Brook's 91 gives England upper hand despite Ali Usman's five-fer

Despite Ali Usman's fifer - including three wickets in the last half an hour of play - England piled on the pressure on Pakistan in the first Test on Thursday (August 20).

With four batters registering half-centuries, the hosts stretched their control in the opening Test at Headingley, finishing Day 2 on 366 for 8, holding a commanding 195-run lead.

After the start to the day’s play was delayed by more than four hours due to rain, Mohammad Abbas and Khurram Shahzad tested the English batters with the moving deliveries. Even as England had the upper-hand in the contest after Pakistan were bundled out for 171 on the opening day, the visitors still had a chance of making a comeback with the ball in helpful conditions.

After some early troubles, Jordan Cox cut loose, cracking Shahzad for four boundaries in an over. That brief assault was, however, an anomaly as he, along with Root, retained a more cautious approach in the middle.

Cox brought up the century stand for the third wicket with a punch through extra cover for a boundary. Soon after, he flicked Abbas past the fine leg fielder for another boundary to bring up his maiden Test half-century. A ball later, in the next over, Root reached that mark with a flick through mid wicket.

The partnership flourished past the 150-run mark before Pakistan could enjoy any success. Cox departed on 73, poking at a delivery outside off - and took a wasted review along with him. England’s woes were further compounded as Root was trapped leg-before a few balls later, and had burnt all the reviews by then.

However, by then, England had already taken a 31-run lead in their innings. Pakistan could’ve found themselves in a better position had Harry Brook’s catch been taken when he was batting on 1. But Salman Agha couldn’t grab it at slip, and instead injured his finger. It was a brief period of play where Pakistan seemed like the more dominant team in the contest.

Brook, however, punished the visitors for the drop, and blasted his way to a 55-ball half-century. Dan Lawrence, in comparison, was a bit more respectful towards the bowlers but he wasn’t playing a secondary fiddle in the partnership that swelled to 120 runs in just 25 overs. As the partnership flourished, shoulders started to droop and Pakistan pacers fed them with ample scoring opportunities with indisciplined bowling. Opportunities in the field were missed, reviews were lost and helplessness set in.

However, led by Usman, Pakistan clawed their way back in the last 45 minutes of play. Lawrence departed soon after bringing up his half-century; top-edging a sweep off Ali Usman. Brook, who had muscled his way to 91, missed the line while looking to tuck the ball away and was cleaned up. Usman added two more to his tally in the next over by sending back Gus Atkinson and Robinson off successive deliveries.

Jamie Smith survived the late collapse, and had the company of Jofra Archer as England kept two wickets handy to take to the third day’s play.

Brief Scores: Pakistan 171 (Abdullah Shafique 61; Josh Tongue 5-46, Ollie Robinson 5-51) lead England 366/8 (Harry Brook 91, Jordan Cox 73, Joe Root 66, Dan Lawrence 51; Ali Usman 5-92) by 195 runs.