England take full control at Lord’s: Pakistan bowled out for 110, hosts’ lead grows to 261
After the second day of the second Test against Pakistan at Lord’s in London, England moved into an extremely favourable position to win and secure the series early. Pakistan were bowled out for just 110 runs in their first innings on Friday, 28 August, after England had previously reached 290. The hosts therefore gained a lead of 180 runs and then, before play was stopped because of bad light, reached 81/3 in their second innings to extend the overall margin to 261. According to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s official report, only 70 overs were played during the second day because of a passing shower and a later deterioration in visibility, but even in the shortened programme England managed to take a huge step towards a second consecutive victory.
Ollie Robinson played the key role in the complete collapse of Pakistan’s batting line-up, finishing with four wickets for just 11 runs conceded in 13 overs, including six maiden overs. Jofra Archer added three wickets for 26, while Josh Tongue took two for 27. Pakistan lasted 37.2 overs in total, and the only batter who managed to build a more substantial innings was 21-year-old Azan Awais with 46 runs from 102 balls. Saud Shakeel added 16, while nobody else in Pakistan’s line-up reached double figures.
Robinson and Archer suffocated Pakistan’s first innings
Pakistan went into the innings weakened because Imam-ul-Haq was unable to bat after suffering a calf injury during the first day. The Pakistan board announced that it was a mild strain of the left calf confirmed by a scan and that his further participation in the Test depended on his recovery. As a result, Shan Masood opened the innings with Awais, but the early phase immediately showed how difficult things would be for the visitors against England’s pace attack. Archer removed Masood, Tongue dismissed Abdullah Shafique, and Pakistan went to lunch with only 16 runs.
The return of Babar Azam, who missed the first Test because of a finger injury, did not bring the stability Pakistan were looking for. Tongue dismissed the captain in the 17th over, after which Awais and Shakeel briefly slowed the fall of wickets. Their 33-run partnership lasted a little more than five overs before Robinson trapped Shakeel leg-before wicket and opened the way for the final collapse. According to the PCB, Pakistan lost their last five wickets for just 37 runs in 44 balls, which best illustrates how quickly the innings fell apart after a brief period of resistance.
Robinson’s performance is particularly important in the context of the entire series. In the first Test at Headingley, he was player of the match after overall figures of 8/80, while England won by an innings and 103 runs. His 4/11 at Lord’s is therefore not an isolated flash, but a continuation of a series in which he has consistently hit a good length and forced Pakistan’s batters into decisions under pressure. Combined with Archer’s pace, Tongue’s variations and Gus Atkinson’s discipline, England once again demonstrated the depth of a pace attack that leaves the opposition very few easy periods in which to consolidate.
Archer was also important because of the way he accelerated the pace of the attack. British media reported that during the day he regularly exceeded 90 miles per hour, or approximately 145 kilometres per hour, while his fastest deliveries were even quicker. Sheer speed was not Pakistan’s only problem: Archer combined pace with an accurate line, creating pressure that the other England bowlers then exploited. Robinson, on the other hand, worked with different weapons, controlling the movement of the ball and bowling economically, so Pakistan were forced to respond to two very different kinds of threat.
Awais the only one to find a way to mount serious resistance
In such an innings, Awais’s 46 runs take on additional value. The young left-handed batter stayed at the crease while wickets fell at the other end and struck seven fours, while according to available reports he spent almost three hours in the middle. His innings did not change the result, but it demonstrated discipline against an attack that had already seriously restricted Pakistan in the first Test. Awais eventually tried to accelerate against Robinson and finished four runs short of a half-century.
For Pakistan, a bigger problem than the total of 110 itself is the fact that almost nobody managed to form a sufficiently long partnership. In Test cricket, a poor run of several overs does not have to be decisive if one or two pairs manage to stabilise the innings, but that did not happen at Lord’s. Awais was at the centre of almost every attempt at recovery, while the more experienced players returned to the dressing room too quickly. Imam’s injury further shortened the line-up, but the scale of the collapse still cannot be explained by a single absence alone.
Pakistan’s situation is particularly difficult because it comes immediately after a convincing defeat in Leeds. In the first Test, England won by an innings and 103 runs, and after that match the ICC stated that Pakistan had fallen to the bottom of the 2025-2027 World Test Championship standings with a points percentage of 19.05. The second Test is also part of the same WTC cycle, so the result at Lord’s has consequences beyond the bilateral series itself. Another possible defeat would further reduce Pakistan’s room for recovery during the remainder of the qualification cycle.
England had earlier recovered to 290 after first-day problems
The hosts’ complete control looks even more significant when one considers that England did not have an easy first innings. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first, and Mohammad Abbas exploited the conditions early to put England in serious trouble. The hosts slipped to 36/3 on the first day, with Abbas removing Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett and Joe Root in a short spell. Nevertheless, the middle and lower order gradually managed to restore the balance.
Jamie Smith scored 61, Jordan Cox 55, and Gus Atkinson 45 runs. England ended the first day on 248/9, leaving Pakistan with a realistic opportunity to wrap up the innings quickly in the morning and keep the deficit at an acceptable level. Instead, England’s last pair, Atkinson and Tongue, added 47 runs for the tenth wicket. Tongue remained unbeaten on 30 from 48 balls, which according to reports was his best score in Test cricket, while Atkinson was the final batter dismissed with 45 from 46 balls.
