Key events
Jamie Smith’s reaction
It’s a decent enough day for us because the ball was nipping around. Pakistan bowled nicely and showed that, when you take wickets with the new ball, you can put teams under pressure.
I found it tough [at the start of the innings] and it’s been a lean period for me. I was scratching around but once I started to find the middle of the bat [it got easier] and changing the tempo seemed to help today. I felt like I was playing better and better as the innings went on.
Over the winter I had a technical issue with my front foot crossing over. Playing a block of red-ball cricket for Surrey, batting at No 3, helped me rectify that. Then I had to alter my rhythm to bat No 7 in the Test team.
On reflection I should have been more aggressive at Headingley [in the first Test]. When I poke around it’s never the best version of myself.
It’s been nice to work hard at standing up to the stumps with Sarah Taylor. I hadn’t done a lot of it but it’s something I enjoy. It’ll help the team get wickets and that’s the main thing.
Stumps
The umpires have called it a day, so it’s time for the Sky Sports team to have a post-play chat with Jamie Smith.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has made a formal complaint to Sky Sports after it broadcast an interview with Imran Khan’s sons, Kasim and Sulaiman, during its coverage of the first day’s play of the second Test at Lord’s.
During the interview Khan’s children raised concerns about the Pakistan government’s treatment of the country’s former prime minister, who has been held in solitary confinement for the past three years.
Khan’s lawyers have described his living conditions as slow-motion murder, while his sister has claimed he has been tortured while in prison. The 73-year-old was moved to a hospital last week for treatment after a supreme court ruling permitted his temporary release, but has since been returned to prison.
The precise nature of the PCB’s complaint is unknown other than the fact that Sky gave a platform to individuals critical of the government.
Sky has acknowledged the complaint, but declined to comment when contacted by the Guardian.
Bad light stops play
There are a few boos at the umpires’ decision, though nothing particularly mutinous. That isn’t necessarily it for the day – the players need to back on by 7pm. I wouldn’t put the farm on it.
The umpires are checking the light. This rarely ends well.
56th over: England 248-9 (Atkinson 34, Tongue 1) Abbas needs one wicket for a five-for. He almost gets it when Atkinson tries to work the ball to leg and somehow gets a boundary over the slips.
“Many people said that Pakistan lacked their customary spark at Headingley,” writes Zain Malik. “Well, gentlemen, is this enough spark for you? England nine down at Lord’s: three nip-backers, Salman flying in the slips bright, glittering and now sufficiently combustible that the London Fire Brigade may shortly be summoned to St John’s Wood. Any more and the MCC will have to start issuing welding goggles at the Grace Gate.”
You know what they say: don’t call the fire brigade until both teams have batted.
WICKET! England 243-9 (Archer b Abbas 14)
Archer heaves violently across the line, misses and is bowled by Abbas. The end.
55th over: England 237-8 (Atkinson 29, Archer 10) Archer averages 19 with the bat since his return to Test cricket last summer. In the first phase of his Test career, from 2019-21, he averaged only 7.75. Do with those numbers what you will.
54th over: England 235-8 (Atkinson 28, Archer 8) England’s lower-order batters may as well crack on. The lights are on at Lord’s so they’ll be keen to bowl at Pakistan before the close. Well, unless Atkinson and Archer add 400.
Rizwan comes up to the stumps for Archer, who responds with the jauntiest of straight drives for six! That’s a glorious shot. Archer must be close to being promoted above Ollie Robinson in the batting order.
53rd over: England 227-8 (Atkinson 27, Archer 1) Jofra Archer almost runs himself out first ball. He and Atkinson got in a mix-up but Mohammad Abbas’s close-range sidefoot missed the stumps.
The resulting single brought Atkinson back on strike, and he ended the over by lashing a square drive for four. Atkinson is playing well and has charged to 27 from 23 balls.
WICKET! England 222-8 (Robinson b Ali 0)
Two wickets in three balls! Robinson pushes defensively at a cracking delivery that bursts through the gate and flattens the off stump. Just a lovely piece of bowling.
WICKET! England 222-7 (Smith b Ali 61)
Jamie Smith is cleaned up by an excellent delivery from Muhammad Ali. He tried to drive a full ball that snaked back through the gate to violate the stumps in a manner that brooked nol argument. Ali deserves that wicket after a skilful and luckless spell.
52nd over: England 221-6 (Smith 61, Atkinson 22) Ali Usman comes on for Khurram Shahzad, whose bowling figures tell the story of another tough day: 15-0-79-1. The change almost works when Atkinson inside-edges just past the stumps, and picks up three runs to boot. Every little helps.
51st over: England 218-6 (Smith 61, Atkinson 19) Smith rifles Ali down the ground for four, probably the best shot he’s played so far. This is now his highest Test score since he made 184* and 88 against India at Edgbaston last summer.
50th over: England 214-6 (Smith 57, Atkinson 19) Weather permitting, play will continue for another couple of days hours, so this an important session.
Atkinson, who has started aggressively, tries to whip Khurram to leg and gets a leading edge that lands safely in the covers. A crap delivery is slapped past backward point for four more. Atkinson loves batting at Lord’s; he’s scored around 30% of his Test runs on this ground.
49th over: England 202-6 (Smith 54, Atkinson 11) Cox played well but he may reflect that he became a little too becalmed: he scored 17 from his last 67 deliveries. I appreciate it’s not easy.
Atkinson thick edges Ali along the ground for four to bring up England’s 200. It’s been a pretty good recovery from 80 for 4.
48th over: England 198-6 (Smith 54, Atkinson 7) That catch gets better every time you see it. Salman was at full stretch and the ball was almost behind him when he grabbed it.
The rest of the over, alas, is a load of nonsense. Atkinson and Smith both help themselves to boundaries when Khurram strays onto the pads.
Salman Ali Agha, who is on the field as a substitute, has taken a blinder. Cox tried to drive a tempting outswinger from Khurram and edged it wide of second slip. Salman flew to his right and stuck out an arm to clasp a glorious catch, one that will be replayed for a helluva long time.
WICKET! England 187-6 (Cox c sub b Khurram 55)
Jordan Cox falls to an all-timer of a slip catch!
47th over: England 187-5 (Cox 55, Smith 50) Smith has an airy-fairy hook at Ali and is beaten. He has bowled much better than figures of 13-2-50-1 might suggest.
“Loved seeing that Worcs scorecard, Rob, that’s just mad,” writes John Swan. “Great to see Malcolm Nash, of the Sobers 6 sixes, on it, plus some great names – d’OIiveira Senior, Phil Neale, Dipak Patel and Norman Gifford – the latter two reminding us that players have been leaving Worcestershire for other teams since time immemorial!”
Never mind all that manosphere horse pucky. If masculinity really is in crisis, there’s only one thing for it: Scorecard Club. If this is your first night… start trawling Statsguru, or else.
46th over: England 186-5 (Cox 55, Smith 50) Babar returns to the field just in time to see Smith squirt Khurram through point for four. A single off the pads takes him to a quietly emphatic fifty from just 63 balls.
“It’s good to see Smith getting some runs,” writes Tom Van der Gucht. “I wonder about the impact that selecting him as an all-format player – and trying to remould him as an opener – may have had on his technique and confidence, leading to his recent slump in form. It must hard to bounce between the two roles. There’s not many Gilchrists or Bairstows in the world. Fingers crossed he’ll be back to his best and he won’t be cursed by my email and be out before I hit send.”
45th over: England 181-5 (Cox 55, Smith 45) Babar Azam is off the field so Saud Shakeel is in charge for a bit. Muhammad Ali continues after tea and beats Cox with a textbook channel delivery.
Tim de Lisle, who will be in the OBO chair tomorrow, has sent in a couple of excellent spots about Jordan Cox’s innings.
“By making consecutive Test fifties at No 3, Cox has done something Jacob Bethell has yet to do.
“And he made 38 off his first 38 balls, so it’s been 17 off 64 since. And not in a bad way!”
On the subject of England No3s who hit the ground scoring fifties, here’s Ian Jeffroy.
While it’s not a valid answer to your question, followers of a certain vintage will look back and remember the following with a far-off look in their eyes… 50, 45, 73, 92, 39, 66, 106.
The bank clerk who went to war.
There’s a piece in the archive from the great Rob Bagchi, too, so that’s the tea break sorted.
