Read doffs his helmet after reaching his ton at Canterbury

Wicket-keeper Chris Read put huge pressure on the England selectors to drop Geraint Jones by scoring a century against Pakistan for England A.

Batting at eight, Read was unbeaten on 120 as England A reached 530-9 at stumps on the second day at Canterbury.

England's selectors meet on Saturday to choose the squad for the first Test against Pakistan starting on 13 July.

They have stayed loyal with Jones since first picking him to replace Read in the spring of 2004 in the West Indies.

Interview: Chris Read

But Kent's Jones has faced mounting criticism over his batting average, which has been on the slide after a strong start, and wicket-keeping errors.

Neither coach Duncan Fletcher nor chairman of selectors David Graveney were present to witness Read's innings, although Geoff Miller, the third member of the panel, could at least report back.

I am hoping to put enough pressure back on the selectors that I get a third chance Chris Read More: Read's reaction

The Nottinghamshire star arrived at the crease on Friday with England on 291-6 after Rob Key had finally gone for 136.

He put on 102 with Alex Loudon (51) and continued to score runs with the tail, while leg-spinner Danish Kaneria took wickets at the other end.

England A had begun the day on 268-3, but added only 14 to the total when Key's overnight partner, Ravi Bopara, departed for 15, caught in the covers driving Mohammad Sami.

Jamie Dalrymple was one of England's few successes in the recent one-day series against Sri Lanka but he did not last long this time as Umar Gul brought one back off the seam to have him lbw for one.

And Key followed when Razzaq knocked out his off stump.

Two of Read's early boundaries were hooked away in the middle of a spell of short-pitched bowling directed at him by Razzaq and he also used his feet to go down the pitch and loft Kaneria for a straight six.

After Loudon and two tail-enders had fallen to Kaneria, Read got to three figures alongside number 11 Stuart Broad when he drove leg-spinner Imran Farhat to the cover boundary for his 14th four.

The partnership for the last wicket was worth 62 when bad light finally came to Pakistan's rescue.

Pakistan's imperfect preparation for Lord's continued when fast bowler Mohammad Asif left the field with a right elbow injury after sending down just five overs on Friday.