Date-stamped : 19 Nov96 - 14:11


>From The Press November 18, 1996

New Zealanders In Trouble At Tea

SAHIWAL -- New Zealand was in strife after losing five quick
wickets before tea on the opening day of its three-day tour
cricket match against a Pakistan President's XI in Sahiwal
yesterday.

New Zealand was poorly placed on 136 for seven at tea after
young fast bowler Mohammad Zahid rocked the tourists on his home
ground at Quaid-E-Azam Stadium.

Zahid, a former Pakistan under-19 representative, had the
impressive figures of five for 47, including the important scalp
of New Zealand opener Bryan Young.

Young laboured hard under the hot Sahiwal sun to reach 47 in
209min of concentrated duty before chasing a widish delivery
from Zahid.

Young was one of five New Zealanders to depart in the space of
eight overs after the Kiwis had reached 96 for two following the
lunch break when they were 54 for two.

Zahid, swinging the ball in both directions, troubled all of the
New Zealand batsmen, and made short work of Nathan Astle, Mark
Greatbatch and Gavin Larsen.

Earlier, Stephen Fleming had reached 30, including four fours
and one six, before left-arm spinner Mohammad Hussain bowled
him.

His dismissal brought a rush of action as Zahid found new life
when confronted with the Kiwi middle order.

He clean bowled Astle for one and Greatbatch left in similar
fashion three balls later.

Short scoreboard: New Zealand 136 for 7 (B Young 47, S Fleming
30; Mohammed Zahid 5/47). --NZPA


Source :: The Christchurch Press (http://www.press.co.nz)

Day 1 Report- Dawn

N. Zealanders bundled out for 171; Zahid shines

By Ilyas Beg

SAHIWAL, Nov 17: Bowling before his home crowd, the 20-year-old
paceman Muhammad Zahid ripped through the New Zealand batting
and helped in bundling the visitors out for a paltry score of
171 at 4.04 PM on an easy-paced pitch of the Quaid-i-Azam
Stadium on the opening day of the three-day tour of the Kiwis on
Sunday.

The experienced visiting fast-medium bowler Danny Morrison also
bowled with sustained hostility in remaining 31-minute game to
claim two wickets on two consecutive deliveries to make early
inroads in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) XI battings. At draw
of stumps, the PCB XI was 32 for two.

Sohail Jaffar, a consistent scorer in domestic cricket, averted
Danny Morrison's chance of a hat-trick. The PCB Opener Zahoor
Elahi, playing before the 1,000 lovers of cricket of the city of
his birth, entertained them with four exquisitely-timed
boundaries in his flashing, unbeaten knock of 22. He, along with
Sohail Jaffar (3), will resume the PCB side's first innings on
Monday morning.

Born in Gaggu Mandi, a town only 55 kilometres away from
Sahiwal, pacemen Muhammad Zahid the national scene, playing his
early cricket in the city. He had his initiation in
international cricket by bowling well for Pakistan under-19 team
a couple of years ago. Overcoming his weakness of bowling short
and wavering in length, he bowled his career best spells on
Sunday morning and afternoon and was rewarded with his best-ever
haul of six for 54. While skipper and his senior fast-bowling
partner Aqib Javed struggled to find his rhythm and touch
bowling from the far end, Muhammad Zahid bowled with success
almost the whole day from pavilion end. he not only claimed the
first wicket but also broke the backbone of the Kiwis batting
during the afternoon session. A fitti ng finale to his great
effort, was the wicket of Mathew Hart Muhammad Zahid yorked
left-hander Hart (22, with two fours) to finish any hopes of the
visitors' resistance. Zahid was ably supported by the two
spinners in the PCB XI, viz Murtaza Hussain and Muhammad
Hussain. Both took two wickets each, conceding 45 and 39 runs,
respectively. If Muhammad Hussain helped in making early dents
in the New Zealand batting, Murtaza Hussain supported Muhammad
Zahid in mopping up the tail.

