Test Match Special - Pakistan crumble as England seamers assemble

Episode Date: August 28, 2026

Daniel Norcross is joined by former England captain Michael Vaughan, former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja and the BBC's chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew to look back at day two of the Second Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's.Hear from Jofra Archer who took three wickets as well as Azan Awais who top scored for Pakistan with 46. And Andy Zaltzman with his day two stat attack.

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Pakistan had a pretty good day yesterday, but there was already concerned that England had got slightly too many runs, and then it turned out they were going to get plenty more. I've got Rami's Raj alongside me, as well as Jonathan Agnew, and Michael Vaughn will be joining us shortly, and England went on to add 42 further runs, and at that point, batting looked pretty easy in actual fact a terrific unbeaten 30 by Josh Tung and in partnership with Gus Atkinson who batted really really well actually the night before he didn't get a lot of the strike this morning it was a partnership that was dominated by Josh Tung who before that hadn't shown any great acuity with the bat but he was batting so comfortably you thought maybe the pitch had gone to sleep when he was when that partnership was eventually broken with Gus Atkinson smashing the ball

down the ground but the first sight of Usman Ali, the spinner, and it did the trick. His eyes lit up. He hit the previous ball for four over Long On, and then next ball he came charging down. The wicket again was caught at Long Off. That brought an end to England's innings, but they'd made it all the way up to 290,

which just felt like it had taken Pakistan out of the game. And it proved to be that way, as England then proceeded to set about the Pakistan top order, one that didn't have him on Ulhak opening the batting because he had a calf injury. And, well, They were bowled out for 110. Fantastic bowling again from England's Pace Quartet.

It was Ollie Robinson once more, this time with four wickets that did the damage alongside Joffra Archer, chipping in from Atkinson and Tongue. And then England closed the day on 81 for three. But there's plenty to talk about there. And I suppose we could start, really, with Pakistan's travails at the top of the order again, Ramees. It was a sorry showing. It's the third innings of this series, have yet to break 200. and I don't really know what they can do about it.

Yeah, I mean, just not good enough against quality bowling attack. In English conditions, you've got to have a tight defense. It's got to be a better batting chart, betting plan than that. Obviously, when you're on the losing stint, then, you know, the camaraderie and the oneness also goes out of the window. So if you've got an issue with your whatever, you know, it was shin area, which was troubling Imam al-Hughk, in a winning environment, you probably would go out there and front up.

We saw in the first test match where Barbara Azam bailed out because he had an issue with the finger, it wasn't broken. And I asked him, frankly, shouldn't he had been playing that game? He said, no, I just couldn't hold my back. But in a winning environment, in a winning dugout, you then tend to do this for the team. But when you're in the losing sequence, then you become a bit of a big. selfish also I mean that's a part of the deal so you look after yourself only but

that too hasn't happened in the in the batting department I mean Azan yes he's learning on the job is a is a good innings from him that he hung out there against quality bowling attack but look at the rest of the field these guys have played 30 40 test matches it's not that they've been you know the novices it's just that the will to survive and have a betting plan and a chart and you know how to cope with the situation. I think the first thing would have been to play more than 50 overs. That was the, as I mentioned earlier, not beat England at lots,

but stretch England to day four, day five. And if there's no rain tomorrow, this game could be over in three days again. On the subject of Imam Al-Hak, he did not bat. He had a sore calf. It doesn't send a great message, does it? We've had some high-profile injured players come out to bat in the last few years. mine on this ground a couple of years ago with a similar injury, could barely walk.

Rishab punt with a broken foot, Chris Wokes, with barely even one arm. And I know the match situation was different here, Michael, and I know Pakistan was so up against it, but there were moments when he could have come out of the loss of the fifth wicket, Azan still in, something, in moments like that,

does it tell you something about the mindset of this Pakistan team at the moment? Yeah, yeah, it does. I mean, I'm expecting him and like to be, leaving the ground on crutches. Because if you can't walk out the bat and just face a few deliveries for your team for your country,

surely you're on crutches and you can't move. It kind of sums up where Pakistan have been in recent times. I know they've got a test victory in the West, didn't it? But they're on a really poor run of form. And the only way that you can get back

into some kind of spirit and form is by fighting together. You know, just scrapping and showing a huge amount of spirit. And, you know, imman's clearly got a problem with his leg. The spirit of a side demands that a player walks out for you,

