England v Pakistan in a nutshell: All you need to know from day three at Lord’s

Pakistan looked to be closing in on a stunning first Test win, before England – specifically, Jos Buttler and Dom Bess – built a slender 56-run lead by stumps.

SCORECARD | HIGHLIGHTS | HOW IT HAPPENED

THE REPORT

Jos Buttler and Dom Bess’ century stand has kept alive England’s hopes of beating Pakistan in the first Test at Lord’s after a second batting collapse inside three days left them in danger of an innings defeat, writes David Ruse.

WHAT THEY SAID

JOS BUTTLER: “It was great to be out there with a fellow West Country boy [in Dom Bess] – it was like Joe Root walked back out with his cover drives and back-foot punches! He really showed his character.

“We just wanted to scrap hard and try to get ourselves back in the game. If we keep extending the lead, you never know how the game will pan out with runs on the board. A score of 200 in the fourth innings is always going to be a challenge, so that’s where we’d like to get to.”

WASIM AKRAM: “England really came back well – I was impressed with the way both of the batsmen played, but Pakistan missed a trick when they changed the ball as the replacement appeared softer and it didn’t reverse or swing.

“If England get a 150-run lead that could be a nervy chase for this inexperienced Pakistan batting line-up.”

MOMENT OF THE DAY

Mohammad Amir must have been paying attention to Pakistan left-arm great Wasim Akram in The Zone prior to play on day three. Amir has been serviceable, if not spectacular, since his return to Test cricket in 2016 after a six-year absence when suspended for spot-fixing – he had 51 wickets in 14 Tests at an average of 29.09 before that fateful day at Lord’s in 2010, and has returned 49 wickets at 34.91 a pop in his 17 Tests since his comeback – but he certainly produced a spectacular delivery to dismiss Jonny Bairstow for a two-ball duck in the afternoon on day three, bowling absolute peach that pitched on off-stump, holding its line, and trimmed the top bail.

TALKING POINT

Why do England continue to collapse? It has been an age-old question asked of the England cricket team, of numerous batting line-ups before this one. That Amir wicket of Bairstow’s was the second to fall in three balls and part of a four-wicket mini-collapse for 19 runs that started with the departure of Dawid Malan – to a terrific diving catch by wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed – and ended with the prized wicket of captain Joe Root, lbw for 68. Buttler and Bess’ superb seventh-wicket stand has given England a glimmer of hope, but it also poses the question why others in the top order couldn’t show the same application?

STAT OF THE DAY

England’s lead is currently 56. The lowest ever fourth-innings total successfully defended is 85 by Australia when skittling England for 77 at The Oval in 1882. It was the Test that gave birth to The Ashes.

TWEETS OF THE DAY

WATCH: WASIM ON HOW TO WIN AWAY

While England are crumbling to defeat at Lord’s, generally their struggles have come overseas in recent years and it’s a similar story for most Test teams. So, with that in mind, Michael Atherton and Wasim Akram – an expert of sub-continent conditions – took to The Zone to talk us through how England’s bowlers must best use the conditions when they tour Sri Lanka and the West Indies later this winter, including how to swing the ball.

Watch day three of the first Test between England and Pakistan live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Saturday.

(c) Sky News 2018: England v Pakistan in a nutshell: All you need to know from day three at Lord’s