The most dramatic session of the first day's day play was the
second one between lunch and tea intervals. Muhammad Hussain
started the Kiwis' slide by clean bowling the dangerous-looking
Stephen Felming. in order to hit new Zealand out of trouble the
left-hander not only hit four scorching boundaries in his stay
of 85 minutes at the crease but also hoisted Muhammad Hussain
over log-off for the first and last six of the day. The left-arm
spinner had his revenge by rattling the stumps of Stephen
Fleming, after the batsman had scored 30 runs to become the
second-highest scorer for the visitors. The third New Zealand
wicket fell at the total of 96. Thereafter started the Muhammad
Zahid magic. Nathan Astle (1) was clean bowled by the speedster
Zahid at the total of 103. He failed to pick the line of Zahid's
delivery and looked back in amazement to see his off-stump
cart-wheeling. The burly Mark Greatbach, who has staged a
comeback into the New Zealand side and was deputising for the
regular skipper Lee Germon in this match, could survive only
five deliveries. Muhammad Zahid uprooted the left-hander's
leg-stumps with his outswinger, which became an inswinger for
him. The fifth New Zealand wicket fell at the total of 110. Mark
Greatbach contributed only five runs.

Only seven runs had been added to the Kiwis' total when Muhammad
Zahid dealt the severest blow to the visiting team by finishing
the resistance of the top-scorer Bryan young. He had kept one
end blocked after opening the New Zealand batting along with
Craig Spearman. Beaten by a delivery from Zahid, the dogged
Bryan Young offered a simple catch to wicketkeeper Majid Inayat.
The opener hit only four boundaries in his redate knock of 47
which lasted 209 minutes. Gavin Larsen was the fifth prey of
Muhammad Zahid. The right-hander went back to negotiate a
delivery from Zahid which kept low, but that hit his shin.
Umpire Shakeel Khan raised his finger to give the only leg
before decision of the day. New Zealand lost the seventh wicket
the total of 123. At the tea interval, New Zealand side was
struggling at 136 for seven.

The off-spinner Murtaza Hussain bowled well during the whole but
got his reward shortly after the tea interval after switching
end. At the total of 139, Justin Vaughan (9) edged an off-break
from him to Mahmood Hamid in the first slip. Twelve more runs
had been added when Murtaza struck again. One must admit that
skipper Aqib Javed's decision to interchange the ends of his two
spinners, Murtaza Hussain and Muhammad Hussain paid off. After
claiming Vaughan scalp, Murtaza deceived the tall and lanky
Simon Doull, who offered a bat-and-pad catch to the substitute
fielder Saeed Anwar junior. Soon After that Zahid finished the
New Zealand innings, by bowling out Hart.

While Zahoor Elahi started the PCB innings in a stormy fashion
the other opener Shadab Kabir tried to play the role of a
sheet-anchor but failed. Danny Morrison rattled his stumps after
the left-hander had contributed only seven runs to the PCB total
of 29. All other 22 runs were contributed by Zahoor Elahi. The
night watchman Muhammad Hussain mistimed the next delivery from
Morrison and Craig Spearman held a good diving catch at point.
Sohail Jaffar had to walk into the crease to stop the
experienced Morrison from registering his hat-trick.

New Zealand crawled to 54 for two during the morning session
after the acting captain Mark Greatbach, leading the side in the
tour opener in the absence of Lee Germon, won the toss and opted
to bat first on this easy-paced pitch which continued to go
slower and slower with every passing hour. Slow batting of the
New Zealanders was understandable because first two wickets fell
with only 33 runs on the board. had the opener Bryan Young not
been dropped by wicketkeeper Majid Inayat off Muhammad Zahid at
his personal score of ten, the New Zealand side would have been
more precariously-placed. Bryan Young snicked a rising delivery
from Zahid and Majid jumped in the air, got his right had to the
ball but could not hold on to it to floor a rather difficult
catch. Earlier, Majid Inayat had dropped an easier catch of the
other opener Craig Spearman at the total of 16 off Zahid. The
batsman edged a low but fast ball from the lanky bowler, Majid
put his both hands to the ball but spilled it. Incidentally
Muhammad Zahid drew the first blood soon after the lapse from
the wicketkeeper, by having him caught by him. Zahid came to
limelight by bowling well against the visiting West Indies
under-19 team a couple of years ago. He has been struggling with
his length, but always generates fair amount of pace. He seems
to have overcome over the shortcoming though he still needs to
improve it. A fast outswinger from Zahid accounted for Spearman.
The opener chased the delivery and Majid Inayat did not make any
mistake this time. The first New Zealand wicket fell at the
total of 19. Spearman's contribution was only five.