walks out into the middle, it's not going to change the course of the game. Pakistan are going to lose the game. Whether Iman came out or not, they're going to lose the game. But it's just that spirit that you want to see from a group of players in the dress room

that it demands that. And he's a senior player. I actually looked at Babber when he missed the test match at Headingley. So he's got a bruised hand. Not a broken bone. It's a bruised hand. He's the senior player,

the leader of this team. I felt he should have played. And the same is with Imman today. Senior pro. So all those younger players, look at Asanaway, it's the way that he's played today. That's a little bit of spirit that we've seen from Pakistan, from a young player. But what you want to see is that from your senior core, because they're the drivers of the dressing room. And they're the ones that sit in the corner, they do the most of the talking.

And all these younger players around the dress room are watching the senior corgan, how are you acting? And when they're seeing a captain missed a test match for a bruised hand and they're seeing a senior batter not go out to back with a little tear of the car, I'm sorry, it's the wrong message to send to, to all the players, particularly the younger players that are coming through this system. We'll come to England's bowling in a moment, Jonathan, but that has been what's been a disappointing feature of this series so far, hasn't it? It's that sense that Pakistan just haven't fought, that they've fallen over. Well, yeah, I mean, we talked about that bowling attack last night, didn't we? And it's toothless, really.

I mean, it's steady. In Mohamed Abbas is clearly a fine bowler. But you look at Josh Tong, the number 11, with an average of five, who's out there beaming broadly, big smile and his face gets 30, 30, you know, 30 not out, thanks very much. In circumstances in which I just felt that Baba was allowing Abbas to try and get himself on the honours board, he gave me a very generous review

with one that would have gone way down the leg side. It just didn't, it just, they were lacking that bowler to come on. No nonsense, a couple of bouncers, a couple of yorkers blow the tail out and get off. And that was actually, I thought, quite an important passage of play this morning because it's got important runs for England, of course, but just the body language of it all. I just didn't think Pakistan were on the game.

They didn't have the bowler that they really needed. Finally, Barbar turned to a spinner who got a wicket third ball, which again is just as potent against a tail, but he just seemed to be rather generously allowing our best, possibly the chance of getting on the Lord's Honour's ball, rather than actually grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck and trying to do something about it. Well, we saw Kouram and Shazad come out at number eight,

and I thought it was just what you're talking about there, about Ebola being able to blast their way through the tail. Well, Kouram was standing closer to the square leg umpire than he was to leg stump at one point. I mean, it's slightly exaggeration. But obviously at that point, you know, that was part of the body language. It just looked like Pakistan's tail was not going to wag as Azaa was going to have no support at all. So I want to quote examples of Imran Khan as a leader. So, you know, the moment he saw tail ender flinching away from the task, he would not have him playing the next test match.

Even though his first job wasn't batting. But it's the body language, you know, how you shape out there, just let the opposition know that, you know, we will fight from number one to 11. And the tail enders send a strong message to the opposition dugout that we are here. And nobody can bulldoze us. I mean, you don't see that from this side, which is painful. I mean, it's as simple as that. So the job of the tail end obviously is to score a little bit of runs, but it's more to do with the body language, how you conduct yourself.

Because if you're afraid of fast bowling, then you're sending a message to the opposition that they can be beaten and they can be scared. Michael, you captained a four-pronged pace attack in 2005 ashes. and not entirely dissimilar to the way this one is shaping up. There are four different fast bowlers, different speeds, you know, for Hoggard, Reed Robinson, for example. You've got the speed of tongue. How potent is this England attack? And I ask because the numbers would suggest that it really is,

but we've just been having a go at the Pakistan batting lineup. So what can we read into this? And are they as good as they seem to be at the moment? Yeah, it's a good attack, and it's got a huge amount of potential, because I think they can all get better. That's a really good sign for English cricket when you've got four bowlers bowling nicely, but you know there's a little bit more in the tank.

I'll be brutally honest, they're not getting challenged at all. And this Pakistan batting line up is possibly the easiest batten line up that I've seen for a long period of time to bowl to. And not only that, I think as a ball, I guess I'll tell you more, I think they're all queuing up to ball because they know there's wickets out there. You're not going to get hurt.

There's no batter that's coming out 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. And I think they all know that, you know, Pakistan, they're not going to get big score. So you're only going to be out there for 40, 50 over. So you give it everything in every spell.

