Robinson, Archer put England in command at Lord's
Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer ripped through Pakistan’s batting line-up as England took firm control of the Lord’s Test on the second day. After being bundled out for 290, England pacers dismissed Pakistan for just 110 and the hosts went to Stumps at 81 for 3, holding a lead of 261 on a surface that has posed ample challenge for the batters.
Resuming the day on 248 for 9, England’s last-wicket pair of Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue kept the Pakistani pacers at bay in the morning session for a good while, stretching the partnership to 47 runs. It took the introduction of spin for Pakistan to wrap up the innings with Atkinson going down the track against Ali Usman but getting caught at long off. Tongue, batting at No 11, stroked four boundaries en route to his unbeaten 30 and offered much needed resistance and some early momentum for the hosts on Friday.
Pakistan were already without the services of the injured Imam ul Haq, who didn’t take the field. And in his absence, the rest of the batters couldn’t provide much of a fight against the steaming pace of England’s trio - Archer, Atkinson and Tongue - and the unerring discipline of Robinson. With a bit of movement on offer, none of the Pakistani batters barring Azan Awais could display the required application.
Awais and Saud Shakeel, who struck four boundaries in his run-a-ball 16, were the only batters to register double digit scores. A 33-run stand by the duo, followed by a 28-run alliance between Awais and Mohammad Rizwan was the only phase when Pakistan looked reasonably comfortable against the English pacers. On either side of the fourth and fifth wicket partnerships were collapses.
What began with Archer having Shan Masood caught behind in the fourth over ended with the pacer cleaning up Mohammad Abbas for two. Robinson tore through the heart of the middle order with a four wicket return, in miserly 13 overs where he conceded less than a run-an-over. It included the dismissal of Awais, who had batted for nearly four hours holding up Pakistan’s innings from one end, before looking to take down the pacer, and holing out to Emilio Gay in the deep, falling four short of a half-century.
With a 180-run lead to boast, England had their noses ahead even before starting their second essay. However, Khurram Shahzad pulled some of the momentum back with two early strikes. Ben Duckett went for a lazy drive and was caught at extra cover, while Jordan Cox was trapped legbefore after a breezy 11.
Joe Root steadied the innings briefly in the company of Gay, but he too was sent back cheaply - for the second time in the match - after Mohammad Ali got one to nip in and crash his pads. That, however, was the last of the success of the day for Pakistan, who couldn’t induce as many edges as they would’ve liked in friendly conditions. Gay was patient in the middle, and Harry Brook hung in for a while to see England through to Day Three with seven wickets still in hand.
Brief Scores: England 290 (Jamie Smith 61, Jordan Cox 55; Mohammad Abbas 4-73, Mohammad Ali 3-86) & 81/3 (Emilio Gay 30*; Khurram Shahzad 2-26) lead Pakistan 110 (Azan Awais 46; Ollie Robinson 4-11, Jofra Archer 3-26) by 261 runs
