England added just seven runs to their overnight total, destroying any hopes of setting Pakistan a challenging victory target at Lord’s.
Jos Buttler scored one run in the morning before being trapped leg before by Mohammad Abbas for 67 off 138 balls. Mark Wood came to the wicket, hit a boundary and was on his way shortly thereafter, caught behind by Sarfraz Ahmed off the bowling of Mohammad Amir. Wood was followed swiftly back into the pavilion by Stuart Broad for a two-ball duck.
Debutant Dominic Bess only added two runs to his overnight score and was the last man out bowled by Mohammad Amir for 57 (106 balls, eight fours), leaving England on an extremely disappointing 242 considering the heroics of the previous afternoon.
Jimmy Anderson bowled Azhar Ali with a delightful ball, but that was the last success for England in this Test, as number three batsman Haris Sohail proceeded to butcher the English bowlers, slamming six fours and a six to finish unbeaten on 39 off just 32 balls (SR 121.87). Opener Imam-ul-Haq was more respectful of the bowling in putting together his unbeaten 18 off 34 balls (two fours, S/R 52.94), being at the crease for the winning runs for the second Test match in a row.
With match figures of 8-64, Mohammad Abbas was any easy choice for Man of the Match as his side completed their second consecutive Test victory over England at Lord’s. Abbas told the crowds after the match – via the translation skills of Wasim Akram – that he had ‘enjoyed it a lot. Lord’s… a full house… enjoyed every moment of it’.
‘I’m very proud of my team, the way the young players produced their talent,’ said Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed. ‘When we came here we were very inexperienced but we were very confident. We have a very good bowling side. Our coaching staff worked really hard, told us to pitch it up. The way the bowlers did a job for us was great. We worked really hard on our fielding. Our catching was fantastic. The Malahide game was a very tough game, the way we won the match it was good for us.’
After the crushing defeat, England skipper Joe Root admitted that his side was simply ‘not good enough’.
‘We were out-performed in all three departments. We needed more runs in the first innings. We played some poor shots, gave some wickets away. You can’t afford to do that.’
With the press calling for the heads of the England management and coaching staff, as well as a number of England players who they deem are ‘not good enough for Test cricket’, the pressure is firmly on England ahead of the second Test this coming Friday.
Main photo: Philip Brown/Getty Images
