Paceman strikes for record but England left frustrated
hwicketkeeper’s resistance keeps Pakistan in the match hquestion marks again over Root’s leadership in the field
This was a day of frustration for England and for lovers of Test cricket. Pakistan held on in challenging bowling conditions while bad-light stoppages left the officials glad there was no crowd in the ground to give them a hard time.
Mohammad Rizwan’s clever marshalling of the tail, exploiting another period of sleepy cricket by England, enabled Pakistan to reach 223 for nine on a day of grinding hard work.
Stuart Broad became the first England bowler since Graeme Swann 11 years ago to take at least three wickets in seven consecutive Test innings. You could understand why Broad said afterwards he did not want this season to end. He has 25 wickets at 12.88, the best summer of his career.
But England have had 86 overs in seaming, swinging conditions perfectly suited to their line-up to knock over Pakistan and have not yet finished off the job. They lost focus when Rizwan choreographed a 39-run stand from 61 balls for the ninth wicket with Mohammad Abbas, who contributed just two. Rizwan, 60 not out from 116 balls, remained unmovable, keeping Pakistan in the game.
With the second new ball in hand, England lost their line, bowling too wide or down the leg side. They quickly went on the defensive, spreading the field to Rizwan when he started playing shots, in an attempt to get Abbas on strike. With the field set so deep Rizwan could push hard for twos and was still able to deflect singles towards the end of the over to pinch the strike. It was smart and immensely annoying for England, but they keep having little phases of play where they lose sight of the end goal.
Last week in Manchester, Joe Root allowed the match to drift before the second new ball. Here you could see his frustration growing as Rizwan and Abbas hung on. The bad light stoppage and early tea did Root a favour. He was accompanied down the steps back onto the field by coach Chris Silverwood and England were noticeably sharper, with Broad soon dismissing Abbas before the umpires reached for the light meters again.
The officials are lucky this is all happening behind closed doors, given how angry the crowd would have been to see players troop off with the floodlights on full beam and the Pakistan one-day squad playing on the adjacent practice ground without any lights at all.
Duty of care to players and officials is obviously important, and there are concerns over litigation in the modern world, but there is a responsibility to the game, too. Sky and the BBC have been enjoying record viewing figures as a sportstarved public lap up the game, giving Test cricket crucial exposure. Many would have switched off yesterday and done something else instead, fed up with the arcane way cricket can be ruled.
The umpires take a light-meter reading on the first day, setting the precedent for the levels for the rest of the match. It meant only 41 overs were possible, despite not a drop of rain falling after 10am. With heavy cloud forecast for the whole week, being conservative with the light reading was always going to create stoppages. The game is paying for it. With the flags on the pavilion hanging limply all day, there was no wind to blow the clouds through. The day drifted, the match in limbo.
The light dipped below the reading just after Abbas’s wicket but, moments earlier, Rizwan had played the shot of the day, smacking Broad over extra cover for four.
He had no problem seeing the ball. But off they went, more dead time ensued.
A wet outfield delayed the start until 12.30pm and England were sharp in the hour before the lunch break. The ball flew off the surface, there was plenty of lateral movement and even James Anderson reached speeds of 88mph.
Batting was tough, and required luck as well as a sound mind. Babar Azam made an accomplished 47, which would have been worth many more in other conditions, and it took the delivery of the match so far to get him out. He left 38 of his 127 balls, showing good judgment of his off stump, waiting for the straighter balls to tuck on his favoured on side, where he scored 31 of his 47. This was patient, dogged work, but in Broad he is up against a bowler in the form of his life. He set him up beautifully, tailing the ball in before nipping one away to take the edge.
Yasir Shah threw everything at an Anderson outswinger and was caught behind. Shaheen Afridi tried to be more sensible, offering support to Rizwan, who constantly cajoled him into hanging in. It took a run-out via a direct hit by Dom Sibley from slip. Shaheen was the non-striker and too keen to nick a single off the fifth ball of the over.
Rizwan had been struck on the pads, the ball squirting to Sibley at third slip. He spotted Shaheen was halfway down and hit the stumps at the bowler’s end with an excellent pick-up and throw, his second run-out in as many matches.
Rizwan had been dropped down the leg side on 14, a tough chance high up to keeper Jos Buttler’s left, but it was his only mistake. He slotted Broad for six and flustered England. Chris Woakes bowled a wide as he struggled to control the new ball, and there were four byes down the leg side as England lost their consistency. Broad winkled Abbas out lbw, and if they bat well today, England remain in a strong position. It is just that time is drifting away.