'I'd be surprised if I play' - Finn

Four wickets for 16 runs from 15 overs - decent figures for the "back-up". Steven Finn was the most impressive bowler in England's second warm-up match in Sharjah but said afterwards that he would be "surprised" if he were selected for next week's first Test.

Finn made a dramatic return to Test cricket during the Ashes after two years in the wilderness and is likely to contest the third seamer's slot with Mark Wood, who was preferred in England's first match. The heat and dust of the UAE are conditions to make a fast bowler sick - literally so, for Finn - but his first performance on tour suggested he was acclimatising well.

Still, with James Anderson and Stuart Broad expected to take the new ball, Ben Stokes in the side as an allrounder and England set to play two spinners, Finn conceded he may be the man to miss out.

"I'd say I've staked a claim ... [but] I'd still be surprised if I played the first Test. I think the guys bowled really well the other day, and it wouldn't surprise me if the team that was picked then is the team for the first Test," he said. "At the moment, I'm back-up to those guys. But nothing is set in stone."

Accepting that it was likely to be a straight choice between him and Wood, Finn suggested that England may have to rotate their seamers during the three Tests, which will be played across 24 days.

"Broady and Jimmy bowled well when they were out here last time, and bowled well the other day - and so did Woody," Finn said. "There will be disappointed people, regardless of who gets picked, but that's part of building a strong unit of players who can come out here and challenge in these sorts of conditions.

"I don't think the same bowling attack is going to play all the way through the series - because of the conditions and the overs bowlers might get through. So if you don't play the first Test, it's not the end of the world, there are two others in very quick succession to come."

England rested Anderson, Broad and Wood for their second tour match, with Liam Plunkett taking the new ball alongside Finn and plenty of work for the three spinners, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Samit Patel. In temperatures high enough to make players feel unwell, Finn was pleased to have got through a full day's bowling.

"Having only bowled four or five-over spells in the nets, to then get 15 overs under my belt in a game situation, I felt good for it," Finn said. "We've put in some hard work getting used to these conditions.

"A few net sessions, I was pretty close to being sick - or was sick. I think everyone's been in that position a little bit over the last week or so, but that hard work now will stand us in good stead."

England's attack ended up sharing 12 wickets, with the teams having agreed to each spend a full day batting, and dismissed three members of the Pakistan A top order twice over. Slightly unorthodox, maybe, but England could still be satisfied with their efforts.

"I think a proper match would be ideal. But we don't have the luxury of that over here, and I think you have to use these matches to serve a purpose," Finn said.

"Having 88 overs in our legs at the end of the day is a very good thing for us - and even their top-order batsmen coming out again is more of a challenge for us. You want to be challenged as much as you can in these practice games, so you're not surprised when it comes to the Test matches.