Shaheen strikes before rain stops England-Pakistan 2nd Test again

Published
5
Shaheen Afridi celebrates after taking the wicket of England's Rory Burns on August 16. — Reuters
Shaheen Afridi celebrates after taking the wicket of England's Rory Burns on August 16. — Reuters

Shaheen Afridi needed just four balls to remove England's Rory Burns for a duck on Sunday before bad weather again interrupted the second Test at Southampton.

England were 7-1 in reply to Pakistan's first innings (236) when rain stopped play at 12:00pm local time on the fourth day.

In gloomy conditions that, with the floodlights on, favoured Pakistan's pacemen as they had England's quicks, left-arm fast bowler Afridi produced a superb delivery that moved away from left-hander Burns, who edged to second slip Asad Shafiq.

It took England until the third over to score their first run as Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley struggled against both Afridi and the accurate Mohammad Abbas.

When the umpires called a halt, Sibley was two not out and Crawley, recalled in place of Ben Stokes after the star all-rounder withdrew from this match to be with his ill father in New Zealand, five not out.

Rizwan hits out

Earlier, Mohammad Rizwan top-scored with 72 as Pakistan's first innings finally came to an end.

Pakistan resumed on 223-9 after rain had washed out the whole of Saturday's play in a match where bad weather had also curtailed the first two days.

And there was a further delay to the scheduled start when, despite having had hours to prepare for the possibility, a member of the groundstaff had to bring out sawdust for the bowlers' run-ups.

Rizwan was then 60 not out — his second fifty in eight career Tests following his 95 against Australia in Brisbane in November.

The wicketkeeper, in partnership with dogged tail-ender Abbas (two off 20 balls), had taken Pakistan past 200 in a ninth-wicket stand after they had come together with the tourists struggling at 176-8.

Rizwan made his intentions clear by swinging wildly, and missing, at James Anderson as he charged down the pitch to Sunday's first ball of the day.

The wicketkeeper did, however, make contact when he sliced a drive off Anderson over the slips to the third man boundary.

Rizwan also square-cut Anderson for a well-struck four before he was out when, aiming leg side off Stuart Broad, he got a leading edge and was caught in the covers by Crawley.

Rizwan batted for three and three-quarter hours, facing 139 balls with seven fours.

Broad, who had already become the first England bowler since off-spinner Graeme Swann 11 years ago to take three wickets in seven consecutive Test innings, led the attack with 4-56 in 27.2 overs.

Broad has taken 26 wickets in four Tests so far this season at a miserly average of 12.38.

Pakistan, 1-0 down in a three-match series after their three-wicket defeat in the first Test at Old Trafford last week, were also indebted to Abid Ali (60) and Babar Azam (47) for painstaking innings when the conditions were stacked against the batsmen.

Victory in this match will see England secure their first series win over Pakistan since 2010.

Opinion

Editorial

Fixing bond markets
Updated 01 Oct, 2026

Fixing bond markets

Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, retail investors, and eventually, foreign investors must become bigger participants in the market.
Call centre rackets
01 Oct, 2026

Call centre rackets

A NUMBER of recent raids conducted by the authorities in different cities point to the growing threat fraudulent ...
Homeward bound
01 Oct, 2026

Homeward bound

FIVE months after Somali pirates captured an oil tanker carrying a 19-member multinational crew, Somali maritime...
Kashmir unresolved
Updated 30 Sep, 2026

Kashmir unresolved

The just solution lies in India addressing the issue through a trilateral dialogue involving the legitimate representatives of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan.
Water shortage
30 Sep, 2026

Water shortage

THAT the country is entering the Rabi season with an anticipated water shortage of nearly 25pc, the lowest carryover...
Young hearts
30 Sep, 2026

Young hearts

THE observance may have passed, but the message of World Heart Day should not fade with it. The occasion is a useful...