And you keep going to Jeroot saying, I'll bowl another one. Because there's so many wickets out there. It's just so easy. They're still doing a good job and they're still looking very threatening. And I think this attack ball and the way that they're doing will challenge better batting lineups if they continue in this fashion. No doubt they're going to challenge the lights of South Africa, Australia next summer. I think they'll challenge the Aussie batting line up quite nicely if they bowl like this.

But this Pakistan patting, is it second division county cricket? Alashe, you watch a lot of county cricket. There's no way that they're batting in any standard to say that that is a test match batting lineup. Very low on confidence too, aren't they? I mean, the way they had, you know, the way that Robinson was allowed to bowl, 13 overs, 4 for 11. I mean, they're kind of like school, schoolboy figures in a way, with no effort to try and do something.

That's really the point that has allowed him to bowl, which of course he did. I enjoyed Joffar Archer's opening spell. There's some proper pace in that. And Sharma Suber was pushed up to open and was dismissed pretty early on. And Tung, I think he's the one who's really developing best out of all of them.

But Agassiz, that opening birds from Joffich, brilliant, loved it. But watching, I want to see that next July. The first Ashes test match. the first morning of the five-match series that's the kind of spell that sets the tone for everyone you know doing it against Pakistan

here at Lords is great very exciting and we love watching it but you know doing it against South Africa in the first test is it at Centurion or doing it in that first test at Trent Bridge next year that's what you judged on as players

can you switch it on when it's the hot series you know these kind of series are brilliant for players because you kind of know you're going to win but it's more about you know I think in batting terms you're about putting a deposit in the bank, don't you?

Well, if bowlers are rolling and think, or get a few cheap ones and get your average down. I mean, what's he got now, Olly Robinson, 95 test wickets at an average of 20? An average of 20, 95 wickets, an extraordinary, skillful bowler that England have. And, you know, if he carries on, I think he's going to try, I think Aga said on Commer today,

they're trying to get him to get to that H1, 8 to 2 miles an hour on a more regular basis, consistently. And if they can get him to that, he will challenge all batting lineups in all conditions. I mean, does he need to. I was that question.

The UK doesn't. But he will need to, if a batting unit, you know, bats for 120 overs in the first innings and he has to come back a day later and do it again. That's going to be the challenge for Ollie Robinson. Is he fit enough to come back? It's a fitness thing, isn't it? Yeah. And that's easy to work on.

Yeah. You can get fitter and how do you get fit it? Well, obviously, doing a bit of running around and being in the gym, but more so by bowling. But he's been a, he's been that tone setter that we were crying out for in the winter. Well, he's done it pretty much as well as anyone for the three test. much as that he's played this summer. He's so accurate and he's relentless isn't he but there's there's just no real attempt to just try and knock him off that and and you know I think at times I'm not a batsman but I think at times as a bowler when you're in total command as he was and unchallenged

when suddenly a batsman decides to come after you a bit and then that that can just put you off his stride change your rhythm you've got to think a bit more we just he just ran in and bowl ball after ball after ball exactly the same there because he wasn't being challenged I mean there are wonderfully contrasting attack though aren't they as well I mean I mean I mean, you've got that metronomic accuracy, but Josh Tongue looks like you can take a wicket at any minute. I think Andy Zaltzman gave us an incredible stats, but he's taking a wicked every 12 balls or something at some point in this series.

You want a bowler at least who can swing it, another bowler who's got proper pace, you want another bowler who can probably reverse swing it a bit, and you want a bowler who can do your donkey work uphill into the wind. And they've got all that, and so it is a very well-balanced attack. but of course without the spinner. And so that's the problem that England have with their bowling attack.

But the pace attack is it covers all the bases. The TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. Get more with BBC podcasts wherever you listen. Be the first to listen to your favourite shows like evil genius, good bad billionaire and you're dead to me, with a subscription to BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts. You can also enjoy a range of our podcasts ad-free with an Amazon music subscription.

Before we come to England's innings, let's just dwell a little bit on Azan or waste because there will be people listening to this who want to hear some good news about Pakistan cricket. And yes, he got 46 and 102 balls. It's not eye-catching, he's not in the honours ball, but they were difficult times to bat in and he was getting no support at all from anybody around him.

