On a grey day at Lord’s the situation grew grimmer for the home side. The pattern of the game was sustained as Pakistan outplayed England by dint of solid, unspectacular, old-fashioned virtues. This is not how Pakistan are supposed to prevail. In the past the inspired, stream of consciousness cricket of Waqar and Wasim, Mushtaq and Qadir, and Anwar and Inzamam has enthralled and intimidated, depending on your vantage point .
But here for two sessions the Pakistan team was clinical and patient, dutifully grinding down an England side which contains three players who in recent times have been accustomed to spending only 20 overs in the field at any one time. Then in the final session they played a few more shots against a weary attack.
England had to work hard to remove all the batsmen except Sarfraz Ahmed, whose top-edged hook would have provoked stern words in the dressing room were he not the captain. Four batsmen exceeded 50, one of whom, Babar Azam, had to retire hurt having been hit on his left forearm by a short ball from Ben Stokes, who produced the most hostile bowling of the day. That spell aside, when Stokes bowled nine consecutive overs interrupted by the tea interval, the England bowlers were no more than persistent, while their out-cricket was far from flawless; four chances of varying difficulty were spilt.
In cloudy conditions, where the ball obstinately refused to swing as much as it did for Pakistan on Thursday, the batsmen were prepared to wait for their chance of runs in the knowledge the ball can speed away from the square at Lord’s like putts from the wrong side of the green at Augusta. Pakistan were prepared to play the long game and they did so with great resolution and a little luck since there was always sufficient movement for the ball to pass the outside edge. On similar days in the past Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson have run through sub-continental teams here.
Run-scoring seemed easiest at the start. In the first half hour when Anderson over-pitched in vain pursuit of swing Haris Sohail drove him for two fours in an over and it was not until the introduction of Mark Wood that a wicket fell. Maybe anticipating another bouncer Sohail was stuck on the crease and edged to the keeper. Anderson looked more dangerous – especially against the right-handers – when he switched to the Nursery End. He found a suggestion of away swing and dispatched Azhar Ali lbw for a valuable 50.
England could not capitalise after lunch despite bowling Anderson and Broad in tandem. On 10 Babar offered a tricky catch off Anderson, low down and to Alastair Cook’s right at first slip. A poor review against Asad Shafiq for lbw when Wood was bowling hinted at England’s frustration. So much for home advantage. In archetypal English conditions it was Pakistan who were taking control. An edged upper cut by Shafiq and he became the second half-centurion in Pakistan’s innings.
Until now Stokes had been sparingly used. Root had allowed Dom Bess his first prolonged spell in Test cricket and he bowled competently enough; but he discovered neither a hint of turn nor any batsman who might be in the least alarmed by some conventional finger-spin. A small error in length and the batsmen patted the ball away into the gaps.
Stokes inconvenienced them a great deal more in the fieriest spell of the innings, during which he occasionally exceeded 90mph. On 59 Shafiq cut in the air and Jos Buttler in the gully took off to his left, parrying the ball towards Dawid Malan at second slip but it did not reach him, a technical chance but not an expensive miss. Stokes steamed in again and this time Shafiq could only parry a short, fast delivery, this time in a gentle parabola straight to Malan.
Just before tea Stokes set his field for bouncers, which were duly delivered and the mercurial Sarfraz soon obliged with a top-edged hook, whose descent kept Wood at fine leg waiting for a disconcertingly long time. But the catch was taken.
After the interval Stokes continued, taking the new ball rather than Anderson. Now Babar, who had batted purposefully throughout, failed to pick up another short delivery, which thudded into his left forearm. After a long delay in which the physio surveyed the damage, applied an ice pack and – who knows? – asked the name of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Babar left the field, with tests later confirming he had suffered a fractured wrist.
England may have sensed the door was ajar but now two young all-rounders, calmly and with some silky strokeplay, closed it. England’s out-cricket became ever more fallible. Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf had already added 50 together when two more chances went begging. In consecutive overs Faheem, on 29, edged between Jonny Bairstow and Cook off the exasperated Wood. Then Cook dropped the day’s most straightforward chance, a regulation slip catch given by Shadab on 30 off Anderson. This pair had added a sparky 72 together when Anderson could smile, though certainly not beam in exultation, at another Test wicket, having bowled Faheem off the inside edge.
Shadab flailed once too often at Stokes after making a sparky 52 but at the close Pakistan were 166 ahead, which should be more than enough.
