Duckett century but England collapse in Multan
Pakistan v England, Multan — Day 2
PAKISTAN 366 all out
ENGLAND 239–6 (trail by 127 runs)
Act One: Resistance the best form of attack for Pakistan
Today’s first session of play can be easily summarised as one of England dominance for an hour before a dogged rear guard partnership edged Pakistan to the first of their morning targets and an arguable par score of 350. On a wicket of ever growing unpredictability the hosts lost both overnight not out batsmen (Mohammad Rizwan for 41 and Salman Ali Agha for 31) and by the mid-session break for drinks had taken their Day 1 score of 259–5 to 309–7 and were in serious danger of falling short of their basic, first target. Jack Leach’s fourth delivery after the hourly break saw Sajid Khan drive a simple catch into the hands of a close-in Joe Root and now 309–8, Pakistan were ripe for collapse and England’s three front line bowlers of Leach, Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts each had a wicket to their name and only two more stood between them and the skittling of their hosts for a lowly below par 1st innings total.
An hour, and a partnership of 49 runs between Aamir Jamal and Noman Ali later, the spoils for the opening session were equally shared as the players trooped from a Multan field slowly seeing sunshine for the first time today and far more importantly, from a now 7 day old wicket showing real signs of low bounce deterioration and a tangible offering of spin. Jamal and Ali had batted beautifully and faultlessly for near on an hour to take their team total past their minimum target this morning of 350 to an eventual 358–8 and if it was honours even on the day’s play so far, the state of this Test Match at the Lunch Break mirrored that too.
We have a “live” and competitive game of cricket on our hands!
Act Two: The 3 cricketing lives of Zak Crawley
Although the morning heroics were lost in a first ball dismissal after the Lunch Break and the addition of just 8 further runs, both Aamir Jamal and Noman Ali had completed their emergency stint with the bat for their team and a Pakistan team truly in the game with a 1st innings total of 366 all out. A little too eager perhaps or even excitable, their bowlers were another word beginning with the letter e in a session utterly dominated by England: erratic. Any loose wayward bowling was pounced on enthusiastically by the visiting opening batsmen Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett and whilst the left handed Duckett raced to a 47 ball half century and 53 not out at the Tea Break, his tall right handed partner at the other end was the recipient of two extra cricketing “lives” before third time became unlucky for the 26 year old from Kent.
Not as free flowing as the constantly sweeping and free scoring Duckett, Crawley inched his way to 20 in a quick fire 50 run partnership before calling for a lost cause of a run, stumbling and hesitating mid-wicket and out by the proverbial mile by the time he scrambled and dived full length back into his crease. Pakistani spin bowler Sajid Khan, whose evening was to become infinity more enjoyable than his afternoon, broke the wickets with his hands and arm rather than the ball before celebrating rather than acknowledging his own schoolboy error and removing a stump from the ground to complete the run out. 4 runs later, Sajid Khan had his man again, this time via a close LBW call going in his favour only for the batsman to receive a reprieve from the TV Umpire on referral but 3 runs later, Crawley’s luck finally ran out. The lightest of scratches from his bat into the gloved hands of Mohammad Rizwan went largely undetected except Salman Ali Agha at 1st Slip who persuaded captain Shan Masood to refer the on field decision of not out to the TV Umpire, and Crawley’s race was run at the third time of asking.
An otherwise dominant England rested at the Tea Break on 88–1, trailing by 278 runs.
Act Three: “Duckett’s love affair with Pakistan continues”
Oh the joys of Test Match cricket! I’ve long championed this game, this grand old game, and one I’ve loved since childhood because of my beautiful parents and my own minor sporting achievements and memories. The shorter form(s) of the game are now firmly and dominant in the eyes of a sporting public demanding, presumably, quicker and more entertaining fare in coloured clothing under floodlights, a DJ booming recognisable world wide musical hits at every break in play. Today, and to the backdrop of just a few hundred spectators including a large travelling party from England and an even larger contingent of local schoolchildren, it was “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba and “Skyfall” by Adele and England’s sporting sky fell not in coloured pyjama clothing in a 20 overs a side smash and crash for the highest total of runs, but in the whites of Test Match cricket, and on a second day of five they were completely dominating until an all too familiar collapse of yesteryear returned to hand over advantage to Pakistan by day’s end. One team is so on top as to seemingly control the destiny of the next day if not the Test Match entire. Then an hour or so of sporting magnificence from the other team arrives to throw the entire match skyward. But this is getting ahead of ourselves.
Oh the joys of Test Match cricket!
Commencing on 53 not out, Ben Duckett raced to the 90’s before tip-toeing his way to a magnificent, truly magnificent risk free, chance free, century, and although he lost Ollie Pope and Joe Root for partners along the way, at 224–3, he and England were ahead of the game, controlling its destiny even, and only 142 runs adrift of Pakistan’s 1st innings total. Smiling and laughing with new batting partner Harry Brook, ex England captain Michael Atherton remarked he was “enjoying himself” on TV co-commentary and then, as it so often does, the “commentators curse” struck. Just a handful of seconds later and from the very next delivery received from Sajid Khan, Duckett slashed a thick edge into the hands of Salman Ali Agha at 1st Slip and from 224–3, England quickly collapsed to 225–6 losing Duckett, Brook and captain Ben Stokes for just 1 run in the space of just 7 deliveries. Sajid Khan hadn’t just paid his teammates back for his thoughtless error in the afternoon session, he’d taken 3 of the 4 wickets in total to fall and with Noman Ali quickly sending Stokes back to the Pavilion, Pakistan, so out of the Test Match with England cruising at 224–3, were now threatening to run through the remaining 4 England wickets by the close of play and now in firm control of the match. From being out played and dominated to arguable favourites, oh the joys of Test Match cricket!
So where does this leave the match after 2 days?
England resume in the morning on 239–6 with their last recognised batsman Jamie Smith 12 not out with only Brydon Carse (2 not out) and bowlers Matthew Potts, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir to come. Still adrift by 127 runs on 1st innings, England’s late afternoon advantage has become Pakistan’s early evening dominant position entering Day 3. With a used wicket deteriorating if not rapidly but slowly and certainly, I can’t see this Test Match entering a fifth day and so tomorrow is incredibly vital for both teams. If Smith can cajole and guide his bowlers to anywhere near Pakistan’s 1st innings total, then we have a real Test Match on our hands. If the hosts can knock over England’s final 4 wickets cheaply and hold a lead of 75 runs entering the second innings, Pakistan will be firm favourites to win their first Test Match on home soil since 2022.
See you in the morning!
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Thanks for reading. I hope this message in a bottle in The Matrix finds you well, prospering, and the right way up in an upside down world.