England's frustration at being unable to complete victory in three days spilled over into an angry confrontation with an umpire on the penultimate day of their cricket tour match with a Governor's XI yesterday.

With less than a week to go before the opening Test in Lahore, there was almost a major incident with Andrew Caddick openly disputing a decision from umpire Sajjad Asghar.

They now face a nervy final day hoping they can wrap up their opponents' innings quickly and secure their second victory in a row.

England had resumed the third day 17 ahead on 241 for five, looking to claim a convincing first-innings advantage _ but a succession of loose shots limited their lead to just 91 after they were dismissed for 315.

That advantage was wiped out completely with the Governor's XI reaching 115 for four by the close to claim a 24-run lead, although they were without opener Wajahatullah Wasti after he broke his left hand in the first innings.

Hostile new-ball spells from Darren Gough and Caddick had reduced England's opponents to 13 for three and lifted hopes of clinching victory with a day to spare.

It proved to be prematurely optimistic, with Naumanullah and Akhtar Sarfraz _ who finished unbeaten on 53 _ forging a 102-run stand which was only broken just before the close.

The pair's determined resistance only increased England's frustration, with Caddick finally losing his patience with nine overs remaining after Sarfraz appeared to edge him behind to Stewart on 47 with the Governor's XI only six ahead.

Sarfraz stood his ground, and Caddick cupped a hand around his ear in an attempt to influence umpire Sajjad Asghar who rejected the appeal and _ instead of returning to square leg at the end of the over _ spoke to captain Nasser Hussain about the incident.

The flashpoint failed to shake the Pakistan left-hander out of his resolve, although Naumanullah could not match his partner's determination and edged Gough to Graham Thorpe at silly mid-on in the final over of the day.

''We wanted another 40 to 50 runs on a wicket like that, and that was one area where we let ourselves down a little bit,'' admitted coach Duncan Fletcher.

''The bowlers started off well, particularly Caddick and Gough who were a bit rusty in the first innings, and it was good to see leading up to the Test.

''This is their first four-day game in three months. It is a bit different, and they struggled to get a line and length _ but they settled down and got into a rhythm and bowled well in the end.''

The Governor's XI's spirited fightback contrasted starkly to England's lower-order collapse earlier in the day when they lost their last five wickets for 74 runs in 30.5 overs, including three in an 11-over spell.

The loss of Thorpe just three overs after the Governor's XI took the new ball, mis-timing an attempted hook to point, sparked the collapse _ with Craig White following three overs later when he picked out Sajid Shah on the boundary after pulling left-arm seamer Kabir Khan _ and the final three wickets fell in quick succession.