Pakistan crush sorry England by nine wickets in first Test – as it happened

Pakistan’s pace bowlers ripped through England on the morning of day four to pave the way for a comprehensive victory at Lord’s

1.10pm BST

Signing off. England have been smashed by nine wickets by Pakistan inside 90 minutes on day four, a truly dreadful way to begin their international summer.

Vic Marks has popped out a quick match report on how it fell apart as soon as it began on Sunday morning, their final four wickets falling for seven runs. Pakistan - who were magnificent throughout - did the rest, collecting the 64 runs they needed in 12.4 overs.

Related: Pakistan blow away woeful England to seal crushing victory in first Test

12.59pm BST

Mohammad Abbas is the man of the match for his eight wickets.

Wasim Akram is interpreting for him in response to Mike Atherton’s questions on Sky. Abbas said he was happy with the lengthy preparation and it helped him agree on the length he was going to bowl in the First Test at Lord’s. He adds that Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif are two his heroes and the bowlers he tries to emulate.

12.56pm BST

Joe Root, England captain, at the presentation.

“We played some poor shots and gave some wickets away and you can’t afford to do that in Test cricket.” He has no regrets on the toss, though: “If we bat well and get 250 or 300 it is very different on that surface. As a batting group we need to find a way.”

12.55pm BST

Trevor Bayliss, England coach, speaks on BBC.

Believes the decision to bat at the toss was a 50/50 call. “The problem is that we didn’t bat very well at all. Yes, it was going to be difficult in the first couple of hours but but we just didn’t bat well enough. We simply keep making the same mistakes. We have seen these guys score runs in difficult conditions but we have to do it more often.”

12.45pm BST

Still waiting to see the captains. The response online is absolutely brutal. I shared the view of Vish Ehantharajah earlier that yesterday at times felt a bit like Hobart when Australia were smashed there by South Africa in November 2016. Having covered both of those annihilations, I certainly share that view 24 hours on. The same despair.

12.33pm BST

A couple of stats from CricViz that stand out.

12.31pm BST

All over inside 90 minutes on day four. To think England came here with actual hope this morning. Instead, they lost four wickets in seven balls to leave just Pakistan 64 to win, which they knocked off in 76 deliveries. “Absolutely walloped,” says Phil Tufnell on TMS. “I can’t remember them playing so badly.”

12.29pm BST

Haris Sohail finishes it in style, popping a full toss from Bess into the grandstand then two balls later clipping him through midwicket for four to win the game!

Pakistan 66-1 (Imam 18, Haris 39)

12.27pm BST

12th over: Pakistan 56-1 (Imam 18, Haris 29) Joe Root at silly point on his hands and knees as though he’s striving for the final wicket late on day five. A short leg also there, a leg gully too. No surprises where Wood is directing his attack at Imam, then. In saying that, Wood is fuller this over than the two that came before it. Runs from three of the six deliveries around the field. Both teams happy for this to finish asap. Eight to win.

12.25pm BST

11th over: Pakistan 50-1 (Imam 13, Haris 28) Haris Sohail looking fantastic here. It is a shame that his day is nearly done. Admittedly, the first of his two boundaries this over was a case of putting away a Bess full toss. No issues with that. The second required real skill, bisecting the two men in the covers after getting to the pitch. Spot on. 14 to win.

12.22pm BST

10th over: Pakistan 42-1 (Imam 13, Haris 20) Wood sends down a maiden to Imam to slow the Pakistan chase, if briefly. He is really banging it in short of a length as his stock delivery, changing it up with a couple of bouncers. No issues for the opener.

When you ring the 5 minute bell but then have to get to the pitch for the team photo...

‍♂️ @AzharMahmood11

¢LoveLords#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/iTXL6h5l58

12.20pm BST

9th over: Pakistan 42-1 (Imam 13, Haris 20) Haris into the 20s with another lovely drive through cover, off Bess this time. He looked fantastic in the first innings, before getting out. A nice red inker here will give him plenty of confidence going into Headingley. Not far away now, 22 more required for a famous Pakistani victory.

A little factoid here from the BBC: “The last time England lost the first Test of a summer, regardless of what month it began, was in 1995 against West Indies.”

12.16pm BST

8th over: Pakistan 36-1 (Imam 13, Haris 14) Mark Wood getting a chance now in place of Broad. Bowled with excellent pace first time around and immediately into his work here, short to Haris who ducks. When Imam gets down there, he gives him a bumper to begin as well. Fair enough. And then again to finish, trying to leave a bruise by aiming at his body.

12.10pm BST

7th over: Pakistan 35-1 (Imam 13, Haris 13) Dom Bess on for a twist and I think that’s a good shout from Root. If the debutant can get his first wicket in Test cricket before this is finished, that won’t be for nothing ahead of next week. He is very close with his third ball of doing just that, Imam throwing his hands and missing everything. Loose shot from a ball that had plenty of air. I’ve liked that from Bess, giving the ball a chance to turn from the outset. Frustratingly, his misses his line next up and Imam tickles a four fine. Gosh, then some big spin out of the footmarks that beats Imam and Bairstow (and Stokes), adding three more runs to the sundries column. Bowled.

