South Africa 429 for 5 (Rickelton 213*, Verreynne 74*, Abbas 2-70) vs Pakistan
Verreynne, meanwhile, was less discerning in his shot selection, a hook over deep backward square off Abbas revealing his intentions. It was a shot that defined the session for him; he picked up another two sixes off Aamer Jamal in the final over before lunch the same way. When Shan Masood put in three fielders close in at cover, Verreynne still found a way to pierce them through that region against Mir Hamza, whose attempts to induce cover drives were successful, although not in the way he had hoped.
At the other end, Rickelton got to his double hundred with a punch through the off side, haring off halfway down the fielding in celebration. But the highlights all belonged to Verreynne, who greeted Salman Ali Agha’s arrival to the crease with a reverse sweep for four off the second ball, and another one to finish the over off.
An edge through an empty slip cordon brought up Verreynne’s half-century as the wheels started to come off for Pakistan. Verreynne even took down Jamal for 17 in the penultimate over. It wasn’t quite declaration bowling, but Pakistan are getting there.
