Archer’s pace reduces Pakistan to 110 at Lord’s on second day of second Test

Jofra Archer removed Mohammad Abbas and finished with three for 26 as Pakistan were dismissed for 110 at Lord’s on the second day of the second Test, with Abbas bowled shortly after 4.19pm.

Pakistan’s second-innings collapse unfolded between lunch and tea, leaving the tourists 110 for nine after 37 overs described in the report as “almost entirely anonymous batting.” The account characterised this Pakistan side as noticeably ordinary compared with more star-studded past teams and described their Test campaign as peripheral to the summer’s main attractions.

The final wicket fell when 36-year-old Mohammad Abbas faced Archer from the Pavilion End. Archer’s first delivery was a 90mph, back-of-a-length ball that struck Abbas’s bat and carried toward mid-off, where Josh Tongue dived and fell short while Archer watched; the next delivery was fuller, beat Abbas’s drive and uprooted the stumps with a pronounced clunk as Abbas completed his swing and walked off.

Archer’s spell was described as his fastest Test-match opening spell and he touched 94mph during the day; his performance was singled out as the principal source of menace in an otherwise subdued match at Lord’s. By the end of the day the account recorded Archer’s career tally at 77 wickets at an average of 28.

Ollie Robinson supported from the other end, using seam and angle to claim four for 11, and the report noted several instances of Pakistan batters being beaten—Azan Awais was recorded as being beaten 14 times outside his off stump—while catches were dropped and lbw shouts were narrowly turned down.

The piece also outlined aspects of Archer’s career history: his debut at Lord’s was almost seven years earlier, in November he bowled 42 overs in a single innings in Mount Maunganui, and in December he completed an eight-over fitness test under Chris Silverwood while already carrying a stress fracture in his elbow; the account described his Test career as brief and interrupted.

The report portrayed the day at Lord’s as oddly listless and noted that Saturday was “already promising a Chornobyl of rain,” signalling difficult weather ahead for the remainder of the match.