Pakistan win first test

Wednesday 20th July 2016 08:04 EDT
 
 

Mohammad Amir completed his return to Test cricket by taking the final wicket of first test match as Pakistan beat England by 75 runs on the fourth day of their series opener at Lord's on Sunday.

England, set 283 for victory, were bowled out for 207 in the last session of the day. Leg-spinner Yasir Shah took four for 69 for a match haul of 10 for 141 in his first Test outside of Asia and the United Arab Emirates. Left-arm quick Amir, at the scene of his 2010 spot-fixing crime, ended the match when he bowled last man Jake Ball.

This match also saw England paceman Chris Woakes take Test best match figures of 11for 102. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq had earlier become the oldest Test century-maker for 82 years when the 42-year-old, in his first Test at Lord's, made 114 in his side's first innings of 339.

Victory saw Pakistan go 1-0 up in the four-match series ahead of the second Test at Old Trafford starting on Friday. Pakistan celebrated their victory with an unusual celebration when the squad performed a series of press-ups. Misbah-ul-Haq's side went on an army boot camp before the tour to improve their poor fitness, and batsman Younis Khan led the squad in performing a routine of press ups followed by a salute in front of the ground's famous pavilion.

Misbah, 42, had celebrated in similar fashion on the opening day after reaching a hundred that helped set up his team's 75-run win.

At tea England were 155 for six needing a further 128 runs to reach their victory target of 283.

Jonny Bairstow (28 not out) and all-rounder Chris Woakes (five not out) -who had already taken 11 wickets in this match -were still at the crease but with just the tail to come. The most England had ever made before to win in the fourth innings of a Lord's Test was 282 for three against New Zealand in 2004.

If England achieve their target in this match, it would be the second-highest such chase in a Lord's Test behind the West Indies' 344 for one back in 1984.

Earlier, Pakistan's Rahat Ali removed England's top three batsmen in a breathless pre-lunch session that saw the hosts score 90 runs in 22 overs.

Stokes, Anderson and Rashid return for second Test

Having conceded the first Test to Pakistan, England will be boosted in their quest for series parity at Old Trafford, as James Anderson, the fast-bowling spearhead, all-rounder Ben Stokes and leg spinner Adil Rashid have been added to the ranks for the second Test, which begins on July 22.

Anderson and Stokes had missed the bus for the first game by a whisker due to fitness issues but performed at full tilt for their county sides Lancashire and Durham respectively. Rashid's inclusion perhaps stems from Yasir Shah's success in the first game, and could tempt the England think-tank to pick him ahead of Moeen Ali, on a traditionally dry surface in Manchester.

Toby-Roland Jones, the Middlesex pacer who was part of the squad for the first Test, will join up with the England Lions for the tri-series involving A teams of Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

England squad for Old Trafford Test: Alastair Cook (captain), Alex Hales, Joe Root, Gary Ballance, James Vince, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Jake Ball, Steven Finn.


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