DAY TWO: STUMPS
What a perfect day for England: lots of runs from the middle order, and three wickets right at the end of the day from James Anderson, who is closing in on the 600-mark. A really testing day for the visiting team, and a tough task ahead for its middle order tomorrow.
Join us for Day Three, at 3.30pm. Goodbye.
. Short of a length from Anderson, coming in, raps Babar on the pads. It's given! And he doesn't review it. Pakistan is three wickets down. That's the end of the day's play as well. The big fish is in the bag for England. The score: 24/3.
. A flick to leg gives Babar another single. Takes him to 11. Archer is bowling quick: 90 miles per hour. An appeal for caught behind, not given. It's reviewed by Joe Root.
The third umpire informs on-field umpire Richard Illingworth that the ball just flicked the elbow en route to the keeper. It was a short delivery outside off, Azhar Ali shaped up to leave that one alone, it touched the elbow and not the bat. 24/2.
. Another excellent delivery from Anderson. Narrowly evades the outside edge of Babar's bat. Short of a length outside off from Anderson, it's punched away for two runs. Babar defends a delivery to leg and pinches a single. 23/2.
. Jofra Archer into the attack. A near-wicket for Jofra as Babar nearly gets an edge off an excellent delivery. It was a short-of-a-length delivery, Babar had half a mind to duck under it but hung his bat out awkwardly. Then a short delivery that goes over the keeper's head for two byes. Babar is nearly dismissed again as Jofra gets one to come in after pitching. Babar is cut into half. He survives. 20/2.
. Babar Azam gets one on his legs from Anderson and he works it away behind square for a single. 18/2 after seven overs.
. Broad is getting the ball to move both ways. He bowls one on a good length outside off-stump, it's left alone by Azhar Ali. Then he bowls wide of the crease and the ball is a little wider than the previous one, moves away. It's a maiden over. 17/2.
. Another excellent delivery from Anderson. The ball goes past the outside edge of the bat of Babar Azam, the new batsman. He bowls a fuller delivery, on off-stump, Babar Azam plays a gorgeous on-drive for a boundary. 17/2.
. An excellent delivery from Anderson, Abid Ali edges to third slip. Pitches on a good length on off-stump, just straightens a bit. The ball goes knee height to the third slip fielder. 11/2.
. Azhar Ali has come out to bat. Broad bowls a delivery wide down the leg side, Buttler dives and gets a hand to it, a single taken. Fine leg fielder doing the mop-up work. Azhar gets a delivery on his legs and clips it away neatly to pick up four runs through square leg. 11/1.
. Another lbw shout, and given again! Shan Masood the batsman in consideration again, and he opts for the review again. The ball pitches on a good length on middle, and comes in, hits his pads. That's the eighth time he is out lbw off Anderson. Anderson's bunny. 6/1.
. Four slips for Stuart Broad, like for Anderson. He bowls from around the wicket to Shan Masood. A loud shout for lbw and it's given out! The batsman reviews it. It's a good review as the impact is outside the line of the off-stump.
But it was a nice one-two from Broad. First the delivery pitching on a good length outside off and going straight, and then one pitching at around the same spot and coming into the batsman.
Masood gets a delivery on legs and works it away for a couple. He lets the rest of the deliveries go by outside the off-stump. 5/0.
. Shan Masood takes his guard. James Anderson to bowl the first over. Shan Masood is off the mark straightaway, he defends a full delivery to leg and scampers through for a single. Abid Ali nudges one to the leg side and takes a single. A short of a length delivery to Masood and he taps the ball to cover for another single. Three from the over. 3/0.
We're nearing the finish of Day Two, and England's innings is finally over. Thanks to Zak Crawley and Jos Buttler in the main, it's a mammoth score on the board. After two long days in the field, Pakistan's openers have a tough job to do in the next half hour or so.
. Shaheen Afridi back into the attack, to bowl his 34th over. Bess flicks and picks up a single. Afridi bowls full, straight, and Broad is dismissed bowled! Bull's eye. That's the declaration as well. 583/8.
. Dom Bess gets a full delivery on leg-stump, he goes for the slog-sweep. It's a six to cow corner. On the delivery before, he plays a cut stroke for four. Three singles also taken, including a risky one in which Broad had to dive to avoid being run out. 582/7.
. Asad Shafiq is back to bowl his seventh over. He bowls full, on middle-stump, it's slog-swept by Broad for a six to cow corner. The ball is sanitised by the umpire when it returns to the field of play. The fielder sanitises his hands, too.
Broad gets a short delivery outside off-stump, it was waiting to be punished but it goes straight to the fielder at cover. 569/7.
. Dom Bess somehow doesn't get bowled when he goes for a slog sweep and misses. It was a full delivery, on off-stump, but it doesn't hit the wickets. Bess is nearly dismissed again when he lofts one to long-on. Naseem Shah cannot spills it. 563/7.
. Fawad Alam bowls on a good length, Stuart Broad plants his front foot forward and executes a sweep. It's hit hard, a flat six through square leg. That's the fourth six of the innings. 559/7.
. A full delivery with a lot of width from Yasir. Dom Bess throws his bat at it and collects four runs through point. It was in the air for some time but evaded the diving point fielder. It brings up the 550 for England.
Yasir bowls a short one, it's a google. It keeps low, too. But Bess digs it out, no harm done. 551/7.
. Fawad starts his ninth over with a full toss, Dom Bess slaps it away to deep cover for a single. Woakes comes down the track and deposits the ball straight to the hands of the cover fielder. Woakes departs for 40. England seven wickets down.
Fawad Alam has two wickets now. Stuart Broad is the new batsman. 547/7.
. Dom Bess plays a weird sweep shot. It's a full delivery from Yasir on middle-stump, it's too full to be playing the sweep but Bess somehow gets away with it, takes a single. Woakes gets a short delivery, he plays the pull stroke and gets a boundary. 546/6.
. Shouts of 'catch it' as Woakes plays a drive off Yasir, but the ball evades the fielder at extra-cover. Two runs taken. A full delivery to Woakes, he plays a drive, but the ball goes straight to the cover fielder. No run. Azhar Ali, the fielder, probably needs medical attention. He leaves the field, he's hurt his left hand.
And now Rizwan has injured himself. He gets a throw from Shadab Khan, it's a terrible throw, and Rizwan dives on his right to collect it. He's hurt his thumb. The physio comes on to attend to him. 541/6.
. Yasir Shah replaces Naseem. He bowls an excellent delivery to Woakes. Drifts in, pitches on a good-length on leg-stump, turns away sharply. Woakes had plonked his bat with a good stride down the pitch. The ball misses the outside edge of the bat. Three singles taken, and a couple. 537/6.
. Two singles to finish Fawad's successful over. Dom Bess is the new batsman. 532/6.
. And another set batsman falls to a part-time bowler. Fawad Alam bowls a delivery on a good length, Buttler just chips it straight back to the bowler. Did the ball stop on the pitch? Whatever the case may be, Buttler has to go. He scored 152. 530/6.
. A full toss from Naseem, gently driven through mid-off for a boundary by Buttler. It brings up the 150 for him. He raises his bat to the dressing room. Smile from Joe Root. Three singles from the over too. Pakistan continues to say hello to Woakes with short deliveries. 530/5.
. Fawad Alam into his eighth over. Three singles from it. Woakes gets a good-length delivery outside off, he hangs his bat, the ball narrowly misses his outside edge. 523/5.
. Naseem Shah back into the attack, to bowl his 26th over. He bowls short of a length, on middle stump, and Woakes plays the ball to leg to pick up a single. A single off the next delivery from Buttler. Short of a length again, on the last delivery, it's pushed to backward point for two runs. 520/5.
. Fawad Alam comes on to bowl left-arm spin. Three singles taken. 516/5.
. Shaheen continues with his short deliveries to Woakes. He goes for the pull, misses one. Then he gets a top edge, the ball flies away over the head of the wicketkeeper to the boundary. Another pull stroke and a single taken on the fourth delivery. 513/5.
. Three singles and a no-ball from the over from Shafiq. 507/5.
. Shaheen Afridi to bowl the second over of the post-tea session. He bowls on a good length, outside off-stump, it's driven excellently by Chris Woakes. Picture-perfect. Four through cover. Shaheen corrects his line and length; it's only a slight adjustment, and Chris Woakes is full of respect. But on the fifth delivery, he errs again, it's overpitched, driven for four again. Azhar Ali changes the field a bit to accommodate a strategy of bowling short deliveries to Woakes. Shaheen switches to around the wicket, bowls a short one, Woakes pulls off the front foot with disdain. The ball goes straight back past the bowler. The 500 is up for England. 503/5.
. He resumes his outside-the-leg-stump line. The third delivery is a different type: good length, outside off, cut away to third man for a single. And an appeal for caught behind, not given. Review is taken by Pakistan. Goes in vain, as there was no bat.
Buttler tried to paddle-sweep, it's an excellent take from Rizwan, but the sound was probably of the bat hitting the ground. Rizwan shrugged to his team-mates to suggest he isn't sure but Azhar Ali took it anyway. 491/5.
Welcome back. Asad Shafiq to continue.
Another great session for England. The big question is: when will Joe Root declare? Join us in about 15 minutes.
. A near dismissal for Shaheen Afridi in what turns out to be the last over before tea. A short of a length delivery, outside off-stump, Buttler flirts with it, the ball misses the edge of the bat. It's a maiden over. 490/5.
. Two runs from the over from Asad Shafiq as well. That includes a wide. He darted it so far down the leg side that the umpire was compelled to signal a wide. 490/5.
. Two runs from the over from Shaheen, his 30th of the innings. Chris Woakes is off the mark with a single. He was late in shaping to leave the ball, it hits the bat and runs away to third man. 488/5.
That brought an end to the marathon partnership as well. Three hundred and fifty nine runs.
. And a wicket! At long last! That was out of the blue. It's an innocuous delivery from Shafiq, pitched on leg-stump or outside, going further away. Crawley came down the track, tried to flick it, missed it, and was stumped duly by Rizwan. A marathon knock comes to an end. Crawley falls for 267. 486/5.
. Shaheen Afridi back into the attack. Buttler goes across to the off-side and plays at one away from his body. Misses. He gets one on his pads, the ball hits the left leg and two runs are taken. A gentle query for lbw. It would have pitched outside leg-stump. Buttler gets a full delivery outside off-stump throws the kitchen sink at it, misses again. He steers one away to deep cover for a single on the final delivery to keep strike. 485/4.
. Zak Crawley reverse-sweeps once again. It's a boundary. Six from the over from Shafiq. 482/4.
. Three singles and four byes from the next over from Abbas. Rizwan couldn't collect one darted down the leg side by Abbas. 476/4.
. Asad Shafiq to bowl off-spin. He bowls full outside leg-stump first up. He darts them in full, on leg-stump, for the entire over. Except the final delivery, which pitches on middle stump and is defended by Buttler. 469/4.
. Short of a length from Abbas, outside off, Crawley throws his hands at it, the ball takes the bat's edge and runs away to the third man boundary. He takes a single on the fifth delivery and moves to 258. 466/4 after 128 overs.
. Four singles from the over from Shan Masood. The field is spread out. 461/4.
. Mohammad Abbas back into the attack. Crawley walks up and across and flicks, lofting the ball to deep square leg for a four. That brings up the 250 for Crawley. 457/4.
. Shan Masood continues. A boundary scored off the final ball of the over; Crawley lofts one to long-off over the head of the mid-on fielder. A couple and a single taken as well. 450 up for England. 450/4.
. Another nice drive through extra-cover from Zak Crawley. It was full from Naseem, nice follow through after that stroke. Cleanly hit. A slower ball from Naseem to finish the over; Crawley tries to steer it to the off-side, he is beaten. 443/4.
. Shan Masood into the attack. He bowls his military mediums. A maiden over. 438/4.
. Full from Naseem, outside the off-stump. An expansive drive attempted. Missed. Naseem is amused, he lets out a smile. A short cover in place for Buttler. But there's still no wicket for Pakistan. A maiden over. 438/4.
. Shouts of 'catch it' as Buttler come down the track to Yasir and lofts the ball to long-on. The ball falls short of the man, though. There's a shout of 'catch it' once again when Buttler hits one past the bowler. A single taken. Crawley gets hold of a reverse-sweep and collects yet another boundary. 438/4.
. Naseem Shah bowls full, it's driven crisply through mid-off for four by Crawley. Buttler gets one on his legs and he nudges it to midwicket to pick up two runs. That brings up the 300 partnership for the duo. 428/4.
. Crawley piling on the agony for Pakistan. He plays a slog sweep for four off Yasir, and then runs down the track to loft the ball to long-off. It's a six, the fielder is at the boundary but he can't do much about it. Three singles from that over as well. 421/4.
. A short delivery to start the over. Crawley ducks under it. Another short one, but this one's too high. It passes Crawley by above his head at full height. He tries to play an upper cut to that, but misses. It's given as wide. Then a short-of-a-length delivery, pushed to the cover region for two runs. And another; Crawley slaps it away to deep point for a single. Two more singles from the over. 408/4.
. A top delivery from Yasir to Crawley. Full, drifting in, pitches on off-stump, and turns away slightly. Misses the edge of the bat. Luck not favouring Pakistan today. 402/4.
