England v Pakistan Lord’s Test: Abbas rocks top order before Smith and Cox fight back

By Jack Shaw · Lord’s, London · Published: 23:44 BST

• Mohammad Abbas took 4-56 and Mohammad Ali 3-67 as Pakistan reduced England to 36 for 3 on a rain-hit opening day.
• Jamie Smith (61) and Jordan Cox (55) shared a 67-run sixth-wicket stand to drag England to 248 for 9 before bad light ended play.
• Abbas claimed his 900th first-class wicket when Ben Duckett was given out lbw on review.

Pakistan seized the opening day of the England v Pakistan Lord’s Test, with Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ali sharing seven wickets to leave the hosts 248 for 9 at the close — a total that only looks respectable because Jamie Smith and Jordan Cox refused to follow the top order out of the door.

What happened on day one

Babar Azam’s side won the toss and bowled under heavy skies after a rain-delayed start, and the decision looked inspired inside five overs. Mohammad Rizwan flung himself full length down the leg side to remove Emilio Gay, Abbas then trapped Ben Duckett lbw on review — his 900th first-class wicket — and Joe Root followed as England slumped from 26 for 2 to 36 for 3. Mohammad Ali’s nip-backer accounted for Harry Brook, England’s leading run-scorer in the first Test, and the hole had deepened to 77 for 4.

Cox, batting at No. 3 in only his third Test, and Smith rebuilt with a disciplined 67-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Ali later removed Smith and tailender Ollie Robinson, and Abbas dismissed Jofra Archer shortly before bad light stopped play with Pakistan needing one more wicket. For the full ball-by-ball timeline of the series, follow the rolling coverage at ReadCricket.

Expert angle: why the England v Pakistan Lord’s Test has flipped

Pakistan were beaten by an innings and 103 runs in the first Test. Days later, they have England on the rack. The difference is not a mystery — it is length. Abbas has bowled a fraction fuller here, attacking the top of off stump rather than inviting the batter to chase width, which is precisely why ball-tracking backed him on the Duckett review rather than sparing the batter. On a Lord’s surface under cloud cover, after a rain-delayed start, that is the only length worth bowling.

Ali has arguably been the more dangerous of the two in short bursts. The delivery that removed Brook — a nip-backer that Abbas’s new-ball partner shaped back off the seam — is the ball England’s right-handers have looked least comfortable against. Pakistan were not flawless: a chance went down in the slips off Root and there were fumbles in the field. On a tidier day England are nearer 180 all out than 248 for 9.

The counter-argument is Jordan Cox. A composed half-century at No. 3 in only his third Test, on a seaming pitch, against a bowler collecting his 900th first-class wicket at the other end, is a serious piece of work — and Smith’s 61 was the innings that stopped a collapse becoming a rout. England will feel 248 is playable on this surface. Abbas, one wicket away from the Lord’s honours board, will feel very differently when he returns on Friday morning.

Wrap-up

Days ago the conversation around this England side was off the field rather than on it — see our report on the England cricket discipline row, in which Broad and Anderson branded recent incidents ‘extreme and tiresome’. So: is 248 for 9 enough at Lord’s, or have England already surrendered the second Test on day one?