The second New Zealand wicket fell at the total of 33. The
one-down batsman Adam Parore edged a sharp leg-break from the
left-arm spinner Muhammad Hussain on to his stumps after scoring
only seven runs. Bryan Young and Stephen Fleming saw to it that
they do not lose their wickets till the end of the morning
session. At the luncheon interval, Young was batting at 19 and
Fleming at seven.

The entry in the Quaid-i-Azam Stadium was free and the
school-children filled the venue in the initial stages of the
match. However, they started moving out of the stadium after
watching the game for an hour or so, giving the stands a haunted
look. Later the crowd again poured in and watched Zahid
mesmerising the New Zealand batsmen.

Thanks:: Mo (mo@navicom.com)

Source:: Dawn (http://xiber.com/dawn/)

---------------------

Day 2 Dawn

PCB XI gains nominal lead over N. Zealand side

By Ilyas Beg

SAHIWAL, Nov 19: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Eleven failed to
take advantage of the failure of the new Zealand batting on the
first day in the 3-day match and gained a marginal lead of 22 at
the tea interval on Monday when Captain Aqib Javed declared the
first innings closed at the stroke of the interval at 193 for
seven. At that time, Aqib himself was not out at 23 (including
five boundaries) and Majid Inayat 9 (with two fours).

The Kiwis were only 12 runs ahead at the close of play, having
scored 34 for one in the second innings. Aqib Javed again
bowling from the far end, had the opener Craig Spearman well
caught by Zahoor Elahi at silly mid-off when he had scored.
After losing the first wicket at the total of six, the New
Zealand team crawled to 34 for one in 20 overs at draw of stumps
on the second day at the Quaid-i-Azam Stadium. Justin Vaughan,
who opened the innings with Spearman, at his personal score of
20 (including two boundaries) and Bryan Young at 12 will resume
the Kiwis' second innings on Tuesday morning.

The sky was overcast on Monday evening. at one stage the two
umpires Shakeel Khan and Javed Akhtar consulted the two not out
batsmen and even offered to stop the game due to bad light but
they preferred to continue. Possibility of rain could not be
ruled out during Monday night or Tuesday morning. The prospects
of a result in the three-day tour opener of the New Zealand team
look very bleak unless their was a dramatic collapse of batting
on the third morning. The reason of not gaining a good lead over
New Zealand in the first innings was lack of experience,
application and patience of the PCB XI batsmen. Four of them got
out after scoring thirty or more runs and having a good look at
the New Zealand bowling. The pitch slowed down further, making
the stroke-making difficult. in the initial stages of their
knocks, the PCB XI batsmen adopted the correct strategy of
choosing only loose deliveries to hit, but inexplicably, lost
concentration despite being well-set for big scores. Attendance
in the ground was very thin.

The PCB XI opener Zahoor Elahi stayed at the crease for another
31 minutes before falling to the left-arm spinner Mathew Hart.
In the whole day's play 195 runs could be scored and six wickets
fell. Zahoor failed to control his drive and Doull swooped a
simple catch at long on. Zahoor Elahi hit seven boundaries in
his good knock of 34. The third PCB XI wicket fell at the total
of 55. Zahoor batted for 63 minutes and faced 43 deliveries.

