ENGLAND TOIL AT EDGBASTON

PAKISTAN MAKE MOST OF DECISION TO BOWL FIRST

England’s soft underbelly shows some mettle

Pakistan had claimed to be working on new plans for Alastair Cook and Joe Root. The visitors will have been delighted to see both back in the pavilion before lunch. But with the two big guns gone, Pakistan were faced with a spirited middle-order resistance from two of England’s most under pressure players.

James Vince and Gary Ballance put on 69 for the fourth wicket. Vince played confidently for his 39 and looked relatively comfortable – as he has done so many times this summer – before Sohail Khan made him his third victim of the piece.

By the time Sarfraz took a smart catch down the legside off Yasir’s bowling, the Yorkshire batsman (70) had registered his highest score of the series. Today’s innings has lifted his summer average to 35.50 against a career figure of 46.06.

Stats from the day

England have never lost against Pakistan at Edgbaston, winning four, drawing three.

The hosts have also not lost at home when batting first since 2012, winning 11 and drawing twice.

However, at Edgbaston, no team has won batting first since Edgbaston 2005.

Something has to give...

One step forward

And the a couple back, or so it must feel for Alex Hales.

When Nick Compton’s first spell as an England player was curtailed, the Middlesex batsman had played nine matches and batted out 17 innings. His return 479 runs at 31.93 scoring two hundreds.

Before Hales took to the Edgbaston turf his Test record also read nine matches and 17 innings with comparable figures of 484 runs at 28.47 - but yet to register a hundred – despite scoring in the eighties twice and posting a highest score of 94.

Today’s 17 won’t have gone too far to boosting the opener’s confidence. He is finding the Pakistan attack a far trickier task – averaging 14.60 against Amir and Co. – compared to 58.40 against Angelo Mathews’ team.

That said the delivery Khan produced would have been too good for most. Hales’ time is certainly nowhere near being up, but men before him have been put out to pasture for less.

Having a player like Hales opening is a bit like sending your most eccentric mate to the bar, you don’t know what shots are going to come out but it definitely won’t be boring.

Shot of the day

Rahat Ali lumbers in and puts it in Alastair Cook’s zone. Willow meets ball and Cook’s wrists do the rest guiding the Dukes for four via square leg.

The England captain could not muster his 51^st Test fifty today but one area that is on an upward trajectory is his strike rate. Not known for his rapid accumulation of runs, Cook’s strike rate against Pakistan this series is 72.08 against a career 46.83.

Ball of the day

Sohail Khan’s Test figures prior to today read 1 for 245 across two Tests – against Sri Lanka in 2009 and Zimbabwe in 2011. Today’s five-for has arrested his average from 245.00 to a lowly 56.83. Moving in the right direction...

His delivery to Alex Hales was a snorter. Slightly full, luring the batsman into the shot, shaped away from the right-hander and kissed the edge.

Highlights from day one...

 

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