By: Tarish Bhatt
It was a typical England batting display at the Lord’s Test, and their batting flaws were exposed yet again. Leg-spinner Yasir Shah tore the English middle-order to give Pakistan control in the second day.
England are currently trailing by 86 runs, with Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad are fighting it out for them. It could have been much worst for the English team, had Pakistan fielded like the way Yasir and Mohammad Amir bowled.
Yasir led Pakistan’s comeback on the second day, and finished with a fifer. No English batsmen managed to read his leg-spin and googlies. Meanwhile, Rahat Ali and Amir took one apiece.
Amir was unfortunate as he twice got the edge of Alastair Cook, but Pakistan catching let him down. Cook eventually completed his fifty. But, Amir took it upon himself, and flattened Cook’s leg stump.
Woakes and Broad are still out in the middle and have stitched a 21-run partnership. England are currently 253/7, and need a massive effort from the lower-order to come back into the contest.
“We’d like to get close to their total. Ideally, we can get past them in the first half hour if me and Broady (Stuart Broad) are still there,” Woakes said.
“This evening it was a different situation,” he added. “On Saturday we have to come out and be positive. Hopefully we can move up quickly towards that score.”
