Abbas shines in rain-hit drawn Test

SOUTHAMPTON: Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas took two wickets on Monday as a weather-interrupted second Test against England at Southampton ended in a predictable draw.

England were 110-4 in reply to Pakistan’s first innings 236 when home captain Joe Root (nine not out) declared to hasten the end of a match ahead of what would have been the statutory last hour at the Ageas Bowl.

Root’s declaration ended a match beset by delays, with the whole of Saturday’s third day washed out completely as just 134.3 overs were possible in the entire Test, which included a 38 over spell late on the fifth afternoon as the sun finally came out.

Abbas, who took 2-28 from 14 overs, removed Zak Crawley (53) and Dom Sibley (32).

The batsmen shared a second-wicket stand of 91 after Rory Burns fell for a duck to left-arm quick Shaheen Shah Afridi on Sunday.

England, who enjoyed a three-wicket win in the first Test at Old Trafford earlier this month, remain 1-0 up in a three-match series ahead of Friday’s finale, also at Southampton.

An early morning downpour meant Monday’s play did not start until 1420 GMT. England were then 7-1, with Sibley (2) and Crawley — playing after star all-rounder Ben Stokes opted out to be with his ill father in New Zealand — on five.

Crawley confidently pulled and drove the usually accurate Abbas for two well-struck fours.

Pakistan captain Azhar Ali, perhaps wary of risking his frontline quicks in a dead match ahead of the third Test, brought medium-pacer Shan Masood, primarily an opening batsman, into the attack.

Mohammad Rizwan, who had impressed behind the stumps in the first Test before top-scoring with 72 in a man-of-the-match innings in this fixture, then missed a chance to stump Crawley, on 37, off leg-spinner Yasir Shah.

Crawley completed a 97-ball fifty when he pulled Yasir for the seventh four of his innings.

But two balls later, Crawley was out when Abbas, with the first delivery of a new spell, had him lbw on the back leg after nipping one off the seam.

Crawley reviewed but Richard Kettleborough’s decision was upheld on umpire’s call. It was the start of a mini-collapse that saw England lose three wickets for 14 runs to be 105-4.

Sibley, not for the first time, was caught behind down the legside as Abbas struck again before Ollie Pope was lbw to Yasir.

Azhar bowled one ball to Root, who then declared.

Kettleborough and fellow umpire Michael Gough had been widely criticised for their interpretation of the rules regarding rain and bad light even on a ground where the floodlights have been in use.

But there was more activity by both the officials and groundstaff on Monday in a season where regulations have been adapted to create a bio-secure bubble that guards against the threat of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19).

“We were excited about this week, so its disappointing not to get much cricket in,” Root said at the post-match presentation. “But I thought Zak was excellent today, that partnership [with Sibley] was high class on a very difficult surface.”

Root said the selectors will look at the full squad before making a decision on who starts the third Test, with fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood waiting in the wings. “All the guys are now in contention for the next one, we will see where we are [physically] tomorrow. We will also take the surface into account.”

Pakistan had won the toss and elected to bat, posting 236 in their first innings, a total that Azhar felt was competitive.

“It’s been frustrating for both teams, the game was set up quite nicely as the conditions were good for bowling throughout,” he said. “We spoke about taking on the challenge of batting first and we fought really hard. The England bowling attack is brilliant, but the guys stuck to the task.

“The best thing out of the Test is we did not have to bowl much. It is a big game coming up and we want everybody to be fresh and ready.”

Scoreboard

PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 236 (Mohammad Rizwan 72, Abid Ali 60, Babar Azam 47; S.C.J. Broad 4-56, J.M. Anderson 3-60).

ENGLAND (1st Innings, overnight 7-1):

R.J. Burns c Asad b Shaheen 0

D.P. Sibley c Rizwan b Abbas 32

Z. Crawley lbw b Abbas 53

J.E. Root not out 9

O.J. Pope lbw b Yasir 9

J.C. Buttler not out 0

EXTRAS (LB-3, W-1, NB-1) 7

TOTAL (for four wkts decl, 43.1 overs) 110