Vaughan says Pakistan batting is like a second‑division county after Lord's collapse
Former England captain Michael Vaughan told BBC Test Match Special on Day 2 of the second Test at Lord's that Pakistan's batting looks equivalent to a second‑division county side after the tourists were dismissed cheaply in their first innings.
Pakistan's first-innings failure comes after an innings-and-53-run loss in the series opener and leaves them 1-0 down in the three-Test series; Vaughan framed his critique at Lord's around the visitors' inability to build resistance rather than England's bowling. Babar Azam, returning from injury, managed eight, while Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood and Mohammad Rizwan all fell in single figures; Azan Awais top-scored with 46.
Vaughan set out his view bluntly on air, saying: "But this is Pakistan batting. Is it second division county cricket? There's no way that they are batting in any standard to say that, that is a Test match batting lineup,".
He added that Pakistan's batting offered little threat to England's attack, arguing bowlers could attack without fear of being punished: "You're not going to get hurt. There's no batter that's going to hurt them. No one's going to damage their figures, and it's really, 'roll up, roll up, who wants to get the wickets?'"
Vaughan described how that lack of threat allowed England's bowlers to persist with aggressive fields and frequent bowling changes, saying: "I think they all know that Pakistan aren't going to get big scores. So you're only going to be out there for 40 to 50 overs, so you give everything in every spell, you keep going to Joe Root saying, 'Err, I'll bowl another one.' There are so many wickets out there," and he warned: "It's so easy. They're still doing a good job, and they're still looking very threatening. And I think this bowling attack, the way they're bowling, will challenge better batting lineups if they continue in this fashion,".
The Lord's Test was played under the shadow of a separate dispute after a Sky Sports interview with Kasim and Sulaiman Khan prompted reports that the PCB had threatened to withdraw Pakistan from the Test and possibly the remainder of the tour if the interview was aired; the broadcast went ahead and Pakistan returned to the field. Pakistan head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed said he and his players were unaware of the reported threat and that their focus remained on the match.
England finished Day 2 on 81/3 in their second innings, leading by 261 runs, and Pakistan now face a substantial task to avoid a second defeat at Lord's in the series.
