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Tour Match, Sharjah, October 05 - 06, 2015, England tour of United Arab Emirates
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Match drawn

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Moeen takes three but Iftikhar ensures hard work

Moeen Ali collected three wickets against Pakistan A to boost his confidence ahead of what will be a vital role he has to play in the Test series

England 286 for 5 (Bairstow 66*, Root 59, Cook 53, Rashid 51*) drew with Pakistan A 216 for 5 (Iftikhar 92*, Fawad 55)
Scorecard
Moeen Ali collected three wickets against Pakistan A to boost his confidence ahead of what will be a vital role he has to play in the Test series, but England were given a taste of what could loom over the next month as they toiled during a wicketless afternoon session in Sharjah and were reminded of how crucial it will be to take every chance that comes to hand.
A productive morning for England, in which Moeen struck twice to add to Mark Wood's opening wicket, gave way to a more sobering middle session after Alastair Cook had spilled Iftikhar Ahmed on 11 at a wide slip off Stuart Broad's first ball of his second spell. Iftikhar went on to finish unbeaten on 92 as Pakistan A reached 216 for 5.
It took England 44 overs to break the second-wicket stand of 112 between Iftikhar and Fawad Alam, who is part of Pakistan's Test squad. Moeen added his third by having Fawad, who had offered a caught-and-bowled chance to the same bowler on 50, taken at mid-on.
However, the purpose of these matches are to acclimatise to the testing conditions, so while missed chances were certainly not the order of the day a lengthy stint in the field, with miles in the legs, could serve England well.
England's quicks were all managed in short spells on another energy-sapping day where cold towels were frequently used to bring some relief and James Anderson's opening five overs with the new ball was the longest stint for any of the seamers. It was first-change Wood, the pick of England's pacemen throughout the day, who made the initial incision when Sami Aslam pulled to square leg where Broad pulled off a brilliant, one-handed catch.
By then, Moeen was already into his first spell and was soon among the wickets. Khurram Manzoor edged gently to slip and Ali Asad was trapped on the back foot by a quicker delivery as Moeen ended his first stint with 7-2-9-2.
His likely Test partner, Adil Rashid, had also settled into an economical pre-lunch spell and though managing just one maiden he maintained an economy rate of under three during the day, which will have been encouraging for Cook although a line-up of Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq will pose far greater challenges. Misbah, who appeared for this match on the first day having not been in the original squad, opted not to have a bat.
After Iftikhar received his let-off, he and Fawad made steady progress through the afternoon as Cook used seven bowlers including Joe Root. Iftikhar struck the two sixes of the innings, both off Moeen, and passed fifty from 125 balls while Fawad took 132 deliveries to reach his.
Late in the day, Anderson struck in the first over with the second new ball when Usman Salahuddin tickled a catch down the leg side but another chance went begging when Adnan Akmal edged between Jos Buttler and Cook at slip, neither of who moved. Akmal finished on a lively 26 off 27 balls.
The second of the two-day matches begins on Thursday and is likely to be a chance for Alex Hales and James Taylor to stake a claim for batting spots, although after Jonny Bairstow's runs in this game and Moeen's all-round capabilities are taken into account it is looking increasingly likely that the Test top order will be those that played here.

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Pakistan A Innings
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