looked solid, was the next man out, spinner Saeed Ajmal picking up his first wicket.
The Dolphins man failed to go forward and was hit on the pads and had to go after a splendid knock of 92 off 125.
Wayne Parnell couldn't hang around for very long and Ajmal struck again, sending Parnell on his way for three.
Bad light intervened to bring an early end to play with Dane Vilas (31) and Simon Harmer (2) unbeaten at the crease at stumps.
On Friday, the visitors’ opening pair of Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed set the foundation for a solid total and despite an all-too-familiar collapse which saw the Pakistanis go from 105-1 to 145-6, the visitors still managed a respectable total of 329, with Umar Gul 49 (76) and Sarfraz Ahmed 93 (161) also contributing significantly.
South African Invitation XI’s coach Vincent Barnes believes that his players are learning some good lessons playing against some of the world’s top players.
“The players have a good chance to play against international players and they need to learn to take their chances when they crop up. We did switch off a bit this morning, but those are the lessons the team has to learn,” Barnes said.
“There’s so much experience in the team we are playing against and we have had to graft hard. A few soft wickets did cost us, but we fought hard through tough periods and the guys are learning some good lessons playing against some of the best players in the world.”
Report Day 1
SOUTH AFRICAN INVITATION XI: Justin Ontong (captain), Dane Vilas (w/k), Davy Jacobs, Andrew Puttick, Stiaan van Zyl, Cody Chetty, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Wayne Parnell, Beuran Hendricks, Simon Harmer, Kyle Abbott
PAKISTAN: Mohammed Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (w/k), Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan
