Key events
14th over: England 44-3 (Gay 12, Brook 3) After removing Root with his fifth ball, Razaullah drew an edge from Harry Brook with his sixth. Now, with his seventh, he floors Emilio Gay, who jabs down on a yorker and gets an inside edge into his knee. Ouch! Gay recovers to take a calm single but with his ninth ball, Razaullah nearly provokes a run-out, as Brook plays tip-and-run and Gay almost perishes to a direct hit from Shan Masood in the covers. It’s all happening!
13th over: England 42-3 (Gay 11, Brook 2) The indefatigable Abbas is still at it, restricting each batter to a single. He has a characteristic set of figures: 7-1-14-1.
12th over: England 40-3 (Gay 10, Brook 1) Say what you like about the Pakistan selectors, they’ve made a difference here. Razaullah has taken to Test cricket like a duck to a Pakistan scorecard. With a slingy action, an impeccable length and 90mph on the speed gun, he beat Root on his inside edge and made it look easy.
WICKET!! Root LBW b Razaullah 8 (England 39-3)
A 21-year-old tearaway bowls his first over in Test cricket … and bags a big scalp! Root LBW yet again, and as usual the review can’t save him.
11th over: England 39-2 (Gay 10, Root 8) Mo Abbas continues, possibly fortified by a custard cream. His first ball after tea beats the bat of Emilio Gay, who needs a big score here to book his ticket for South Africa. It doesn’t have to be a hundred: when your opponents only manage 130, 60 or 70 becomes a big score. By the end of the over, Gay is into double figures with a handsome cover drive. That’s his first boundary today in 32 balls faced.
Meanwhile the middle stump is 250 years old. Tanya Aldred has the scoop.
Fun fact. England’s bowling averages in this series, to the nearest whole number: Ollie Robinson 7, Josh Tongue 12, Jofra Archer 18, Gus Atkinson 156. Sometimes, it’s an unfunny game. More details here.
Tea! The Mohammads strike back
10th over: England 35-2 (Gay 6, Root 8) Better from Ali, keeping Root quiet even with the keeper standing back. Root looks uneasy and seems to be talking to himself, but he makes it through to tea.
Can we say that session belonged to Pakistan? Not quite, but much of it belonged to Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ali. They put together the highest partnership of the day so far, a mighty 26, and then took a wicket apiece to keep the contest even for now.
“Ghazi Ghori’s wonderful name encapsulates Pakistan’s first innings,” says Colum Fordham, who knows a bit about nominative determinism. “It was worthy of a horror flick, a truly Ghori spectacle. Having said that, England’s batsmen appear to be doing their level best to emulate their opponents.”
9th over: England 35-2 (Gay 6, Root 8) Better from Gay, steering Abbas for two behind square. He has six off 26 balls while his three partners between them have collected 23 off 29. But then two of them are toast, and he is not.
8th over: England 32-2 (Gay 4, Root 7) Ali continues and struggles with his line, peppering the pads. Both batters respond in characteristic fashion: Gay manages a single with a glance to fine leg, then Root clips for two and on-drives for three. Even in a thin and testing summer, Root has hung onto his confidence.
7th over: England 26-2 (Gay 3, Root 2) That is exactly the way Joe Root has been getting out lately – eight LBWs in his last 11 innings. Now he starts well, with a punchy push into the covers for two, but is soon playing and missing. Nasser Hussain, in the commentary box, spots Root staying legside to avoid the LBW. The danger is that he then nicks off: there are three slips and a gully waiting behind the new keeper, the excellently named Ghazi Ghori.
WICKET! Cox LBW b Abbas 4 (England 24-2)
The keeper comes up to the stumps, and that does the trick! Cox, pinned in his crease, plays outside the nip-backer, and then makes matters worse with a doomed review. Is he Joe Root in disguise?
6th over: England 24-1 (Gay 3, Cox 4) Cox begins Mohammad Ali’s over with a sliced square drive for two and a push for a single. Gay rounds it off with a steer into the covers for two. In between Ali tests Gay with a bouncer, given as a wide on grounds of height.