That partnership had double value. It brought England an additional 42 runs on the second morning and lifted the total to 290, but at the same time extended the amount of time Pakistan spent in the field before beginning their own innings. In a match in which the conditions were assisting the seam bowlers, every extra run increased the pressure on Pakistan’s line-up. Abbas finished with very good figures of 4/73 and Mohammad Ali with 3/87, but the advantage Pakistan had built through early wickets on the first day was not converted into a sufficiently low England total.
Khurram hit back with two early wickets, but England retained the initiative
After making only 110 themselves, Pakistan nevertheless found a brief period in which they could once again complicate the match. Khurram Shahzad dismissed Duckett for one run as early as the second over of England’s second innings, and then in the following over struck Cox on the pads and won a leg-before wicket decision. England therefore slipped to 13/2, showing that the pitch and conditions could still be used to create problems even with a large lead on the scoreboard.
Joe Root and Emilio Gay responded with a 47-run partnership for the third wicket. Root made 24 before Mohammad Ali dismissed him leg-before wicket, while Gay remained unbeaten on 30 from 69 balls with six fours. Harry Brook ended the day on seven runs from 13 balls. When bad light stopped play, England were 81/3 after 22 overs, with an overall lead of 261 runs.
For Pakistan, Khurram’s two early wickets were an important reminder that mathematically the match was not yet over. However, the context of the score remains highly unfavourable for the visitors: even if they were to remove England’s remaining seven batters quickly, they would need to produce a far better second innings than their first simply to put themselves in a position to threaten the hosts. England, on the other hand, can choose the pace at which they build their lead and adjust it to the weather, the condition of the pitch and the amount of time remaining in the Test.
Root’s second captaincy era has so far begun without a mistake in the results
The series against Pakistan also marks a new phase for England’s Test team. Joe Root was reappointed captain following Ben Stokes’s international retirement, while the ECB selected Stephen Fleming as the new long-term coach of the Test side. Fleming will take up the role fully after the series against Pakistan, while Marcus Trescothick is interim head coach for these three matches. Even before the start of the series, the ECB stressed that the matches at Headingley, Lord’s and Edgbaston were part of a new era for the team.
The first result under Root’s renewed leadership was highly convincing. At Headingley, England made 409 after Pakistan’s 171 and then bowled the visitors out for 135 in the second innings. Robinson took eight wickets in total, while Tongue was also among the main leaders of the attack. Such a start increased the pressure on Pakistan before their arrival in London, and the events of the second day at Lord’s further highlighted the difference between the two teams in their current form.
Pakistan arrived in London with the important return of Babar Azam. Ahead of the Test, the ICC reported that the captain assessed his fitness at around 90 percent after the finger injury he suffered before the first match. His inclusion was supposed to bring experience and quality to the middle order, but England’s pace attack has so far prevented that return from turning into a turnaround on the scoreboard. Imam’s additional injury during the first day further narrowed Pakistan’s options.
The third day could decide the series
The match at Lord’s is the second of three Tests, with the third scheduled to begin on 9 September at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Since England already lead 1-0, victory in London would give them an unassailable 2-0 advantage before the final match. That is why the third day, 29 August, carries particular significance: England can try to increase their lead quickly and leave enough time for their bowlers to launch another attack on Pakistan, while the visitors must search for early wickets to retain a realistic chance of a comeback.
The bad light that shortened the second day was a reminder that in a multi-day match, time also affects captains’ decisions. England therefore do not necessarily need to build the maximum possible total before sending Pakistan in to bat again. With a lead of 261 and seven wickets remaining, the hosts have tactical freedom that Pakistan currently do not possess. Every additional hour without a major loss of wickets will increase the pressure on the visitors and reduce the number of scenarios in which they can save the match.
Pakistan’s biggest problem, however, remains their ability to survive long periods against Robinson, Archer, Tongue and Atkinson. The first innings of 110 showed that individual resistance alone makes it difficult to change the course of a Test. Awais proved that it is possible to stay at the crease against England’s attack, but in their second attempt the visitors will need at least two or three substantial partnerships, together with much greater discipline throughout the line-up. Otherwise, the match at Lord’s could end well before the scheduled fifth day.
For England, the situation is almost the opposite. Robinson has built a strong run across two Tests, Archer is once again giving the attack extreme pace, while Tongue and Atkinson allow the pressure to be maintained even when the first-choice bowlers are resting. At the same time, the first innings showed that the middle and lower order can repair an early collapse at the top of the line-up. It is precisely this combination of batting depth and bowling variety that is the main reason why England, after two days at Lord’s, are so close to taking complete control of the series.
Sources:
- Pakistan Cricket Board – official second-day report, innings scores, partnerships and bowling figures (link)
- Pakistan Cricket Board – official medical update on Imam-ul-Haq’s injury (link)
- ICC – context of England’s victory in the first Test and Pakistan’s position in the World Test Championship after Headingley (link)
- England and Wales Cricket Board – series schedule, Root’s return as captain and Marcus Trescothick’s interim role (link)
- ICC – information on Babar Azam’s return and his fitness for the second Test at Lord’s (link)
- England and Wales Cricket Board – official confirmation of Stephen Fleming’s appointment and Joe Root’s return as captain of the Test team (link)
- Sky Sports – detailed scorecard of the second Test, including the toss and the state of England’s second innings (link)
- The Guardian – report on Robinson’s and Archer’s performances and the conditions during the second day at Lord’s (link)