The tall and bearded paceman Simon Doull dealt two quick blows
to the PCB XI innings. incidentally, both his victims fell leg
before wicket. The overnight not out batsman Sohail Jaffar hit
four well-timed boundaries in 73 minutes' stay at the crease in
which he played 47 balls. He contributed 30 runs. The fifth PCB
XI wicket fell at the total of 97. Muhammad Waseem was the next
victim of Doull. After scoring only five runs, he went on the
backfoot, the ball kept low as it struck him and umpire Javed
Akhtar ruled him lbw. Waseem got out at the total of 97.

Mahmood Hamid played the best knock of the PCB team first
innings. Dourly defending, this diminutive batsman from Karachi
never hesitated to execute his strokes on loose deliveries. he
stayed at the crease for 116 minutes, played 82 balls and hit a
big six and four boundaries in his top-score of 39 for the PCB
XI. Mahmood Hamid was caught by Fleming in the slip off Justin
Vaughan to give the medium-pacer his only wicket. The sixth PCB
XI wicket fell at the total of 142.

Ahmer Saeed also batted well and scored 33 in 110-minute
batting. Ahmer hit two fours and faced 103 balls. He was the
seventh PCB XI batsmen out at the total of 158. Majid Inayat
batted cautiously while Aqib Javed played with flourish till the
tea interval, before declaring the first innings. Majid hit two
fours and played 38 balls during his 80-minute stay at the
crease. Aqib Javed smacked five boundaries in his 39-minute
batting in which he played 38 balls. At the later stages of the
innings, he threw his bat almost at every delivery to increase
the team's lead as much as possible. Both Majid and Aqib added
35 runs for the unbroken eight wicket partnership.

Source:: Dawn (http://xiber.com/dawn/)

Day 3: The Press

Young, Vaughan Exceptions As NZ Batsmen Fold

SAHIWAL, PAKISTAN -- A fine half century by opener Bryan Young
was a bonus for New Zealand on the third and last day of its
tour cricket match against the Pakistan President's XI
yesterday.

Young occupied the crease for 258 minutes to compile an
authoritative 73 which has him well-primed for the first test
against Pakistan which starts in Lahore on Friday.

Apart from makeshift opener Justin Vaughan, the same could not
be said for the other New Zealand batsmen as the tourists
reached 195 for seven at the tea interval.

Another inexplicable middle-order collapse saw New Zealand lose
four wickets for 14 runs in the space of 47 deliveries as it
slumped to 170 for seven following the first innings
disappointment of 171. The President's XI declared after scoring
193 for seven.

Young, who has a painful tooth infection, and Vaughan with 48
were the only standouts in another worrying New Zealand batting
performance which was of great concern to coach Steve Rixon
heading into the test.

Vaughan's efforts could win him a place in the test team.

Stephen Fleming made 27 and looked in very good touch before
being trapped leg before wicket by Mohammad Zahid and this
heralded a mini-slump as he was soon followed by Young, Mark
Greatbatch who was out hooking for two and Gavin Larsen.

At the break, Nathan Astle was on 19 and Matthew Hart was on
six. Former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed was the pick of the
bowlers with figures of three for 29 from 15 overs.

Young, who scored 47 in the first innings, would have gained a
lot from his 163-ball innings. He played with growing authority
as the innings developed and was particularly composed against
the spin bowlers as he stroked nine boundaries.


New Zealand's team management moved quickly yesterday to kill
off suspicions that fast-medium bowler Simon Doull illegally
tampered with the ball during the match. The Lahore-based
newspaper "The News" published two photographs of Doull, which
raised speculation that he was using a thumb-nail to disfigure
one side of the ball.

New Zealand manager Earle Cooper flatly rejected any suggestion
that any of his players would tamper with the ball.

"New Zealand cricketers are not cheats," Cooper said.

Source :: The Christchurch Press (http://www.press.co.nz)

Day 3 : Dawn


Young, Aqib shine in Kiwis' drawn game

By Ilyas Beg

SAHIWAL, Nov 19: The New Zealand team's three-day tour opener
against the Pakistan Cricket Board XI ended in a stalemate at
the Quaid-i-Azam Stadium on Tuesday afternoon, when facing a
victory target of 190 in 55 minutes, the host team finished at
41 without loss before a modest crowd of a few hundred.

The umpires finished the game when 12 out of (5) mandatory overs
of last hour were bowled. If the bowling of paceman Muhammad
Zahid in his first big match will be long remembered by the
diehards of the game of this city, the purposeful and sensible
batting of New Zealand's Bryan Young will be an inspiration for
the keen students of the game who saved the Kiwis from defeat by
top-scoring in both innings.

Bryan Young, opening the first innings with Craig Spearman had
hit innings, saved the New Zealand side from complete disaster
by scoring a highly useful knock of 47 to carry his team's total
to 171 on this slow pitch. The PCB XI gained a marginal lead of
22, when captain Aqib Javed declared the first innings closed at
193 for seven on Monday. Thanks to an intelligent knock of 73 by
Young, studded with nine boundaries, New Zealand managed to
reach 211 for seven. Acting captain Mark Greatbach declared the
New Zealand second innings closed at 211 for seven half an hour
after tea interval to give the PCB XI to score 190 runs for a
win in just 55 minutes. Bryan young, playing at No.3, added 76
valuable runs for the second wicket partnership with the
make-shift opener Justin Vaughan (48, with five boundaries) to
save New Zealand from being bundle out for a paltry score. Both
batted well against the fiery Pakistani pacemen Muhammad Zahid
and Aqib Javed, who did the most damage during the second
session of the match. Vaughan stayed at the crease for 178
minutes and played 113 balls, while Bryan young occupied the
crease for 258 minutes and played 163 deliveries. young's knock
saved the Kiwis from being thrashed by the PCB XI, comprising
mostly youngsters.

Bryan Young defended doggedly during the morning and afternoon
sessions when Aqib and Zahid were bowling brilliantly and had
most of the other New Zealand batsmen in tangles. Perhaps the
presence of the Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Executive Majid
Khan and the two national selectors viz Salim Altaf and Haroon
Rashid inspired the two pacemen to bowl their hearts out on this
heart-breaking, slow wicket.

Muhammad Zahid added two more wickets in the second innings to
his haul of six for 54 in the first innings which had sent the
visiting side reeling. More important was the fact that Zahid
claimed the prize wickets of Bryan Young and Stephen Fleming on
Tuesday during the post-lunch session to create problems for the
Kiwis in the second innings too. AT the total of 156, the
left-hander Fleming fell leg before wicket, as he failed to move
out of the line of a swinging yorker. Fleming was the fourth
batsman out. Zahid shattered the stumps of Bryan Young at the
total of 164 with another yorker, which along with the
outswinger, is becoming the most dangerous ball of Zahid's
armoury. Aqib Javed, who had sent back Craig Spearman on Monday
afternoon at the beginning of the second innings, again bowled
brilliantly on Tuesday afternoon. He bowled, in tandem with
Zahid to send tremors in the Kiwis camp. Captain Mark Greatbach
mistimed his hook-shot off Aqib and was well caught by a
substitute local fielder Qasim at deep fine leg. he was
substituting for Zahid, who had come out of the ground for a few
minutes. Greatbach fell at the total of 168. Larsen was the
seventh New Zealand batsman out at the total of 170. He was
bowled neck and drop by Aqib. The former opener Nathan Astle (30
with four fours) and Mathew Hart (9 in 65 minutes)carried the
team's total to 211 without further loss.

During the morning session, Vaughan (48 with five fours) had
fallen to off-spinner Murtaza Hussain. He mistimed his pull and
Muhammad Waseem held a good catch at mid-wicket, the total being
82. The left-arm spinner Muhammad Hussain got the wicket of Adam
Parore. The batsman edged a leg-break from Muhammad Hussain and
Murtaza Hussain held a tumbling catch in slip. He was about to
spill the ball but held on to it and threw it in air in
excitement. Parore got out at the total of 95. From that moment
onwards, only the two PCB pacemen got successes.


Source:: Dawn
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