Tea
44th over: England 180-5 (Cox 55, Smith 44) A quiet over from Khurram ends a decent afternoon session for England. They scored exactly 100 in 26 overs for the loss of Dan Lawrence, who was run out to the sound of the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme. Bom bom bom…
The impressive Jordan Cox made a serene 55 not out, while Jamie Smith punished anything loose to race to 44 not out.
Jamie Smith scored 7 from his first 26 balls; he’s added 37 from the last 23.
43rd over: England 177-5 (Cox 54, Smith 44) Smith clips Ali for two to bring up a rapid fifty partnership. Ali screams in frustration when Smith edges a boundary between second slip and gully; he’s had no luck in this spell.
“Passing quickly over Phil Crockford’s sharply saucy rejoinder, what a splendid description of Smith’s boundary off Usman (over 40) – and I trust you meant defiles through the covers rather than defies?” says Brian Withington. “In poor imitation I can only offer insinuates past gully, mullers over mid-wicket and sullies through the slips.”
England have done a fair bit of sullying today.
42nd over: England 167-5 (Cox 54, Smith 34) Khurram Shahzad returns in place of Ali Usman. Smith plays a slightly woolly defensive stroke to his first ball, which bounces back over the stumps. Nothing woolly about the next delivery: Smith larrups it through the covers for four. A clip for three takes Smith to 34 from 43 deliveries, a low-key reminder of just how dangerous he can be.
“My favourite genre of your OBO posts are when you link to an old Cricinfo scorecard,” says Edmund Bannister. “For me those that are older in time and further away in distance geographically are particularly enjoyable. Keep up the good work old sport.”
Edmund, old boy, you are cordially invited to cop a load of this Worcestershire innings. It has no relevance to today’s game but just look at it.
41st over: England 158-5 (Cox 54, Smith 25) Cox is beaten by successive jaffas from Cox. The first straightened sharply from a length, the second burst past Cox’s nose. An extremely good maiden over.
“Hi Rob,” writes Phil Crockford. “This is the first time that both England batters have been varieties of apple since… the previous wicket. The St. Lawrence apple is, Google tells me, a variety of apple created in the 19th century in Montreal.”
40th over: England 158-5 (Cox 54, Smith 25) Smith defiles Usman through the covers for four more. After a dry spell of 18 runs in 12 overs, England have bashed 29 in the last three.
39th over: England 151-5 (Cox 53, Smith 19) Mohammad Abbas (13-3-38-3) is replaced by Muhammad Ali. His second delivery stings like a butterfly: it’s on the pads, a piece of nonsense really, and Smith helps himself to four through midwicket.
Ali tightens his line as the over progresses. Smith is beaten, trying to drive, and then edges past the diving Rizwan for four. Rizwan should have taken that – he dived past the ball, which you don’t see too often, and he was too deep in the first place.
38th over: England 142-5 (Cox 53, Smith 11) The hitherto immaculate Ali Usman bowls successive long hops to Cox, who pulls both for four to reach a mature half-century from 88 balls. He’s the first England men’s player to make a fifty in his first two Test innings at No3 since… Ravi Bopara in 2009.
Usman has suddenly lost the plot, or at least his length. Another half tracker is banjoed to the cover boundary by Smith. Usman’s first six overs cost 11 runs; the seventh has disappeared for 13.
37th over: England 129-5 (Cox 44, Smith 7) A maiden from Abbas to Smith. He’s making England work for every dot ball, never mind every run, by giving them almost nothing they can leave.
“With due credit to Totes McGotes over at the nefarious bed of infamy that is CCLive!, when was the last time England had a partnership involving two varieties of apple (apart from the last time these two batted together)?” chomps Brian Withington. “Or any other fruit for that matter – let the OBO hive mind loose, I say.”
I’m still reeling from the description of our county cricker blog as a nefarious bed of infamy.
36th over: England 129-5 (Cox 44, Smith 7) Smith feels tentatively for a beauty from Usman and edges it just wide of slip. The ball runs away for England’s first boundary since the 21st over. They’re stonewalling on Bazball’s grave!
On Sky Sports, Dinesh Karthik highlights why Pakistan’s slip cordon should be a lot closer to the bat. For a second I thought he was going to belt out the refrain to Transatlanticism by Death Cab.
(NB: Clip contains adult language. Probably, I can’t remember.)