12.05pm BST

6th over: Pakistan 27-1 (Imam 12, Haris 9) Forget about that extra half an hour, they’re ticking over nicely here with a couple of boundaries for Haris in this Broad set. The first is in error off the edge, but not to hand. The second is much better, leaning into a lavish cover drive that skips away to the rope in front of the grandstand.

12.02pm BST

5th over: Pakistan 19-1 (Imam 9, Haris 4) Anderson in from the Pavilion End once more. I don’t expect that he will bowl many overs here with back to back Tests. Runs coming from three deliveries in this over, Haris clipping one, Imam driving three then Haris pushing another. He keeps the strike. But really, nothing to see here. Lunch is an hour away and the umpires have the power to extend the session by half an hour if they believe a result is imminent. In other words, one way or another, this ends before lunch.

Watch that stump cartwheel

More clips: https://t.co/9jYAMDq8J7 #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/GSEPr4MTrZ

11.58am BST

4th over: Pakistan 14-1 (Imam 6, Haris 2) Broad charging in from the Nursery End and keeping Imam honest throughout, beating him with a good’un to finish. He receives generous applause from the modest crowd in today. Modest by Sunday at Lord’s standards that is, and for good reason.

“‘Obsequies’ is a lovely word, isn’t it?” observes John Starbuck. Funeral rites, the definition (full disclosure: I googled). But yes, that’s what this is.

11.53am BST

3rd over: Pakistan 14-1 (Imam 6, Haris 2) Haris has three balls to look at, tucking neatly around the corner towards the rope beneath my spot in the press box. A couple for him.

First time in 14 years that Pakistan pacers have taken 18 or more wickets in a Test. Last was against NZ in Wellington in 2003 when Shoaib Akhtar took 11 wickets. #EngvPak

11.50am BST

Something there for Jimmy, picking up Azhar for the second time in the Test. That’s a beauty too, angling in before nipping past the outside edge, smashing into the off-stump. Can’t ask much more of him this week.

11.48am BST

2nd over: Pakistan 11-0 (Azhar 4, Imam 5) “Does this not remind you of Adelaide?” asks Dan Norcross on TMS. Not wrong. A wicket second ball then all over in about an hour. Anyway, Imam’s turn and he’s going to make it count based on the early evidence, playing a glittering off-drive to get off the mark. That’s delightful. A single gets Azhar on strike and Broad beats him immediately.

A couple of emails asking about the spot fixing documentary that has just gone live on Al Jazeera. With an abundance of caution, I’m leaving that alone for now, but Ali Martin is writing up a yarn. I’ll post here soon as it is live.

11.42am BST

1st over: Pakistan 6-0 (Azhar 4, Imam 0) So, Imam is out there batting despite having copped a bad whack to the groin in the field just before Pakistan’s quicks finished it off. His senior partner Azhar Ali is taking the first ball from Anderson, though. He’s defending to begin before a couple of leg byes get the chase underway to fine leg. Then some runs off the bat to finish off the over, four of them, to third man. Not far from the catcher at third slip, but not to be.

11.37am BST

They are back on. Jimmy with the ball in his hand with 63 to defend. Yep.

11.37am BST

Unsurprisingly, the England twitter account have not been posting videos of those wickets. But the clips, if you feel the need to watch them, are alongside the scorecard here (for those reading in the UK).

“Do you think England after 141 years of test cricket are in with any chance of improving on Ireland’s five wicket loss to Pakistan in their first ever test?” asks Peter Salmon on the email. “Something to aim for.”

11.30am BST

There it is! For all the talk of tricky fourth innings chases, England lost four for seven this morning in 25 balls. It’s emphatic from Amir, uprooting Bess’ off stump. Pakistan need 64 to go one-nil up. Early bath then, lads.

11.28am BST

82nd over: England 242-9 (Bess 57, Anderson 0) Jimmy nearly goes first ball! Big inside edge, very lucky it didn’t bend back his leg stump. Oh, I better hit send on this because... (you can probably tell what has happened first delivery of the next over).

11.26am BST

A second ball blob for Broad, who bags himself a pair. Just a soft prod and Abbas finds the edge on the way through. Test wickets don’t come much easier than that. It came the ball after a lengthy delay when Imam was hit in the groin by a Broad drive that went to point, requiring the young man to leave the field in some distress. But given how small the fourth innings target is going to be, he can put his feet up. England lead by 63, adding only seven to their overnight score, losing three wickets along the way. Oh dear.

11.18am BST

It takes four deliveries with the second new ball for Amir to find Wood’s outside edge with a ball that nipped away beautifully. No footwork to speak of, but that’s excellent bowling to the tail. The left-armer warmed up rolling a couple down with the old ball, which enabled Bess to get off strike, but Wood didn’t have much of an idea there. Broad walks out on a pair. I did say this could happen quick.