. A short delivery from Shaheen Afridi. Buttler ducks under it. Another short one, it's pulled hard to deep midwicket where the fielder tumbles to prevent the ball from reaching the boundary. Two runs taken. It brings up the 400 for England. 401/4.
. Crawley gets a good length delivery on leg-stump and pulls out his sweep. It goes for four. No fielder at deep square leg. A couple and a single as well taken from that over. 399/4.
. Shaheen Afridi is back into the attack. A single from the over. For the most part, Jos Buttler defends or lets the deliveries go by outside the off-stump. 392/4.
. A short ball from Naseem, pulled to midwicket by Buttler. A single taken. Crawley gets one on his legs and flicks it away for a boundary. Followed by a play and a miss. Short of a length, moving away, Crawley tries to punch it. Shakes his head immediately after missing it. And Crawley flashes outside the off-stump, the ball evades a diving second slip and runs away for four. That's the 200 for Crawley. 391/4.
. A single taken by Buttler takes the partnership to 255. It's the highest ever for the fifth wicket for England in Tests. Two singles from the over from Yasir Shah. 382/4.
. Again, just moved away slightly after pitching. The ball avoids Buttler's edge again. A maiden over from Naseem Shah. 380/4.
. Yasir Shah into the attack, finally. A couple of singles taken from his over. 380/4.
. Naseem Shah to bowl the first over. A good length delivery, outside off-stump, perfect for a drive through extra-cover. Crawley picks up four runs. And then he flicks one to leg for a single. An excellent delivery to finish the over; an in-between length, hint of away movement, doesn't take the edge. 378/4.
. Welcome back. The contest is slipping away from Pakistan's grasp. There wasn't much to choose between the sides when Yasir Shah got Ollie Pope out yesterday with the score on 127. Since then, it's been one-sided. Not that there haven't been half-chances.
It's time for lunch. A good session for England, even though the seamers did create a few chances for themselves. Yasir Shah hasn't come on to bowl yet.
Join us in about 40 minutes.
. Abbas, for once, gets it slightly wrong. Sprays one down the leg side. Nudged to deep square leg by Buttler. Two runs. 373/4.
. It's Crawley this time. He attempts a drive but is beaten by Naseem Shah. The ball may have slightly moved away after pitching. Naseem grimaces in disappointment. And the third delivery of the over is slightly fuller; Crawley goes for the drive off the front-foot again and this time, connects. The ball runs away to the backward point boundary for four. It was in the air for some time, but no harm done. Crawley moves to 186. He pragmatically lets the rest of the deliveries go by. 371/4.
. Buttler plays a defensive stroke to a short-of-a-length delivery from Abbas, and the ball takes the edge, beats the slip fielder and runs away to the third man boundary. That was delicate from Buttler, played it with soft hands. The fifth delivery is slightly fuller, and he drives. Doesn't connect. Rizwan collects it and rotates his right arm and grimaces in pain. Isn't easy standing up to a seamer. He gets some medical attention. Collects the final delivery without much ado. 367/4.
. A probing over from Naseem Shah. Naseem is also getting the deliveries to move both ways after pitching. Very slight movement. He produces an expert delivery to Crawley, who does well not to get an edge on that one. The last delivery, left alone by Buttler, came in after pitching. Two singles from the over. 362/4.
. Abbas is getting his deliveries to move both ways after pitching. He gets one to move into Crawley, who awkwardly negotiates with it, the ball hitting his stomach. The rest of the deliveries are defended or left alone. Another maiden from Abbas, who has been the most economical of all of Pakistan's bowlers, with an ER of 2.14. 360/4.
. Buttler gets some width from Shaheen. It's a good-length delivery, driven nicely through extra cover for a four. Buttler moves to 106. 360/4.
. Another boundary, this time off the bat of Buttler. Short of a length from Abbas, punched away through cover. That brings up the 350 for England. And Abbas shows the batsman is never out of the woods when facing him; a near-edge once again.
And a shout for a caught behind, given! Rizwan likes it and appeals loudly. The ball was close to the bat. The matter is sent upstairs, and it seems the noise was off the bat hitting the pad. There's some daylight between the bat and ball. Buttler survives.
And he gets to his century. Another punch through point off a short-of-a-length delivery. Three runs. Buttler soaks in the applause from the England dressing room. It would have been disappointing for him if he had got out on 99. 356/4.
