Date-stamped : 12 Aug97 - 10:30 Tour Match: Mahmood in top form By Stephen Thorpe at Headingley First day of four: Pakistan A (81-3) trail Yorkshire (243) by 162 runs YORKSHIRE made heavy weather of batting on a blissful day and were dismissed for 243 after the tourists` leading wicket tak- er, Azhar Mahmood, produced another lively display to finish with five for 66. The Pakistanis have probably not had the respect they deserve here with Yorkshire supplying a lightweight team and the pitch used for the last Championship match. Worn footholds and follow throughs, not good batsmen, are the bane of a bowler`s life, but unpredictable bounce and an energet- ic at- tack troubled Yorkshire before David Byas and Anthony Mc- Grath (39) forged a partnership of 88. The captain`s 84, including 13 fours and a six, anchored the innings and left-hander Alex Morris later played handsomely enough over one-and-a-half hours for 37. Yorkshire were never at ease against the pace of Shoaib Akhtar and the waspish legspin of Ali Hussain Rizvi but were thank- ful for three wickets late on, two to Paul Hutchison. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Tour Match: Wasim in control By Stephen Thorpe at Headingley Second day of four: Yorkshire (37-0) trail Pakistan A (365) by 327 runs MOHAMMAD WASIM, the Pakistani captain, celebrated his 20th birthday in style with a sterling 155, a career-best effort that consigned Yorkshire to a day of toil and lifted the tourists` spirits after early setbacks. Pakistan were 84 for three overnight but York- shire struggled to make further inroads on an increasingly placid strip after Gavin Hamilton had claimed three quick wickets in a nine over burst. Wasim, who has already played two Tests, with a century on de- but, has an exquisite on-side repertoire and struck 21 fours before misjudging Paul Hutchison`s inswinger. Yorkshire reduced the arrears by 37 and need to score heavily as they chase a first victory against a touring side for nearly 30 years. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Pakistan A to lodge protest By A Nick Rouse Yorks (243 & 352-6) lead Pakistan (365) by 230 runs MARTYN MOXON may have scored his first centruy of the season yes- terday, against Pakistan A, but the tourists were less than im- pressed with the Headingley pitch and are to lodge a com- plaint with the International Cricket Council. The strip had been used for the championship match with Northamp- tonshire, which preceded the Pakistanis` visit, and bowlers on both sides experienced problems with the footholds, particu- larly at the Kirkstall Lane end from which there was a string of no- balls. The tourist`s leading fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar, strained his back during the third morning and coach Aga Zahid, whose exten- sive experience involves Test cricket, said: "In 24 years in the first-class game I have never known a four-day match to start on a pitch which has been used for a similar game previously." Moxon`s marathon effort took him to 155 in just over 7.5 hours. He faced 322 balls, striking two sixes and 14 fours as his side finished on 352 for six - a lead of 230. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Paul Hutchison, 20, Yorkshire`s left-arm seamer, took a ca- reer-best seven for 38 against Pakistan A at Headingley yester- day to give the county their first victory over a touring side since 1968. It gave him match figures of 11 for 102 in his first first- class game of the season. A product of the Pudsey St Lawrence club, he represented The Rest against England A last year before a back problem put him out of the game. Pakistan were reduced to 63 for six, with Saleem Elahi offer- ing the only real resistance, stroking 15 fours in a cultured 89 be- fore Hutchison claimed three wickets in four balls. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)