Allied Bank are the winners of the national one-day championship and the losing finalists of the Patron's Trophy which was won by United Bank. The South Africans can't ask for a stronger opposition before they play the second half of their six week tour.
The South Africans have already announced their side for the match. They have rested vice-captain Gary Kirsten, Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald. Andrew Hudson, Jonty Rhodes and Lance Klusener will be making their first appearance on the tour while Brett Schultz returns home early Saturday morning. He is suffering from a sore shoulder.
Allied Bank's Test pace attack comprising Aqib Javed, Mohammad Akram, Ataur Rahman and Aamir Nazir has always been its strength. But the attraction of the match will be the performances of Aamir Sohail and wicketkeeper Rashid Latif.
Sohail scored a first ball duck at Karachi last week and was disallowed to bat in the second while Latif has not played any cricket since Pakistan 1996 tour of England.
Chief selector Salim Altaf and skipper Saeed Anwar are expected to watch the second day's play before they decide about the second Test combination.
Sohail and Latif stand a very good chance of returning to international cricket. The selectors will be trying to bolster the spin bowling attack and in the meantime strengthen their batting which is only practically possible if Sohail delivers the goods at peshawar.
As far as Latif is concerned, he has been included in place of Moin Khan who has a sore back. Moin did came to bat in the final evening of the match, but he didn't keep wickets in almost three sessions of South Africa's first innings.
TEAMS: SOUTH AFRICA: Hansie Cronje (captain), Andrew Hudson, Adam Bacher, Jacques Kallis, Daryll Cullinan, Jonty Rhodes, Pat Symcox, Lance Klusener, Dave Richardson, Brian McMillan, Paul Adams.
ALLIED BANK (from): Aamir Sohail, Mohammad Nawaz, Ijaz Ahmad Junior, Manzoor Akhtar, Alay Haider, Rashid Latif, Aamir Hanif, Arshad Khan, Raj Hans, Bilal Rana, Aqib Javed, Ataur Rahman, Mohammad Akram, Aamir Nazir, Shahid Mahboob.