Now Smith, who is intent on scoring quickly, gets a life as Pakistan drop a sitter. England are 742-4, a lead of 186. It's all about time in the game though, I suspect England will declare at 10.10-10.20 to give our bowlers 20-30 minutes at the Pakistan openers before tea.
Edit: The declaration will probably be between 10.00 and 10.10; I forgot to include the 10 minutes between innings in my calculations.
Back to back tests on 2 strips about 20 feet apart look like being bore fests as unlikely to get results in either, especially as Brook heads the ball onto his own stumps and the bails don’t come off. Not exactly a bowlers’ paradise.
Very unusually, they're re-using the strip from the first Test for the second Test 🤔🤔🤔. I mean, it's unusual anyway to play back to back Tests at the same venue, but to use a worn wicket is very unusual.
Sounds extremely suspect to me, they just want to create a spinning pitch to favour their bowlers and ensure a result. Shouldn't be allowed imo, I really hope we win the toss as I don't fancy batting 7th.
You mean like we produced green wickets to aid our seamers?
Obviously pitches will vary from country to country, but to use a worn pitch is very dodgy imo. Somehow I don't see them doing that if Pakistan had won the first Test.
Damn, Pakistan have won the toss and, hardly surprisingly are going to bat. I do think it's really out of order to re-use the same pitch; Pakistan are playing 7 spinners according to Sky Sports.
The ball is spinning already; Leach bowled the 6th over, and Bashir the 7th. Leach strikes in his second over, turning one to uproot the off stump; Pakistan are 15-1.
Finally we get another wicket, just before tea. Potts with the wicket, caught just off the strip (short mid-off?) by Stokes. Pakistan 168-3 with one more over before tea.
Looks like we missed a fine edge through to the keeper. A relatively muted appeal from the bowler and a couple of fielders, but nothing behind the wicket from Smith or Root at a close in (with helmet on) first slip. We didn't review, but snicko suggest there was a definite edge.
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Up there with Headingley ‘81 imo.
Then Leach finished them off before I finished making breakfast. 😭
Sounds extremely suspect to me, they just want to create a spinning pitch to favour their bowlers and ensure a result. Shouldn't be allowed imo, I really hope we win the toss as I don't fancy batting 7th.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/ckg057pd3g9o
Pakistan survive the over and reach tea at 173-3.