Hasan Raza to lead Pakistan A in warm-up match

Hasan Raza, former child prodigy and recently revitalised, will lead Pakistan A against England in the warm-up match starting on Sunday at Lahore. The 14-man squad includes seven players with Test experience.

Raza made his Test debut reportedly at the age of 14 (his official age is unknown) in 1996. Unsurprisingly, he failed to cement his place in the team and has since played just five Tests, the last against Zimbabwe in 2002. The warm-up match will be a crucial one for Raza in particular as he looks to break into Pakistan's middle order.

He is in Pakistan's 16-man squad for the first Test at Multan on the back of some impressive performances domestically, for Pakistan A and in the recent practice matches for the England series. Members of the team management and the selectors have spoken glowingly of Raza recently, some arguing that only now, nine years on from his debut, is he ready to play Test cricket.

Raza is battling for a place in Pakistan's middle order, possibly at the expense of Asim Kamal. Although Kamal has made a promising start to his career - he has eight fifties in 11 Tests - his place remains uncertain. He has also endured, in recent games, a horrendous run of form ending with two failures for the Patrons XI against England in Rawalpindi.

England, who beat the PCB Patron's XI in the first warm-up match despite two disastrous showings with the bat, will face a far sterner Test against a Pakistan A side full of confidence after beating Australia A in their home series two months ago.

Pakistan A squad Hasan Raza (capt), Amin-ur-Rehman (wk), Arshad Khan, Faisal Athar, Imran Farhat, Junaid Zia, Mansoor Amjad, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Khalil, Rizwan Ahmed, Shahid Yousuf, Usman Tariq.