IF it was not already clear, the second day at Hove reinforced how crucial Mohammad Amir and Yasir Shah are to Pakistan’s hopes in the Test series against England.Sussex’s openers, Luke Wells and Harry Finch, added 212 for the first wicket before they declared 72 runs behind, offering Pakistanis the chance to see how keen they are for a proper game on the final day.
(Scores at the end of day 2: Pakistanis 363 for 5 dec and 71 for 1 (Masood 38*) lead Sussex 291 for 5 dec (Finch 103, Wells 93) by 143 runs
Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s head coach, had billed this match a “bowl-off” to support Amir and Yasir with two places “up for grabs”.
The ball did not swing conventionally before lunch and the lines were not consistent which enabled Finch and Wells to make a flyer: the fifty up in the eighth over, 120 in 27 by lunch.
In the first session it was a case of who bowled least worse but in the hour before tea Wahab Riaz – probably playing-off against Rahat Ali for a spot unless Pakistan decide on three left-armers – provided a reminder of the danger that can be posed almost out of nowhere when the older ball starts to move.
Wells was the first to fall when Wahab, who overstepped 10 times striving for pace, returned for his second spell of the day, his first from the Cromwell Road End, and started to find reverse swing with impressive pace: he will never be a bowler picked for economy, but he has the ability to rattle the batsmen.
Wells drove flat-footed at a full delivery, edging behind seven short of a century, then Matt Machan was almost yorked first ball before being beaten by his second delivery.
Finch, opening the batting for the first time in first-class cricket, reached his century in Wahab’s next over, when he square-drove his 16th boundary, but two balls later was tempted into driving a full delivery and edged to slip.
At the Sea End, Imran Khan – a name that adorned this ground in the late 1970s and 1980s – picked up a brace himself, although they owed a little more to the batsmen’s errors. Machan was lbw after a horrid swipe across the line then Ben Brown drove loosely at his first ball: 212 without loss had become 233 for 4 in the blink of an eye.
Imran had earlier struggled for rhythm as he ran up the hill, at one point delivering three consecutive no-balls.

(ESPN Cricinfo)