Mohammad Abbas put Pakistan in charge on the opening day of the second Test at Lord's, taking four wickets as England were held to 248-9 in a match shortened by rain and bad light. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl, and Abbas had already removed three batters for 34 before lunch as England slipped to 80-4.
That was the spell that set the day up. Abbas first had Ben Duckett trapped on his back foot for 17, then Joe Root was lbw after being dropped on one, and Emilio Gay was caught by Mohammad Rizwan behind the stumps after trying to flick a leg-side ball off his pads. Pakistan were tight enough to force mistakes, but England did not stay there for long. Jordan Cox made 55 and Jamie Smith followed with 61, turning a collapse into a fightback that carried England from 120-5 toward respectability.
The recovery became complete once Salman Agha pulled off an extraordinary one-handed slip catch to remove Cox, but England still found runs through Gus Atkinson, who was unbeaten on 34 when bad light brought an early close. Harry Brook was bowled by Mohammad Ali, Dan Lawrence was run out by Rizwan after sharp fielding by Shan Masood, and Ollie Robinson was bowled by Ali for a duck two balls after Smith was dismissed. Jofra Archer added 14 before Abbas struck for a fourth time, underlining just how much of the day Pakistan had controlled before England steadied themselves.
That matters because this was the second Test, and Pakistan needed a response after their batting had been exposed in a heavy defeat at Leeds. Abbas also had a memory to lean on: eight years earlier at Lord's, he had taken eight wickets in a Pakistan victory. This time, the first day ended with Pakistan ahead in the battle and England still alive in the game, even if the weather ensured there was far less cricket than either side would have wanted.
The unanswered question is whether Abbas's new spell at Lord's becomes the platform for Pakistan to seize the match, or whether England's lower order has already done enough to drag the contest back toward balance.