. Short of a length, outside off, Crawley middles it but the ball travels straight to extra-cover. A single taken. A full length delivery outside off from Shaheen, and it's driven to mid-off. Azhar Ali, at mid-off, dives and restricts the batsman to three. Another short of a length delivery, outside off, Crawley steers it to point for a four. That takes the partnership to 222; it's the highest for the fifth wicket for England in Tests against Pakistan. 349/4.
. A near dismissal by Abbas. It's hard to believe Abbas doesn't have a single wicket in his kitty. He gets one to move away off the seam once again, it brushes Buttler's thigh pad en route to the wicketkeeper. Buttler defends from his crease for the rest of the over. A maiden. 341/4.
. Shaheen gets it slightly wrong, bowls one on the pads, it's put away comfortably by Zak Crawley. A flick to midwicket. Four. 341/4.
Play will resume again at 1.15pm, about 10 minutes from now.
It's raining again, and the players run back to their dressing rooms.
. Abbas continues. A probing over to Zak Crawley. He gets some movement after the ball pitches on a good length, and Rizwan, standing up, anticipates and collects it well. He gets an edge off one of the deliveries, but no harm done. The ball lands safely on the off-side. 336/4.
. A loud shout for lbw. Not given. A short of a length delivery, pitches on leg-stump, hits Buttler just above his knee roll. The DRS is taken, the ball would be going over the stumps. Buttler survives. 336/4.
. Some movement away from the batsman after pitching on a good length. The keeper is up to the stumps so Crawley can't come out of his crease to play the deliveries. He nearly edges behind. And then he gets an inside edge off a similar delivery - did that move into the batsman? No harm done, though. 336/4.
. Clouds are still around, but it's bright sunshine at Rose Bowl at the moment. Good for play. Asad Shafiq settles in the slips and rubs his palms. All set for play. Abbas will resume his over.
Play will begin at 12.40pm local time (1710 IST), and lunch will be taken at 2pm local time (1830 IST).
There will be an inspection at 12.10pm local time (1640 IST), informs ESPNcricinfo .
It is likely a passing shower. We'll be back when there's some news.
. Short of a length from Mohammad Abbas, it's steered to point by Buttler but no run. Abbas bowls straighter, Buttler defends the ball to leg and takes a single. Players walking off in bright sunshine; the groundsmen make their way in. It's raining. 336/4 in 95.4 overs.
. Buttler leaves four deliveries alone outside the off-stump and then gets a straighter one. He defends it to the leg side and scampers for a single. Crawley leaves the last ball alone as well. 335/5.
. An excellent delivery from Abbas. Short of a length, moving away just slightly. Crawley shuffles across to the off-side to play the ball, it goes past the bat. Another maiden over. 334/4.
. Short of a length from Shaheen, it's pushed to cover by Buttler. Two runs. All other deliveries in the over are left alone calmly by Buttler. 334/4.
. Mohammad Abbas comes on to bowl his 22nd over. Defended off the front foot or left alone by Zak Crawley, except on the last delivery. Crawley drives but squirts it to point off the outside edge. No run. Another maiden over. 332/4.
. The line is the usual one: going across the right hander from over the wicket. All six deliveries are left alone by Jos Buttler. The ball is 11 overs old. 332/4.
. The batsmen come out wearing sweaters. It is cool in Southampton right now: 19 degrees celcius. Shaheen to bowl the first over of the day.
. Welcome to Day Two. Yesterday's century by Zak Crawley was his first in Test cricket and two of his three half-centuries have come in the last two months. Of course, he's also registered scores of 0, 10 and 11 in three innings against the West Indies.
Now he just needs 29 more runs to score a double-century.
What's the weather going to be like for today? "Strong winds and light rain showers," says the BBC . "Rather windy this afternoon but bright with spells of sunshine and a few scattered showers drifting in from the west at times." So we should expect a near-full day's play today even if there are interruptions.
----------------
- Zak Crawley realises dream with ton against Pakistan
How Zak Crawley dominated Pakistan with a sublime century. Here are the highlights.
Zak Crawley and Jos Buttler have put on 205 runs for the fifth wicket already. It's the ninth-highest partnership for England for the fifth wicket. Many of those runs were scored in the final session of Day One, when Pakistan's bowlers were a bit tired. The big question is: can the seamers get them out and bring their team back in the contest in the morning session?
Remember, Pakistan has to win this Test to prevent its first series defeat in England since 2010.
Here's the report of the first day's play if you missed out on all the action yesterday.
Where and when can you watch Pakistan vs England LIVE?
Pakistan vs England will be aired LIVE only on SONY SIX channels from 3.30 pm onwards. It will be available for live streaming on SONY LIV.
Comments
SHARE