5th over: England 18-1 (Gay 1, Cox 1) In comes Jordan Cox, bearing a sense of purpose. He begins by getting his partner off the mark, calling Gay for a quick single. Next, facing his first ball, Cox sends Gay back as he looks for a leg-bye, but the throw goes for overthrows anyway, so that’s four leg-byes. Then Cox takes a single. And Gay gets squared up by Abbas, as he has been a few times. Well as Gay did with that composed fifty on his debut, Cox has mostly looked far more at home in Test cricket.
4th over: England 12-1 (Gay 0, Cox 0) Duckett had just hit his first shot of authority, a rasping square cut for four, but Ali had the last laugh.
WICKET! Duckett c Babar b Mohammad Ali 11 (England 12-1)
The breakthrough! After being hit for two fours in the over, Mohammad Ali fights back with a tempting half-volley. Duckett chases it and gives a simple catch to second slip.
3rd over: England 3-0 (Duckett 3, Gay 0) Mohammad Abbas bowls a maiden and again beats Gay with the nip-backer. He may be sniffing an LBW.
2nd over: England 3-0 (Duckett 3, Gay 0) Mohammad Ali shares the new ball, as expected, given that the other two seamers are debutants. Duckett plays an off-drive that looks good but turns out to be mistimed, going for two not four. Attempting a repeat, Duckett plays at thin air.
Meanwhile, Simon Burnton has filed a story you couldn’t make up.
1st over: England 1-0 (Duckett 1, Gay 0) Duckett dropped two catches earlier at first slip before managing to cling onto one. His innings gets off to a less eventful start with a push into the covers for a single. Abbas then beats Gay, but on the inside edge, not the outside one.
So Mohammad Abbas already has the ball after wielding the bat better than most. He has two left-handers to bowl at, Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay.
So England’s batters have 54 overs to see if they can forge a first-innings lead. “This is a brilliant, brilliant opportunity for them,” says Stuart Broad. But you never know – they might be all out in 34 overs too.
Thanks Taha and afternoon everyone. The Pakistan board ripped up their team and fired the coach, and sure enough, the team has collapsed even faster than usual.
Taha Hashim
Another bleak innings in a bleak series for Pakistan. And on that cheery note, I’ll hand over to Tim de Lisle.
Pakistan all out for 133
Ali finds a couple runs through cover and then a single through midwicket. The stumps remain intact after Abbas misses with an ambitious slog. But, finally, it’s over: Abbas nicks off to Harry Brook at second slip.
WICKET! Abbas c Brook b Archer 21 (Pakistan 133 all out)
33rd over: Pakistan 130-9 (Abbas 21, Ali 2) Abbas flicks Tongue down the leg side for four, then edges past the cordon for another boundary. This is Pakistan’s highest partnership of the innings!
32nd over: Pakistan 122-9 (Abbas 13, Ali 2) Ali takes a blow to the thigh pad from Archer, who then spears in a yorker at Abbas. The No 10 blocks and then bunts one for three.
31st over: Pakistan 118-9 (Abbas 10, Ali 1) By surviving 21 deliveries, Abbas has played the second-longest knock of the day. He cuts for four to make it to double figures, the third to get there this innings.
30th over: Pakistan 114-9 (Abbas 6, Ali 1) Jofra Archer is back in … and he’s left Mohammad Ali in an awful lot of pain, a yorker thudding into his right ankle. Ouuuuch. Time for the doc to do his work.
29th over: Pakistan 114-9 (Abbas 6, Ali 1) Abbas gets his bat down in time against a Tongue yorker.
28th over: Pakistan 113-9 (Abbas 6, Ali 0) Mohammad Abbas makes some room to wallop Ollie Robinson through the covers for four. A thunk over midwicket for two follows.
27th over: Pakistan 107-9 (Abbas 0, Ali 0) Tongue is chasing his fifth Test five-fer as Mohammad Ali survives five deliveries.
WICKET! Shakeel b Tongue 43 (Pakistan 107-9)
Tongue wobbles the ball into the left-hander, beats Shakeel’s defence and uproots off-stump. That’s some ball. Pakistan’s lone warrior departs.
26th over: Pakistan 107-8 (Abbas 0, Shakeel 43) Mohammad Abbas does his job, seeing out a Robinson over.
