Pakistan collapse swings momentum back to England
England have bounced back from a disappointing opening session on day two of the Test against Pakistan at Trent Bridge to leave Pakistan struggling at 90-6 at tea.
James Anderson and Steven Finn were the standout performers for the hosts, the pair heading to the break with three wickets apiece, while Pakistan will be looking to avoid the follow-on when play recommences in the final session.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 began the session on 16-1 after dismissing England for 354 before lunch and it didn’t take long for more wickets to tumble. It was Anderson who drew the first blood for the session as he rattled Imran Farhat’s stumps to give England just reward for a tight start to the session, and from an individual perspective another reason to celebrate on his birthday after claiming opener Salman Butt’s wicket before the break.
Andrew Strauss then made his first bowling change of the innings, replacing Stuart Broad with Finn, and gained immediate reward as the towering young paceman enticed the edge from Umar Amin and Graeme Swann took the catch at second slip to leave Pakistan at an unhealthy 35-3.
As Anderson continued to trouble the batsmen with his swing, Azhar Ali was the next wicket to fall, caught behind for 14, although replays indicated the ball connected with his pocket rather than his bat and that Ali’s decision not to refer the decision to the umpire Decision Review System was not a wise one.
As wickets continued to tumble, Finn and Swann teamed up again to dismiss Umar Akmal (four), as the batsman pushed at a delivery that moved away just enough to gain a thick edge through to the slip cordon, before the 21-year-old continued Kamran Akmal’s miserable Test as he too was caught in the slips, this time by Paul Collingwood as Pakistan collapsed to 47-6.
Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Aamer combined for a much-needed and unbroken 43-run partnership before tea – the latter surviving England’s DRS challenge for lbw at the end of Graeme Swann’s first over – to take the visitors to the break without further loss.
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