Pakistan’s red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed has conceded that his team’s batting is “a concern” after another collapse at Lord’s, where the tourists were dismissed for 110 and ended day two of the second Test 261 runs behind England (The Express Tribune).
England lead the three-match series 1-0 after winning the first Test at Headingley.
The arithmetic at stumps on day two
England were bowled out for 290 in their first innings on Friday morning, having resumed at 248-9 and added 42 in 10.4 overs. Mohammad Abbas finished with 4-73.
Pakistan replied with 110 in 37.2 overs — a first-innings deficit of 180. Ollie Robinson took 4-11 from 13 overs, Jofra Archer 3-26 and Josh Tongue 2-27 (Dawn).
England then reached 81-3 in their second innings before bad light forced an early close, taking the overall lead to 261. Emilio Gay was unbeaten on 30, Harry Brook on seven (Geo News).
Khurram Shahzad removed Ben Duckett and Jordan Cox cheaply and Mohammad Ali had Joe Root lbw for 24, reducing England to 60-3, before Gay and Brook saw out the evening.
What Sarfaraz said
“Yes, batting is a concern,” Sarfaraz told reporters in remarks published by The Express Tribune. “If you talk about bowling, in this game we have bowled a little bit better. But batting is a concern… unfortunately, in this innings too our batting flopped.”
He returned repeatedly to how quickly Pakistan’s innings end. “You cannot conceal this thing that our team gets out in 30 or 35 overs,” he said. “If batsmen negotiate the first 40 to 50 balls which are difficult, then we can succeed.”
Sarfaraz singled out Azan Awais, who top-scored with 46, as the counter-example, praising the way the young opener handled an Archer spell he called “extraordinary.”
He also took the blame himself. “If there are no results then management will definitely be responsible. I am sitting here and all the mistake is mine,” he said, adding that he would not criticise individual players and that selection questions would be settled “after the series.”
Imam a doubt
Pakistan’s 110 came with only nine wickets down: Imam-ul-Haq was absent hurt. The PCB said the opener strained his left calf while fielding on the opening day, and that scans confirmed a low-grade strain. His participation in the rest of the Test depends on his recovery (Geo News).
Day three is scheduled to start at 11:00 BST (15:00 PKT) on Saturday with England three down at the close of play on Friday and their second innings still in progress. Pakistan’s bowlers have been the better part of this tour. Whether the batting can last long enough to matter — and whether Imam is fit to take part — is the open question.
