Pakistan warmed up for their first Test against England at Headingley from Wednesday with a seven-wicket win over a County Select XI as Saud Shakeel hit an unbeaten hundred and Imam-ul-Haq scored 80.

Set 262 to win on the third and final day in Beckenham, the tourists reached their target in 57.1 overs with England spinner Shoaib Bashir recording second-innings figures of 0-45 from eight overs after bagging 4-76 from 20.2 first time around.

Bashir is hoping to be included in the England XI in Leeds next week, live on Sky Sports, but the hosts could pick an all-pace frontline attack with the recalled Dan Lawrence, who will bat at No 6, and newly reappointed captain Joe Root providing the spin options.

Opening batter Emilio Gay and seam bowler Matt Fisher were the other members of the England Test squad, besides Bashir, to play in Beckenham, although the first two were released from duty on the final day.

Gay bagged a pair in the match as the home side made scores of 305 all out and 195 all out, while Fisher clubbed 62 not out from 53 balls in the hosts’ first innings before registering bowling figures of 1-15 from 11 overs in Pakistan’s opening knock of 238.

Who else impressed for Pakistan in Beckenham?

Pakistan’s top-scorer in their first innings was Abdullah Shafique (61), while highlights with the ball included a second-innings five-for for left-arm spinner Ali Usman.

The tourists suffered a scare on day two when captain Babar Azam retired hurt after being struck on the hand by a delivery from young Hampshire quick Manny Lumsden.

Babar was advised to rest for the remainder of the game but a PCB statement said he would train at Headingley on Monday.

The skipper said on Saturday after the win over the County Select XI: “It’s a very good preparation for us to prepare ourselves for the Test.

“The pitch was a bit challenging early on but it got better after a couple of days. We have to prepare ourselves for the game and it’s a great thing to go out and perform.

“I’m not sure what the conditions will be like in the first Test, but seeing here it’s slightly dry and the ball was turning as well. That pitch will have some bounce there.

“It will be slightly different [in Leeds]. We will be preparing accordingly. “

England vs Pakistan Test series fixtures

• First Test (Headingley) – Wednesday August 19 – Sunday August 23 (first ball 11am)
• Second Test (Lord’s) – Thursday August 27 – Monday August 31 (first ball 11am)
• Third Test (Edgbaston) – Wednesday September 9 – Sunday September 13 (first ball 11am)

Watch the three-Test series between England and Pakistan live on Sky Sports Cricket from Wednesday (11am first ball at Headingley). Stream cricket and more top sport contract-free with NOW.

Sheffield United and Birmingham made an underwhelming start to the Championship season as they played out a goalless draw at Bramall Lane.

Both sides have ambitions of mounting promotion challenges this campaign, but there was not too much to get excited about in this drab curtain-raiser where chances were at a premium.

Blades boss Chris Wilder and Birmingham counterpart Chris Davies will both be hoping to add some extra quality into the squads before the end of the month.

Optimism is always high at the start of a new season, but this was not a case of either side hitting the ground running as a tightly contested first half passed without either side managing a shot on target.

The only action of note in the opening 45 minutes was a flurry of action just before the half-hour as both teams enjoyed their best moments.

The Blades went first as Patrick Bamford hooked Femi Seriki’s deflected cross just wide.

Birmingham responded straight away and Alex Cochrane’s cross was perfect for Paik Seung-ho, but the South Korean could not get enough on his header and the chance passed.

Blues started the second half on the front foot and had a big moment in the 58th minute when Carlos Vicente was played through on goal, but his attempted pass was cut out by Japhet Tanganga when the better option was to shoot.

The visitors began to turn the screw and produced the first shot on target in the 62nd minute when Jay Stansfield’s low show was well kept out by Michael Cooper.

Cooper then had a more routine save as Stansfield tried an optimistic effort from distance.

Wilder’s side got through that tricky period and began to launch their own attempt to win the game.

Callum O’Hare sent Bamford clear into the area, but his shot was straight at Blues goalkeeper James Beadle, who saved with his feet.

Neither side showed the quality required to break the deadlock in an opening encounter which will be soon forgotten.

The managers

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder:

“For us, we turned the ball over too cheaply. I always thought it was going to be a game of moments where we had to find a bit of quality and we never found that quality that we were after. Out of possession, we were okay.

“A clean sheet is relatively important for us; we have to have something to build on. Overall, seven out of 10 for us; a lot of work to be done on the training pitch, trying to improve the team because we’re light in a couple of areas, but I’m sure we can work that one out.”

Birmingham boss Chris Davies:

“I think if anyone was going to win it, it would have been us. We were the better team actually in the game.

“I thought in terms of the chances, the momentum that we had, and the way we approached it, I said to the players, it’s often a feeling, and you look like a team that was really ready to compete.

“That first 10 minutes, the crowd’s going to be [on us] their first game of the season and everything else. But we got through that – there’s so much encouragement there for me because we’ve continued what we’ve been doing in the last several games, and we look a we look at team that’s there in every moment. That’s what we need to be.”

What the result means and next fixtures…

A round-up from the Scottish League Cup as Celtic eased through to the quarter-finals with 4-0 victory at Dundee United, Aberdeen beat Dundee, Kilmarnock won against Ayr United, while League One Ross County shocked Dunfermline.

Camilo Duran scored his first goal for Celtic as they won at Tannadice Park to secure their place in Sunday’s quarter-final draw.

The Colombian striker fired into the net after Auston Trusty headed home from Benjamin Nygren’s corner in the first half.

Sebastian Tounekti fired low into the corner of the net, and Nygren curled in from the edge of the box to secure a comfortable win for last season’s runners-up.

New signings Mika Baur and Haissem Hassan came on for their club debuts ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League qualifier against LASK at Celtic Park.

Captain Kevin Nisbet’s double set Aberdeen on their way to a comfortable 3-0 win over Dundee at Pittodrie.

Nisbet struck in the 51st and 63rd minutes and Mitchy Ntelo grabbed a debut goal in between as the Dons blew Dundee away after the break to book a place in the quarter-finals.

Dundee’s cause was hampered by the loss of captain and striker Simon Murray to a knee injury during the first half of the second-round tie.

League One side Ross County shocked Dunfermline with a 2-1 win to progress to the last eight.

Richard Chin’s late strike secured the victory after Liam Lindsay had put them ahead after the break.

Allan Oyirworth pulled Neil Lennon’s Pars level with just 10 minutes to play, but Chin smashed the ball into the net in the 85th minute to secure County’s place in Sunday’s quarter-final draw.

Kilmarnock were first through to the quarter-finals on Friday night when Nicky Clescenco scored a dramatic late winner as they came from behind to beat Ayrshire rivals Ayr United 3-2.

Killie had suffered back-to-back defeats coming into the match and found themselves behind early on as Owen Stirton volleyed home before Joe Hugill equalised.

Ross Taylor’s sublime finish then stunned the home fans but Michael Schjonning-Larsen scored an impressive solo goal of his own to make it 2-2 with 10 minutes remaining.

With the match seemingly heading towards an extra 30 minutes, the hosts completed the comeback when Clescenco showed superb composure to dink the ball home after Ayr goalkeeper Harry Stone had spilled a deep cross.