The inexperienced Pakistan test squad collapses in England tour opener
Shares
LONDON - A half-century from Imam-ul-Haq, nephew of Pakistan chief selector and former captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq, helped saved Pakistan’s blushes on the first day of their first warm-up game against Kent, but their eventual 168 was still a sub-par total.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Pakistan made a decent start to the first innings of their tour of Ireland, England, and Scotland, progressing to 111/3. Imam-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq had added 48 after the losses of Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, and Haris Sohail, but when Shafiq was removed by Ivan Thomas, his dismissal precipitated a slide of 7/57 to 168 all out.
Kent’s Will Gidman did the majority of the damage by taking 5/47, including the wickets of Azhar, Sohail, Sarfraz Ahmed, and Imam-ul-Haq for a well-made 61. Hasan Ali added a rapid 24 from No.10, striking a pair each of fours and sixes in his 11-ball innings before he was caught by Calum Haggett off the bowling of Harry Podmore to bring Pakistan’s innings to a close.
Hasan, who shot to prominence after being named Player of the Tournament in last year’s Champions Trophy, struck early with the ball, pinning Daniel Bell-Drummond LBW with his fourth ball. But Sean Dickson and Joe Denly added a sedate 38 to show there were no demons in the pitch before bad light brought a premature end to the first of three scheduled days of play.
Following the conclusion of this fixture, Pakistan will take on Northamptonshire in a three-day game, before becoming Ireland Men’s first-ever Test opponents. That match will begin on 11 May at Malahide in Dublin.