25th over: Pakistan 107-8 (Abbas 0, Shakeel 43) Shakeel opts against a first-ball single before dabbing the ball behind point for four. Such a shame he’s had no real support this innings – he looks in such good touch. A clip for two follows, but he can’t nab a single to keep the strike against Robinson.
24th over: Pakistan 101-8 (Abbas 0, Shakeel 37) Robinson has started to hoop it past the right-handers. Saud Shakeel has the strike for the next over and I reckon he’ll give it a proper whack now.
WICKET! Razaullah c Duckett b Robinson 11 (Pakistan 101-8)
Jamie Smith is in a bit of pain, his right thumb clattered as Ollie Robinson sends one down leg. Razaullah goes with his first ball after the break, though, a loose drive producing an outside edge. Duckett holds on at slip this time.
Saud Shakeel’s batting average is up to 42.25 this series. Imam-ul-Haq, sent home, is second on Pakistan’s list with 21. Shakeel and Abdullah Shafique are the only ones to have reached 50. Grim, grim, grim.
Some lunchtime reading:
Brendan Large writes in:
I apologise but I have not been reading the whole OBO today (work and life is a pain). But I was wondering if this latest collapse is just bad batting/ great bowling/ or the ball jagging all over the shop again?
The answer’s a little boring, but it’s a mix of all those things.
England’s quicks have done it again, with two drops by Ben Duckett at first slip barely mattering. The Pakistan Cricket Board’s performative cull has not changed anything – as expected.
Lunch
23rd over: Pakistan 100-7 (Razaullah 11, Shakeel 37) Razaullah pulls Tongue awkwardly … but gets it away for four. The tailender throws everything at the next delivery … but only finds air. A slower ball hits Razaullah’s right glove, and the physio is out to check in. A yorker is surely on the way … as Razaullah swings his golf club and misses again. Wild. A slog to close the over and session does come off, and Pakistan get to three figures. It ends a dreadful session for the visitors.
22nd over: Pakistan 92-7 (Razaullah 3, Shakeel 37) Ollie Robinson is back and averaging under seven with the ball this series. Leg-byes bring Pakistan four more precious runs. Razaullah survives.
21st over: Pakistan 86-7 (Razaullah 2, Shakeel 37) Razaullah punches for a couple down the ground – he’s playing just his ninth first-class match. He does have a hundred to his name.
WICKET! Imran b Tongue 5 (Pakistan 84-7)
Yep, that’s some delivery. Tongue spears in a yorker at off-stump and another debutant is sent on his way.
20th over: Pakistan 82-6 (Imran 3, Shakeel 37) Imran clips Atkinson nicely for a couple and keeps the strike after a leg bye.
19th over: Pakistan 79-6 (Imran 1, Shakeel 37)
I can’t say I know all that much about Mohammad Imran, on debut and out there with Shakeel. With a first-class batting average of 26.52, he should improve Pakistan’s tail, which has folded so easily this series.
18th over: Pakistan 75-6 (Imran 1, Shakeel 34)
Afternoon to Mike Wiltsher:
Just tuned in: given the way the Pakistan squad have been treated the score is no real surprise. It’s still possible the tail may wag and England also collapse in a heap but, at the moment, even as a perennially disappointed England fan, it’s hard to take much joy from the scoreline.
There’s little joy here for anyone who cares about Test cricket.
Saud Shakeel continues to fight, playing on a different surface. He drives Atkinson through the covers for his fifth boundary. He’s less convincing with an uppish drive through gully, but Pakistan will welcome any runs.
17th over: Pakistan 64-6 (Imran 0, Saud 24) Pakistan haven’t got to 200 this series. Three figures could be a problem here.
Colum Fordham writes in:
Looks like the PCB are reaping what they’ve sown by slashing seven players from the team and two coaches: utter chaos.
Admittedly a fine four-pronged England seam attack spear-headed by Archer bowling in cloudy conditions makes for a tricky start for the Pakistani players but they look demoralised and their board’s decision is effectively blooding young, inexperienced players in a highly unfavourable environment.
The dismal Pakistan batting also makes the match a one-sides contest that does nothing to aid the fortunes of test cricket. Apart from that, a great first morning performance by England!