Thorpe thrives on skipper role

13 April 2012

Graham Thorpe relished his new role as captain to rescue England from a shaky start and guide them to a commanding position in their tour match with the Patron's XI.

Leading the side in the absence of the resting Nasser Hussain, Thorpe hit a superb 88 and shared a 143-run fourth-wicket partnership with Graeme Hick to help the tourists reach a promising 212 for four at the close of the second day having earlier dismissed their opponents for 237.

Thorpe's display provided England with a welcome tonic after three of their leading batsmen fell cheaply when they would all have been looking to gain some useful practice in the middle ahead of the opening Test in Lahore on November 15.

The Surrey left-hander set the example after Michael Atherton, Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan fell in a three-over spell while facing hostile new ball spells from Mohammad Akram and Mohammad Sami.

Former Northamptonshire fast bowler Akram made the early breakthrough just after lunch when he induced Marcus Trescothick into driving loosely outside off stump and edged behind to Imran Abbas at third slip.

New batsman Michael Vaughan fell in his next over, surprised by a quick delivery which cut back into him and was caught by wicketkeeper Javed Qadeer off the inside edge to earn Akram his second wicket in 12 balls.

Michael Atherton appeared the only England batsmen to look at all comfortable, but he too missed out after a loose shot when he prodded at a short Sami delivery and picked out Mohammad Shafiq at backward square leg to leave England struggling on 52 for three.

But even the introduction of spin pair Mohammad Shafiq and Munir Ansari could unsettle Thorpe's resolve and he dominated the early stages of his partnership with Hick, who once again looked shaky when confronted by Pakistan slow bowlers.

Thorpe reached his half-century in just 87 deliveries and finally fell just seven overs before the close having hit 10 boundaries during his stay of over three hours at the crease by edging Qaiser Abbas to Mohammad Wasikm at slip.

Hick, hesitant initially, finally began to settle and launched Shafiq, who is moulded in the same style as Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble for two sixes back over his head and finished unbeaten on 77.

Matthew Hoggard had earlier improved his Test selection chances by claiming five for 62 while Dominic Cork and Trescothick grabbed two wickets apiece as the Patron's XI collapsed from their overnight 188 for five.

Yorkshire seamer Hoggard had been the pick of England's attack on the opening day, claiming three for 33, and added two further victims to his haul inside his first eight balls.

Hoggard struck with the opening delivery of the day, trapping left-hander Qaiser Abbas leg before in his crease after a superb 71 spanning over two hours at the crease and including nine boundaries.

England's newest fast bowling hope showing his ever-expanding repertoire in his next over, delivering a perfectly-executed slower ball to wreck new batsman Javed Qadeer's stumps.

The tourists were hoping Hoggard would wrap up the rest of the innings quickly, but instead he suffered a frustrating time by beating the bat on a regular basis and all edges falling just short of fielders.

Cork finally ended stubborn the Patron's XI resistance with two late wickets while Trescothick continued his progress into a useful seam option by wrapping up the innings to finish with two for 12.

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