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Pakistan concerned over Yousuf and Shoaib after draw at Derby Nigel Gardner - 10 May 2001
Pakistan's three day match at Derby ended in a draw but not before Yousuf Youhana suffered another failure. Youhana, who scored two centuries against England in the winter, made only four after Dominic Cork declared to set the tourists an improbable victory target of 152 in 20 overs. The right-hander, who is regarded as one of the top batsmen in the world, was lbw when he aimed to play Trevor Smith to leg. Youhana has now scored nine runs in three innings following his first ball duck against the British Universities at Trent Bridge and five on the second day at Derby. Pakistan's other top batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq played no part on the final day after slipping in the shower although they are confident he will be fit for next Thursday's Test at Lord's. Shoaib Akhtar is unlikely to play against England after he failed to take a wicket in Derbyshire's second innings which was dominated by Mathew Dowman who made his highest score for the county. His 145 not out came off 203 balls and included two sixes and 20 fours and won him the Man of the Match award. Dowman profited from some undemanding bowling after tea but the majority of his runs were made against Pakistan's frontline attack when Derbyshire could still have lost the match. Overnight thunderstorms delayed the start until 12.20 but Pakistan had a chance of forcing victory if they captured quick wickets. Dowman and Luke Sutton denied them and although Sutton and Chris Bassano fell after lunch, Derbyshire were 75 runs on at tea with six wickets in hand. Dowman dipped his bread at the start of the final session and Cork's decision to declare gave Pakistan some batting practice and at the close, they had made 63-1 although skipper Waqar Younis admitted his players needed more match practice. "We more or less got what we wanted out of this game but we still have a lot to do before we get to Lord's," he said. "We didn't get enough batting; we need more time out in the middle for players like Yousuf and Inzamam." Waqar also admitted that Shoaib was running out of time to stake a claim for the First Test. "He needs more time to get his rhythm but it's very hard to say if he's got enough time to do that before the Test." © CricInfo Ltd.
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