England vs Pakistan at Edgbaston – stumps report day one
England have built a 40-run lead at stumps on day one of the Test against Pakistan at Edgbaston, after once again exposing the visitors batting frailties to send them packing a measly 72 in the first innings – http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s lowest Test score against England.
Entering this match fresh from a 354-run thumping by the home side, Pakistan elected to bat first in overcast conditions and England’s pacemen did the rest as Salman Butt’s side was left in tatters at 37-6 at lunch and were finally put out of their misery less than 40 overs after their innings had started, with Stuart Broad and James Anderson taking four wickets apiece.
Mohammad Yousuf, rushed back into the Test squad after Pakistan capitulated in Nottingham, may not have won a place in the playing XI in Birmingham, but his teammates’ insipid batting here has surely assured the experienced former captain of his 89th Test cap when the action moves to The Oval for the third Test of the series.
With next to nothing to defend, Pakistan were not helped in their task by some poor fielding in the final session of the day.
The tourists viewed Kevin Pietersen’s wicket with such value at Trent Bridge that in the first innings they exhausted both their umpire Decision Review System challenges trying to claim it; today they instead handed him two chances early in his innings and could still be made to pay dearly for them as Pietersen returns tomorrow unbeaten on 36.
While Pietersen may still take his chances, the similarly out-of-form Alastair Cook could not make the most of his as the opener failed to settle at the crease, and after surviving an early lbw decision with some assistance from the DRS there was no question about it when 17 runs after Cook’s innings began, Mohammad Asif deviated from what had become a fairly predictable barrage of good length balls with a bouncer and Cook’s awkward attempt at dispatching it landed in Umar Akmal’s hands in the slip cordon.
Strauss followed the next over, with the DRS this time vindicating Pakistan’s opinion of the situation, with replays clearly showing the England skipper had edged the ball on its way through to Zulqarnain Haider’s gloves as the debutant took his first catch in Test cricket and with it ensured Mohammad Amir had his first wicket of the day.
Jonathan Trott very nearly followed the opening pair into the pavilion for just four, when Asif drew the edge but Imran Farhat (dismissed for a 24-ball duck in Pakistan’s innings) dropped a straightforward chance in slips, before Pietersen was handed his first life on nine as Umar Gul failed to complete the catch at mid-on just a few overs later, proving that Pakistan’s catching fumbles don’t begin and end with axed wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal (dropped for this match after his shocker behind the stumps at Trent Bridge).
Haider then failed to wrap his glove around an inside edge to supply the out-of-form Pietersen with his second let-off of the innings, 11 runs after his first; had it stuck the catch would have been almost identical to the one Kamran held onto to dismiss KP in Nottingham.
When bad light stopped play on day one, England had moved to a score of 112-2, with Pietersen and Trott (unbeaten on 31) to resume the task of building on the side’s lead on day two.
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