LORDS: Jos Buttler and Dominic Bess fought a determined rearguard action as England avoided an innings defeat by Pakistan in the first Test at Lord’s on Saturday.
When the pair came together before tea on the third day, England were 110 for six in their second innings – still needing a further 69 runs to make Pakistan bat again.
But come stumps, England were 235 for six after an unbroken century stands by their seventh-wicket duo. England was a mere 56 runs ahead with four wickets standing and the new ball on the horizon, but at least they were still in the game.
Buttler was 66 not out and Bess 55 not out after marking his Test debut with a fine fifty. The duo’s 125-run stand was also a vindication for England’s new national selector, Ed Smith, who had recalled Buttler as a specialist number seven batsman and picked Somerset off-spinner Bess.
But the way the pair played on a sunny day in the best batting conditions of the match, was also an indictment of some of their top-order colleagues involved in England’s latest collapse. England is historically difficult to beat in home Tests starting in May – they’ve lost just three out of 33.
The scoreboard at stumps on the third day of the first Test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s on Saturday: England 1st Innings 184 (A Cook 70; Mohammad Abbas 4-23, Hasan Ali 4-51) Pakistan 1st Innings (overnight: 350-8) Azhar Ali lbw b Anderson 50.
Relevant pieces published earlier:
i) England were 235 for six in their second innings, a lead of 56 runs, at stumps on the third day of the first Test against Pakistan here on Saturday. They were facing an innings defeat at 110 for six but an unbroken stand of 125 between the recalled Jos Buttler (66 not out) and Test debutant Dominic Bess (55 not out) ensured the match would go into the fourth day. This is the first of a two-Test series. (27th of May, 2018)
ii) Alastair Cook was dismissed for just one as Pakistan remained in charge of the first Test against England at Lord’s today! England were 37 for two in their second innings at lunch on the third day – still needing a further 142 runs to make Pakistan bat again. Joe Root, the England captain, was 22 not out and Dawid Malan nought not out on his Middlesex home ground. Cook, making a record-equalling 153rd consecutive Test appearance, had top-scored with 70 in England’s meagre first-innings 184. But today the left-handed opener had managed just a single when impressive paceman Mohammad Abbas nipped one back into his pads and had Cook, England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer, lbw. So clear was the decision that Cook did not bother with a review, his exit leaving England one for one. Mark Stoneman and Root then played and missed at several full-length deliveries from Abbas and Mohammad Amir. Root cut all-rounder Faheem Ashraf for four but this was a rare example of a Pakistan bowler pitching too short and wide. (26th of May, 2018).
iii) Green shirts were 50 for one in reply to England’s first innings of 184, a deficit of 134 runs, at stumps on the first day of the first Test at Lords today. Azhar Ali was 18 not out and Haris Sohail 21 not out in the first of this two-match series. Earlier, England suffered collapses at both ends of their innings after home captain Joe Root decided to bat first when winning the toss, despite a green-tinged pitch and overcast conditions offering the promise of assistance to Pakistan’s pacemen. Mohammad Abbas, fresh from starring in Pakistan’s five-wicket win over Test debutants Ireland in Dublin last week, led the attack with superb figures of four wickets for 23 runs in just 14 overs. Pakistan pacemen Mohammad Abbas and Hasan Ali took four wickets apiece as England suffered yet another top-order collapse at Lord’s on Thursday. Hopes that a return home and a rejigged top-order picked by new national selector Ed Smith would help rid England of the batting slumps that plagued them during a run of seven straight Tests without a victory in Australia and New Zealand quickly proved illusory as they were dismissed for just 184 inside 59 overs.
Abbas, in his first match at ‘the home of cricket’, finished with excellent figures of four for 23 in 14 overs. Meanwhile, the recalled Hasan, who did not play in Pakistan’s win over Test debutants Ireland in Dublin concluded last week, took four for 51 in 15.2 overs. Both bowlers maintained a disciplined line and length with Hasan, a star of Pakistan’s Champions Trophy one-day tournament triumph in England last year, telling Media: “There was no need for bouncers because we were getting a lot of help from the pitch for bowling full and straight. “Getting the experience of playing in England in the Champions Trophy was a good thing for us.” Pakistan then consolidated their strong position by reaching stumps having lost just Imam-ul-Haq to be 50 for one — a deficit of 134 runs. Azhar Ali was 18 not out and Haris Sohail, missed in the slips when Ben Stokes dived across Dawid Malan, unbeaten on 21. (24th of May, 2018).
