 |
| Mohammad Amir removed Kevin Pietersen first ball during his magical spell |
Mohammad Amir produced one of the finest spells of left-arm swing seen at Lord's as he skittled England's middle order on a dramatic second morning. He collected Alastair Cook with the third delivery of the day then dispatched Kevin Pietersen - first ball - Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan for ducks as England crashed to 47 for 5.
It was just the fifth time in Test history that numbers four to six had been removed without scoring and the first time it had happened to England as their batting woes reached new levels. With Amir and Mohammad Asif gaining prodigious swing it appeared as though the home side would fold before lunch but Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior, England's two most confident batsmen, did an impressive job to prevent further damage with an unbroken stand of 50.
Amir had three balls left in the interrupted over from the previous evening and he was in the action straight away when Cook edged a fine outswinger to Kamran Akmal having been beaten by the previous delivery. Cook's technique still struggles against the moving ball, but most batsmen would have had a tough time in the conditions.
However, there was very little excuse for Pietersen's horrid dismissal as he drove at a very wide delivery first ball and edged low to the wicketkeeper. He spoke yesterday about how his confidence has been 'hammered' in recent months and this was a shot to back-up those sentiments, but it isn't the first time Pietersen has been undone by his desire to feel bat on ball straight away. On the Pakistan balcony Waqar Younis, the coach, could barely hide his excitement at the wicket which suggested it may even have been a plan to play on Pietersen's ego straight away.
The morning just continued to get better for Pakistan and specifically Amir. There were rumours the visitors considered resting him after the heavy workload of the last two months, but with cloud cover and a favourable pitch he became almost unplayable. One of the great skills for a left-armer is to bring the ball back into the right-handers late to catch them on the crease and that's exactly how Amir dispatched Collingwood three balls later.
Collingwood played half forward with bat and pad together and Billy Bowden initially declined the appeal, but Pakistan asked for a review. Hotspot showed contact with pad came fractionally before bat and when HawkEye showed it was hitting middle Collingwood was soon given out.
At this point England still hadn't added to their overnight score but Trott brought momentary relief with two boundaries off Asif, the second a sweet cover drive which belied the difficulties batsmen were facing. However, in Amir's next over the slide resumed as Morgan's decline since his debut hundred continued when he edged low to second slip where Yasir Hameed, who has been key to improving Pakistan's catching, held a sharp chance.
It was another excellent delivery and there no disgrace for Morgan nicking off, but as with a number of England's batsmen, it will be the repetitive nature of the dismissal which will cause concern. The left-arm over angle has been a particular problem and Australia are likely to have two in their Ashes line-up so it will be a regular challenge for Morgan should be make the line-up.
Every ball looked like bringing a wicket, but Trott showed solid judgement to survive the toughest period while Prior continued his impressive form as the pair began the big task of repairing the innings. Salman Butt made a few curious fielding placings which helped relieve the pressure and chased the ball when conditions meant it was best to just stick to the basics. By lunch batting was a touch easier as the sun started to come out and Pakistan won't mind that. England will be less pleased
