England v Pakistan in a nutshell: All you need to know from day two at Headingley
Sunday 3 June 2018 09:58, UK
A morning lost to the rain, an impressive knock from the nightwatchman and England build a healthy lead on day two at Headingley...
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The Report
England carved out a 128-run lead over Pakistan on a rain-affected day two of their must-win second Test at Headingley, writes David Ruse.
Dom Bess (49) and Jos Buttler (34no) made the most meaningful contributions after skipper Joe Root fell for 45 as the hosts - looking to avoid a first home Test series defeat since going down to Sri Lanka in 2014 - closed on 302-7.
Live Test Cricket
Moment of the Day
England were 220-5, leading by only 46, with two new batsman at the crease when Buttler, on just four at the time, whipped the ball to mid-wicket off Shadab Khan. It was at a nice catching height for Hasan Ali but the fielder just did not seem to pick it up and the ball burst through his hands and raced away for four.
A flurry of boundaries followed as Buttler and Jonny Bairstow swiftly took their partnership to 48 and established a sizeable lead. With Buttler still there at stumps, and capable of taking the game away from Pakistan very quickly on the third morning, the tourists could come to rue that drop all the more.
Talking point
The players were kept from the field as rain fell steadily during the morning in Leeds but it was the time in between the rain stopping and play resuming that frustrated Nasser Hussain.
The umpires first came out at around 1.20pm before deciding they would have their first official inspection at 1.50pm. That led to another inspection at 2.20pm, before which the players were already out warming up, going through fielding drills and playing football.
The outfield certainly seemed safe enough but it was not until 2.45pm that day two got underway. With a bumper Saturday crowd in at Headingley, Nasser questioned why they were made to wait so long for the action to start.
Participation Test - day two
The second day of the Participation Test focused on the new South Asian Action Plan and its aim to better engage with South Asian communities at every level of the game.
ECB non-executive board director Lord Kamlesh Patel and Yorkshire off-spinner Azeem Rafiq joined David Gower in the studio to talk about the progress already being made on the 11-point action plan.
Over 30 per cent of club players are of South Asian descent but only four per cent are county cricketers. Matt Floyd examined the reasons why with the help of Moeen Ali and other prominent British Asian cricketers.
What they said
Graham Thorpe, ECB lead batting coach: "It's hard to put a figure on it but if we get past a 150-run lead then brilliant because there is something in the pitch for the bowlers.
"We've seen that today - all our batters have got starts with no fifties; that's disappointing but at the same time there has been one fifty in the game."
Tweets of the day
Watch day two of the second Test between England and Pakistan, live from 10am on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event on Sunday.
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