Key events
52nd over: England 188-9 (Archer 0, Tongue 1) Abbas gets Robinson straight away to get that elusive Lord’s five-fer – a word for Rizwan’s sharp keeping too – and suddenly England’s last pair are at the crease. Tongue gets off the mark with a square drive for one but he’ll be thinking of his imminent bowling duties now.
Wicket! Robinson c Rizwan b Abbas 8, England 187-9
Abbas has five! The Lord’s five-fer he deserved in a winning cause in 2018 has finally arrived in a likely losing one here, seaming one beautifully away from Robinson who edges to Rizwan standing up behind the stumps.
51st over: England 187-8 (Robinson 8, Archer 0) Robinson drives Ali to mid-off for one. There remains plenty of nibble and movement but Ali’s radar is awry, straying repeatedly down the legside.
50th over: England 186-8 (Robinson 7, Archer 0) As discussed, Rizwan is up to the stumps for Abbas v Lawrence, and it works just fine, as Lawrence is promptly castled, driving on the up at a nip-backer. Archer wants to get off the mark straight away but wisely thinks better of a quick single, and a wicket maiden is played out, Abbas tantalisingly close to finally getting on that honours board.
Wicket! Lawrence b Abbas 54, England 186-8
Abbas has four! He skilfully nips one back down the slope, and Lawrence can only inside-edge it on to his stumps, and his fine innings ends swiftly this morning.
49th over: England 186-7 (Lawrence 54, Robinson 7) Ali gets some movement outside off against Robinson, which will please the England bowler, who clatters a soft bouncer next ball through midwicket for two. At Ali’s pace, these are easy pickings.
Here’s our old mate John Starbuck: “Good morning. One thing I’ve noticed lately, particularly as we’re playing Pakistan, that the raging debates are still changing. I recall a time when every one was talking about reverse swing (a Pakistan invention, pretty much), but then it moved on to other techniques, such as wobble seam, and is now all about the keeper standing up for seamers to intimidate batters to stay in their crease. There must be some sort of law which states that, for instance, every third Test series brings innovation. What do you reckon?”
I think tactical language in all sports goes through phases – who in football talked of transitions, high presses and low blocks three decades ago? – and it’s the same in cricket, without the game changing that much. And I think keepers standing up may be quite an England-specific thing.
48th over: England 182-7 (Lawrence 54, Robinson 3) Mohammad Abbas, who has performed well here and remains a fine bowler to watch, starts us off at the Pavilion End. After four dots, Robinson nudges one off his hips for the day’s first single. It brings Lawrence to the strike and he promptly crunches a square cut to the ropes at the Grandstand for four.
47th over: England 177-7 (Lawrence 50, Robinson 2) Mohammad Ali bowls the remaining ball of his over to Lawrence, who plays an orthodox forward defensive. No run.
Out they come. England bat on. A better day for batting is the overall vibe, England not bothering with the roller.
A shimmer of light for Pakistan is that Imam Ul-Haq has been seen taking some throwdowns, albeit that he’s still hobbling and his left calf is strapped. So we might yet see him doing a Chris Woakes in the closing stages of the Test.
Our first email of the day, and it’s more stance-talk, from Alisdair Gould:
I think Joe Root is too side on. Vic Marks – a good observer – suggests he change his guard to middle stump. Dan Lawrence is an obvious example of opening wide almost too far. What do you/other good observers think?
I can’t see myself going up to one of England’s greatest ever batters and saying, “mate, you don’t wanna do it like that,” after the career he’s had. Root’s success has always struck me as rooted (ha!) in the skilful and dextrous way he uses his hands. Though you could see Lawrence’s approach being used against him by more aggressive attacks than Pakistan’s.
Today’s timings
Here’s today’s attempt at a timetable. Good luck with that:
Lunch 1.15-1.55pm; tea 4.10-4.30pm. Close will be 6.30pm (for which read 7pm) and 98 overs are planned.
Interesting bit of tactical chat on Sky between Michael Atherton and Dan Lawrence, who explains how changing to a more mobile, almost antsy, back-and-across trigger movement has actually helped him keep his head still and opened up more shots. And he’s happier batting at No 6 than higher up, though No 5 is his ultimate fave, which is obviously currently locked down bt Harry Brook. Lawrence can do a job in South Africa this winter, nonetheless.
News from elsewhere: it’s been a frustrating, rain-flecked few days in the County Championship too, leaving all matches still live going into today’s final day, including an only-in-cricket close of play situation at Chester-le-Street, where Durham’s players went off for an early night (we trust) needing only four runs to polish off Gloucestershire. Tanya Aldred will be calling that match home, and all the others, through the day. Join her here.
Here’s Ali Martin’s day three report:
It was one of those days at Lord’s. Rain meant just 24.5 overs were bowled and England’s already dominant position in this second Test meant overall jeopardy was in short supply. The spectators got a 50% refund but this only mildly offset their general frustration of following a sport that is so weather-dependent.
Yet for all this, it may in time prove a significant one for Dan Lawrence. During the two hours of play that were possible, and in hugely challenging conditions for the batters, Lawrence delivered an unbeaten 50 off 66 balls that cut through the gloom and showed his desire to make this latest stab at Test cricket count.
When the umpires eventually abandoned play at 6.32pm – bad light the official reason, despite arguably the best viewing conditions of the day – England had reached 177 for seven and their lead had swelled to 357 runs. Pakistan’s head coach, Sarfaraz Ahmed, hoped to keep the target under 350 after his side’s blowout on day two and Joe Root’s refreshed attack will be licking their lips.
And a bit of Dan Lawrence’s reaction, when he admits taking a risk with some “whooshka” first up, before settling into a nice groove. And how his mentality has changed since returning to the England setup:
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“Thoughts creep into your head and I’m desperate along with all the other boys to establish myself in an England shirt. It’s just about trying to take every opportunity you get instead of feeling nervous about the occasion, just have fun and play the cricket that’s got me here this summer …
“I got wrapped up in a lot of things [when he was previously in the team, against Sri Lanka two years ago] and I was thinking about my position and what I needed to do to stay in the team, instead of just enjoying it and realising how lucky I am to play for England,” he said.
“My mentality since coming back has been completely different. Hopefully, we get a good series win and then we’ll see what happens in the coming months and years.”
Preamble
Morning everyone. And after a day savoured by my parched lawn much more than those who’d paid top dollar for Lord’s tickets, England remain primed, accompanied by a slightly better weather forecast than yesterday’s, to wrap up that first Test series win for 20 months against a bedraggled Pakistan.
Let’s face it, they’ve got enough runs in the bank already, leading by 357, and Joe Root will have been pondering an overnight declaration. All will be revealed shortly. If the England captain does call his batters in, that will be a slight shame for Dan Lawrence, who batted with great authority yesterday in difficult conditions to reach his second half-century of the series, another Bazball discard reasserting himself in the new era. (And the only England cricketer as far as I know to have gone to the same school as me – some years apart I hasten to add.)
Anyway, according to the weather boffins there’s only a 3% chance of rain at 11am, though it does trend up a little after that. So let’s wrap our cagoules around our waists and hope for the best.
Play starts: 11am BST.