September 30, 2007	Sunday	Ramazan 17, 1428

KARACHI, Sept 29: As expected the three-day warm-up fixture between the PCB Patron’s XI and the touring South African side ended in a tame draw at the NBP Sports Complex here on Saturday.

Patron’s XI, who started the final day at 136 for three, batted through 56 overs to reach 302 for eight in reply to Proteas’ imposing first-innings total of 467. Young wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed must have impressed the national selectors Saleem Jaffer and Shafqat Rana with an unbeaten 29 in the closing stages of the match.

The game was finally called off at the scheduled tea interval with the mutual consent of rival skippers – Graeme Smith and Taufiq Umar.

After nightwatchman Anwar Ali Khan was bowled by fast bowler Makhaya Ntini for nine, Patron’s XI quickly lost Adnan Raza for 29 when Smith pounced on a slip catch off Andre Nel.

However, the visitors were made to wait for the next breakthrough which didn’t come until 95 runs were added by the sixth-wicket pair of Asim Kamal and Rizwan Ahmed.

Asim, who is bidding to regain the Test spot he had lost after making just five against England at Lahore in 2005-06, played a solid innings. The left-hander fell one short of a half-century when he mistimed a cut off the part-time off-spin of Smith and found the ball lobbing towards Hashim Amla close-in on the offside.

Asim, who started his Test career with 99 against South Africa at Lahore four years ago, made 49 off 112 balls and hit three boundaries in a stay of 154 minutes.

Rizwan had a match to remember. After taking seven for 144 with his leg-spinners, the 28-year-old all-rounder from Hyderabad became the top-scorer for the home side with a 105-ball 56 that was spiced with one six and four fours.

Paul Harris, who is expected to do a lot of bowling in the coming Test series by virtue of being the solitary spinner in the squad, affected a double strike when he dismissed Rizwan and Junaid Zia within the space of three deliveries.

The slow left-armer bowled impressively on Saturday, sending down as many as 21 overs and giving away only 46 runs. His overall figures of three for 75 in 32 overs must have pleased both his skipper and Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach.

South Africa, however, must be concerned over the fitness of their young fast bowler Morne Morkel, who bowled only two overs on Saturday before going off the field with an injured left foot.

Scoreboard

SOUTH AFRICA (1st Innings) 467 (M.V. Boucher 109 not out, H.M. Amla 87, A.B. de Villiers 81, J.H. Kallis 73; Rizwan Ahmed 7-144).

PCB PATRON’S XI (1st Innings, overnight 136-3):

Taufiq Umar b Kallis 50

Babar Naeem c Boucher b Ntini 22

Shahid Yousuf c Steyn b Harris 42

Adnan Raza c Smith b Nel 29

Anwar Ali Khan b Ntini 9

Asim Kamal c Amla b Smith 49

Rizwan Ahmed c de Villiers b Harris 56

Sarfraz Ahmed not out 29

Junaid Zia lbw b Harris 0

Zohaib Khan not out 2

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-4, W-2, NB-4) 14

TOTAL (for eight wkts, 98 overs) 136

FALL OF WKTS: 1-39, 2-119, 3-123, 4-149, 5-164, 6-259, 7-291, 8-292.

DID NOT BAT: Mansoor Amjad, Uzair-ul-Haq.

BOWLING: Steyn 16-0-66-0 (2nb, 2w); Ntini 12-4-22-2; Nel 10-4-22-1; Morkel 7-1-32-0 (1nb); Harris 32-14-75-3; Kallis 7-1-28-1 (1nb); Smith 9-0-27-1; Amla 4-1-19-0; de Villiers 1-0-3-0.

RESULT: Match drawn.

UMPIRES: Salim Badar and Shakeel Khan.

NOTE: 12 players per side (11 bat, 11 field).