Moeen: It’s time for us to attack
England face biggest chase to win the firstTestat Lord’s
MOEEN ALI has promised England will take the attack to Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah in their bid to succeed with what would be their biggest ever chase at Lord’s and win the first Investec Test.
Pakistan closed the third day on 214 for eight in their second innings, an overall lead of 281 on a pitch that has begun to show signs of turn.
And the scale of England’s task is reflected by the fact that they have never chased more in the fourth innings to win a Lord’s Test than the 282 for three they made against New Zealand in 2004. But Ali, who removed Pakistan’s two big guns — Misbah-ul-Haq, brilliantly caught at deep mid-wicket by Alex Hales for a duck and Younis Khan — insisted England had to change their plans against Yasir after his first-innings figures of six for 72.
‘In the first innings we didn’t bat very well,’ said Ali. ‘We want to put that right. A lot of us want to score runs in the second innings and hopefully win the game. But it’s going to be tough against their leg-spinner. The guys will come out with a plan. In the first innings we got caught on the crease, so we need to use our feet against him.
‘He attacks the stumps, which makes him harder to play, but he does bowl bad balls as well. He’s a human being at the end of the day.’
That England are even in with a shout of taking a 1-0 lead in this four-game series is down to the bowling of Chris Woakes, who took five for 31 yesterday to lift his match haul to 11 for 101 — the best analysis in a Lord’s Test by any bowler since Derek Underwood took 13 for 71 against Pakistan in 1974.
‘He just needs a hundred now and then he can go on all three boards in the changing room,’ said Ali. ‘He has bowled brilliantly in this Test.’
Woakes insisted others deserved credit too, for keeping England in the game. ‘I’ve managed to get the majority of the wickets today, but everyone was building the pressure at both ends,’ he said.