Abbas gives Pakistan slight edge as England battle back at Lord’s

WEB DESK: Pakistan pacer Mohammad Abbas claimed four wickets to give his side the upper hand on a rain-affected opening day of the second Test against England at Lord’s on Thursday, although the hosts recovered from a poor start to reach 248-9 before play was called off early due to bad light.

Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl on a humid morning after much-needed rain in London. Abbas made the most of the favourable conditions, dismantling England’s top order with a superb opening spell.

He struck three times for 34 runs before lunch, including the key wicket of England captain Joe Root, leaving the hosts struggling at 80-4 at the interval.

England fought back in the afternoon, with half-centuries from Jordan Cox and Jamie Smith helping them rebuild after the early collapse. Cox scored 55, while Smith attacked his way to 61 as England moved towards a more competitive total.

Gus Atkinson then provided another late boost, remaining unbeaten on 34 when bad light brought an early close after only 56 overs.

Abbas said he was pleased with Pakistan’s effort despite England’s recovery.

“This is my favourite ground. I played my first Test match here in 2018 and was man of the match,” he said.

“Our coach told us to stick to the plan and bowl them out as soon as possible. I think they scored a little more after the morning session. Smith played well, but we are still happy.”

Pakistan have historically enjoyed considerable success at Lord’s, winning five Tests at the venue, including victories in 1982, 1992, 1996, 2016 and 2018. The team will be hoping that the return of Babar and possible changes to the playing XI can help revive its fortunes in the second Test.

The vastly-experienced Abbas would have afforded himself a smile when captain Babar Azam, back after missing the first test defeat, called right to win a delayed toss.

Eight years ago at Lord’s, Abbas claimed eight wickets in a Pakistan win and he found conditions optimal again as he went about his business in skilful fashion.

He made the breakthrough with the last ball of his third over when Emilio Gay flicked a leg side delivery off his pads but was caught by a diving Mohammad Rizwan behind the stumps.

Ben Duckett looked to be aggressive but was undone when on 17 as Abbas jagged a ball back that trapped him on his back foot and was given out lbw on review.

Root has spent the build-up fielding questions about England’s discipline after bowler Brydon Carse was dropped from the squad following an investigation into an incident outside a nightspot in Derby on Saturday.

He would have hoped to spend some time doing what he does best out in the middle but trudged off after being trapped lbw by Abbas for four, having been dropped on one.

Harry Brook was next to go, bowled by a peach of an inswinger by Mohammad Ali as England limped to lunch.

Risky single

Cox, batting calmly at three, was joined by Dan Lawrence and they were digging in until Lawrence set off for a risky single and was run out by Rizwan after some sharp fielding by Shan Masood at square leg.

England lost only one wicket in the afternoon session to reach 180-5 but the increasingly dangerous partnership between Cox and Smith ended on 67 as substitute fielder and former captain Salman Agha clung on to a sensational one-handed slip catch as Cox edged an attempted drive off Khurram Shahzad.

Smith was in full flow but fell to Ali who then bowled Ollie Robinson two balls later for a duck.

Abbas took his fourth wicket as Jofra Archer slogged across the line after making 14 but Atkinson was still there swinging as England repaired some of the earlier damage in the murk.

“Yeah, a tricky one, it’s a decent enough day for us. The ball was still doing enough, nipping around with the overhead conditions,” Smith said. “They bowled nicely, I think they showed that wickets with the new ball always puts you under a bit more pressure but it did get a bit easier as the ball got softer which helped us as a batting side.”

Playing XI for Test Two

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Azan Awais, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali and Mohammad Abbas

England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wk), Ollie Robinson, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue