3The afternoon session saw Amir strike twice to initiate a collapse
Jos Buttler and Dominic Bess fought a determined rearguard action as England avoided an innings defeat by Pakistan in the first Test at Lord's on Saturday. When the pair came together before tea on the third day, England were 110 for six in their second innings - still needing a further 69 runs to make Pakistan bat again. But come stumps, England were 235 for six after an unbroken century stand by their seventh-wicket duo. England were a mere 56 runs ahead with four wickets standing and the new ball on the horizon, but at least they were still in the game. Buttler was 66 not out and Bess 55 not out after marking his Test debut with a fine fifty. The duo's 125-run stand was also a vindication for England's new national selector, Ed Smith, who had recalled Buttler as a specialist number seven batsman and picked Somerset off-spinner Bess.But the way the pair played on a sunny day in the best batting conditions of the match, was also an indictment of some of their top-order colleagues involved in England's latest collapse. England are historically difficult to beat in home Tests starting in May - they've lost just three out of 33.
No comments:
Post a Comment