The Lord’s Test between England and Pakistan was very refreshing. The standard of cricket was pretty high. Whether also complemented the match, the cricket surprisingly matched the weather. After being upset by Pakistan at Lord’s, the England national cricket team will looks to bounce back against Pakistan as the second Test series begins this Friday in Manchester.
England’s defeat in the first Test was particularly disturbing as struggles came from both the bat and the bowlers. After Alastair Cook scored 81 in England’s first innings, no other English batter scored over 50 for the rest of the match.
Alastair Cook said as much, it showed them what they have to do to beat good teams. Alastair Cook also said that he will use the memory of the Pakistan team’s celebration as motivation ahead of the second Test, which starts from Friday at Old Trafford.
According to foreign media reports, coach Trevor Bayliss said, “Our batters have to play their spin a lot better,” “Especially in the first innings, I felt we gifted him a few wickets with shots I’m sure the boys would like to replay.”
The English hope Ben Stokes’ return reenergizes the lineup. The 25-year-old all-rounder return marks a hopeful spark in the batting order; it also signifies a change in strategy for England’s bowling. This is clearly evident by the addition of James Anderson and Adil Rashid. Anderson is returning after suffering a stress fracture on his right shoulder blade while Rashid is possibly challenging Moeen Ali, who struggled in the first Test, for the front-line spinner spot.
Meanwhile the return of Anderson, who is England’s all-time wicket taker, will give the English a stable leader among the bowlers. Anderson was previously atop the Test bowler table and was knocked down to the three spot by Shah’s rise.
One of the unsung Pakistani heroes of the match was Mohammad Amir. After serving a five-year suspension due to spot fixing in 2010, Amir’s return to Lord’s was one of the main actions going into the first Test. In an almost movie-like finish, Amir was the one to close out the match by claiming the final wicket.
The second Test will be played at Old Trafford starting on Friday at 11 a.m. local time and 6 a.m. ET.
Comments
Comments are closed.