81st over: England 241-8 (Bess 56)

11.13am BST

80th over: England 240-7 (Bess 55, Wood 4) Shot. Wood off the mark with a lovely square drive to the rope. He’s happy to leave the rest alone. That’s the final over with the old ball and it is a successful one. It looks like they will take it straight away with Amir immediately on to replace Hasan. We’ll see.

Here is the DRS map on the Buttler dismissal. Abbas has taken five LBWs in the match, Andrew Samson tells us on TMS. Nobody has taken six in a Test at Lord’s. He has a big chance to do so here with three England wickets on the shelf with the new nut.

WICKET! Big blow for England as Abbas traps Buttler (67) in the second over of day four. Eng 236-7, lead Pakistan by 57, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event. https://t.co/LPM9KGnhnU #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/Ff4U4rPDBN

11.08am BST

No issue with that decision from Paul Reiffel, technology confirming that the ball is hitting middle and leg. Buttler was beaten on the inside edge from a delivery that just hinted back at the right-hander off the seam. More superb bowling from Abbas who is having a mighty Test Match. He’s in the book for a third time with his second ball of the morning. The 126-run stand is broken with England’s lead 57.

11.05am BST

BUTTLER GIVEN LBW! He’s reviewed. He has to. But it looks pretty good on the first look. Stand by.

11.04am BST

79th over: England 236-6 (Buttler 67, Bess 55) Cripes, the third ball of the day has just about run along the ground. Can England hang around long enough for it to matter? Buttler digs out a yorker to cover but can’t beat the man there, but does keep the strike with a single squeezed to third man.

11.00am BST

Azhar Mahmood ringing the bell. He scored a ton on debut at number eight in 1997, Dan Norcross advises on the wireless. That’s what Dom Bess is trying to do here. If you were wondering, the highest score for an England number eight on debut is Liam Dawson who made 66. He was the last man to debut in that position, as it happens. Bess resumes on 55.

I made a mistake in the preamble earlier, by the way (which I’ll be editing in a tic). Keaton Jennings was, of course, the most recent hundred first up for England - not Trotty.

10.54am BST

Jos Buttler having a chat on radio. “He (Dom Bess) is a confident boy and he knows his game really well. He’s got a lot of talent with the bat. I’m not sure how many people knew it before this Test, but they do now.”

Said from a tricky situation, they showed some “skill and character” to dig in during the final session. “I had the same mentality really, I played the situaiton. I said before the game whether the ball is red, white or pink, I play with the same (approach).”

10.43am BST

Speaking of TMS. Getting in before I’m asked, this is the link to listen to their radio coverage via youtube if you are following from outside of the UK.

10.35am BST

A look at the track. Doesn’t seem the type to misbehave. “I think it has been a tremendous Test Match wicket,” says Michael Vaughan on TMS.

View of the pitch ahead of Day Four!

What are your predictions for today? #LoveLords#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/HOkt5UlkRS

10.31am BST

Some more on The Hundred from Ali Martin the paper today. Looks like they are going to take it on the road (well, the UAE) to give it a spin later this year.

Ultimately the plan is to have the scorecard showing the number of balls going down in each 100-ball innings – regardless of how that number is reached – as the score goes up. One senior ECB official told the Observer this is intended “to help answer the age-old question of ‘who is winning?’” and thus simplify cricket for the uninitiated.

Related: Hundred trials could take place in UAE as ECB looks for overseas option

10.28am BST

Andy Bull on Dom Bess.

This line isn’t about the man on debut, but I’ll pull it out as it made me laugh:

A lot of dubious thinking goes on at Lord’s on the Saturday of a Test match. Something about it seems to lead people to make the most bizarre decisions. How else does one explain all the preposterous clobber people wear? The blazers with candy-cane stripes, the schoolboy caps, the scarlet slacks, all those men ferreting around in their wardrobes asking: “Darling, have you seen my red trousers? I reckon it’s just the day for them.”

Related: Dom Bess displays flair while England discover new ways to be dire | Andy Bull

10.18am BST

Good start. I most certainly tagged my first post as “welcome to day three” rather than day four. You can get stuck into me about that on email the usual way (note the new address, my old account is no longer), or via twitter if you’d prefer.

10.12am BST

When turning in last night, I thought this was going to be an OBO of the wet weather. How about that storm? Lightning strikes every few seconds for what felt like hours. 50,000 of them, I’m told. Followed by chunks of hail that were more tropical Queensland than London. But fast forward to the morning, and it’s all good at Lord’s.

That might not be what England fans necessarily want to hear with the home side still so far behind in this Test, but the forecast says the rain will come again later today. So that gives us is a chance to revel in the work of a couple of lads from the west country who batted beautifully on Saturday afternoon to keep the contest vaguely alive.

2.08am BST

Adam will be here shortly.

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Published on May 27, 2018 05:10
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