England vs Pakistan: Joe Root's side reduced to 248-9 in rain-affected first day of second Test at Lord's
Pakistan reduced England to 248-9 on day one of the second Test at Lord's; Joe Root and England's top order struggled to score, while Jamie Smith and Jordan Cox made half-centuries; watch day two live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.15am on Friday
Thursday 27 August 2026 20:05, UK
Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ali starred with the ball as Pakistan took advantage of overcast conditions at Lord's to reduce England to 248-9 on day one of the second Test.
A deluge of rain postponed play until 12.20pm on Thursday afternoon, and much like the weather, England's day got off to a dreary start, with the hosts going 3-36 after just 10.3 overs, after Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl.
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After a week dominated by England's latest off-field incident involving bowler Brydon Carse, captain Joe Root's mood would not have lifted much as he was dismissed on Thursday by Abbas for just four runs.
That was further compounded by the cheap dismissals of Ben Duckett (17) and Emilio Gay (8), who were also snared by Abbas.
Abbas would take figures of 4-56 in, while Ali returned 3-67, producing three sensational 'nip-backers' to remove Harry Brook (15) as well as Jamie Smith (61) and Ollie Robinson (0).
With captain Babar Azam back in the side, Pakistan produced a much-improved performance from their innings and 103-run defeat at Headingley last week. But issues remain with Pakistan's fielding, with Mohammad Rizwan and his slips standing far too deep behind the wicket and saw multiple chances drop short in front of them.
England, meanwhile, rallied as the weather began to improve, with Jordan Cox (55) hitting back-to-back half-centuries, while Smith also brought up his fifty after what's been a lean period for the wicketkeeper-batsman.
"I was trying to ride the wave a little bit," Smith told Sky Sports.
"It is not the most free-scoring at times here - you can feel a bit out of rhythm but then catch up.
"I felt I scratched around at the start, but once I found the middle of the bat, it was slightly different to how I usually play, which is almost at top tempo to start with.
"That seemed to help today."
Gus Atkinson (34no) also performed well at the crease, and will return on Friday morning alongside Josh Tongue (1no), after play was suspended at 6.10pm on Thursday due to bad light, before the umpires chose not to return to the field.
Abbas gets Pakistan off to a flying start
After taking only one wicket against England at Headingley, Abbas was in prolific form on Thursday, first dismissing Gay with the help of the agile reflexes of Rizwan, who dived down the leg side to glove an edge from the Durham batter.
Pakistan had come close to dismissing Duckett early in the first over, with the England opener edging a ball out to the slips but the ball did not carry.
Duckett would face 20 deliveries before Abbas finally had him pinned lbw. The decision was initially given not out, looking like it was bouncing over the stumps, but Abbas was convinced it was plum, and he was proven right thanks to a successful review.
Root then arrived at the crease and initially rode his luck, with Imam-ul-Haq shelling an edge from the skipper at third slip, before Usman came close to taking a catch on the edge of the slip cordon.
In the next over, Abbas swung a ball into Root's leg stump, with the England captain unable to get his bat to the ball in time, as he was dismissed lbw.
Brook then entered the fray and angrily smashed Ali for four through square leg on his first delivery. But his stay at the crease was short-lived, with Brook skittled by a beauty from Ali, who jagged the ball back into his off stump, in what was perhaps the delivery of the day.
England dig in after lunch
England found themselves 80-4 at lunch and in need of some stability, which came to a degree in the form of a partnership of 43 between Cox and Dan Lawrence, before the latter was run out following a bizarre mix up.
Cox hit seven boundaries on his way to his half-century, and after a couple of good starts with Brook and Lawrence, he and Smith set about mounting a score, with the pair posting a stand of 67 off 97 deliveries.
It was a moment of brilliance, though, from Salman Agha that broke the partnership, with the Pakistan all-rounder diving in the air to take a spectacular one-handed catch off an edge from Cox.
Smith would follow, with Ali taking both his and Ollie Robinson's wickets with two stunning nip-backers in the space of three deliveries.
Archer was the last of the England batters to be dismissed by Abbas, but not before he slogged a six back into the Lord's Pavilion, with Abbas later removing his bails before the players left the field.
Watch day two of England's second Test match against Pakistan at Lord's live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.15pm on Friday. Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream no contract
