Pakistan’s seam attack proved decisive on a damp, overcast morning at Lord's, leaving England reeling at 248 for 9 at the close of day one of the second Test. The day began with a heavy downpour that delayed the start until 12:20 pm on Thursday, and the weather set the tone for a bleak English innings. After winning the toss, Pakistan elected to bowl, and England slumped to 3 for 36 after just 10.3 overs, a clear sign that the conditions were favoring the visitors.
The English side entered the field still dealing with the fallout from a recent off‑field controversy involving bowler Brydon Carse, and captain Joe Root’s mood was far from buoyant. His frustration was evident when he fell to Mohammad Abbas for a meagre four runs. The early wicket was quickly followed by the dismissals of Ben Duckett (17) and Emilio Gay (8), both also trapped by Abbas, who was turning the ball sharply and exploiting the seam movement. Abbas finished with impressive figures of four for 56, while his fellow paceman Mohammad Ali claimed three for 67, each delivering a series of sharp, back‑of‑the‑hand catches that removed Harry Brook, Jamie Smith and Ollie Robinson in quick succession.
England’s scoreboard read: Duckett 17 off 20 balls, Gay 8 off 17, Root 4 off 13, Cox 55 off 105, Brook 14 off 26, Smith 61 off 80. Pakistan’s bowlers posted: Abbas 4‑56, Ali 3‑67, Khurram 1‑79. With captain Babar Azam back in the lineup, Pakistan showed a marked improvement from their 103‑run loss at Headingley the previous week, although their fielding still left something to be desired.
Mohammad Rizwan and the slip cordon were positioned too deep, allowing several catchable chances to slip through. As the afternoon progressed and the clouds began to clear, England managed to mount a modest recovery. Jordan Cox provided a glimmer of hope, reaching his fifty with a composed 55, while Smith also passed the fifty‑run mark, ending a lean spell for the wicket‑keeping batsman. Their partnership, built on steady rotation of the strike and occasional boundaries, offered a brief respite from the earlier onslaught.
"I was trying to ride the wave a little bit," Smith told Sky Sports after his innings. "It isn’t always free‑scoring here; you can feel a bit out of rhythm, but then you catch up.
I felt I was scraping around at the start, but once I found the middle of the bat, it felt different from my usual top‑tempo approach. That seemed to help today." Gus Atkinson, who did not bat, and Josh Tongue, also yet to bat, were slated to return on Friday morning after play was halted at 6:10 pm due to bad light.
The umpires decided not to resume, leaving the day’s action unfinished. Abbas, who had claimed only a single wicket at Headingley, was in prolific form at Lord's. His first breakthrough came when he dismissed Gay with a catch taken by the agile Rizwan, who dove on the leg side to snag an edge. Earlier, Pakistan had almost dismissed Duckett in the opening over; the England opener edged the ball to the slips, but it fell short of the fielder.
After a patient 20‑ball cameo, Duckett finally fell lbw to Abbas. The on‑field decision was initially not out, as the ball appeared to glance over the stumps, but a review confirmed the dismissal. Root’s innings was short‑lived.
After surviving an early edge that was caught at third slip, he was bowled lbw in the next over when Abbas struck a delivery onto his leg stump, leaving the captain unable to defend. Brook, eager to make an impact, smashed Ali for four on his very first ball, but his aggression was quickly punished when Ali delivered a razor‑sharp delivery that ricocheted off Brook’s off‑stump – arguably the delivery of the day. At the lunch interval England were 80 for 4, desperately needing a stabilising partnership.
That came in the form of a 43‑run stand between Cox and Dan Lawrence, which was cut short when Lawrence was run out after a confusing mix‑up. Cox, however, continued to bat sensibly, hitting seven boundaries on his way to a half‑century.
After brief contributions from Brook and Lawrence, Cox and Smith forged a more substantial partnership, adding 67 runs off 97 balls. Their collaboration displayed a mix of defensive technique and timely aggression, briefly shifting momentum back towards England. The partnership was broken by a spectacular catch from Pakistan all‑rounder Salman Agha, who dove mid‑air to claim a one‑handed catch off an edge from Cox. Following this, Ali struck twice in quick succession, removing both Smith and Ollie Robinson with back‑handed nip‑backers that left the English batting line‑up in disarray.
The final wicket to fall was that of Archer, who was dismissed by Abbas after lofting a six into the Lord's Pavilion. Abbas then removed the bails before the players left the field, cementing his status as the day’s standout bowler. Looking ahead, day two of the second Test will commence at 10:15 pm on Friday, with live coverage on Sky Sports Cricket.
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