That's got to be helpful, and he's 21 as well. Yeah, yeah. And still was able to, focus. So he lost Barbara Azam, he lost South Shakir, lost Shahi, lost Shah Maseud and that can have a damning effect on your makeup because you feel that the better ones are leaving the crease and so you're still hanging in there. And so from that point of view, it was a very good innings. He was under the course. He was being challenged physically, technically. Joe Fraj, a spell was lethal. It was brutal. It was fast. Yet he somehow survived it and continued to learn on the job. So a very good good bright spot for Pakistan in that innings. And I'm so happy that he's been persisted with. Because there's some good things about his batting. Obviously, you know, he's got a ticker.

In subcontinent with that kind of technique, he could be pretty efficient. But in England, obviously, he's got to move out of the crease. When he's driving the ball, he drives it square through the off side. And in seeming conditions, that's a risky shot to have. So maybe look to play more through the V area, through mid-off, then square drive the ball. Well, we can actually hear from Azan, with Alison Mitchell. Azzan, a difficult day for the team, but well battered.

Will it be challenging to even get a draw from here? Yeah, it's a little bit challenging page because which have a little bit lateral moment. So yeah, I survived. So yeah, it's a good innings and I build my little bit confidence, yes. Was that one of the most challenging innings that you have played in your career? Yeah, there are a lot of challenging innings in the first class cricket, but yeah, my idea this one is, of course,

Of course, Lee challenging pitch and challenging batting. So, yeah. Have you ever faced bowling as fast as that spell from Joffra Archer? I think it's probably it's the fastest spell and, yeah, I enjoyed it. And that was a good spell, yeah. What did you have to do to come through it? Yeah, I come from, yeah, I performed really well in first class cricket and then I came here in England.

Last year I went for a Pakistani cricket team. So, yeah, this year I'm with Pakistan cricket team. and I really enjoyed this environment. You've had some experience of playing in England last summer? Yeah, last year I went with Pakistan A cricket team. So yeah, I performed really well in the last year. So yeah, I enjoyed this and it was a very great moment for me. You're the youngest player in this Pakistan team.

What are you learning through test cricket? Yeah, I learned a lot of cricket from my seniors and especially because when you are playing international kickers so you can observe the things and a lot of things you can do it to perform very well in the team. Back to Joffre Archer, what did you have to do to cope with his pace? No, I just realized the things and pitch have a little bit lateral movement and the lords there are a little bit slope. So yeah, as compared to other pitch, there was a little bit extra lateral moments. Yeah, I survived and that was a very good spell.

Did you enjoy that challenge? Yeah, I really enjoyed it because it's the first time I faced like this bowler and you have pace and accuracy. So yeah, it's good. And you didn't open with Imam or Hack. When did you find out that Imam wasn't able to bat? I think the last day there was a little bit shin problem with Imam Bahia. So I batted with Shan Bai. So yeah, we have exactly open in the domestic record. So yeah, I have a little bit confidence about it. of the match as well played today.

Thanks so much. That was Azana Weiss with Alison Mitchell. He's a confident sounding man, Ram. He's performed very well in a number of places. Yes, I mean, it was a hard gig for him. But as I mentioned, you know, he's a good one actually. You know, he didn't flinch and he just got behind the line of the ball and wasn't terrorized even though you know he was in the middle of something brutal

from Joe Francher. It really was a quick spill. The fastest probably is bowl here in England, Joffra. So he looked in great rhythm and somehow he survived, so it's just good for him. Well, since we're talking about Joffra, Archer, that Alison Mitchell's been talking to him as well. Joffre, well bowled today. Can you sum up for us what's been a pretty fast-moving day of test cricket?

Yeah, just put the ball in the right areas and you're going to have one win a name on it. So that's pretty much it in a nutshell. How much do you relish bowling in these kind of conditions? How helpful is the pitch been? It's been helpful. Not often in test cricket you get wickets like these so you just try to make the most of it because it's going to be one that's going to be not as helpful and you're going to be up there a lot longer. You bowled a particularly fast spell to Azzan Awais. Can you talk us through what it feels like

to be bowling at those speeds throughout an entire over? I'm going to be honest with you. I'm a little bit under the weather and it just had some parasitamolze in so the body felt fine so if it felt fine there was no reason not to run in. But just a little bit of a cold at the moment. And you're still yet bowling fast. I feel a lot better when you're running around. It's better than being cooped up in the room, you know. So get some fresher into your lungs, you know.

The sun is good for it as well. So yeah, I'm just glad I'm actually fine enough to running. Were you feeling, I mean, you were close to getting that wicked of Azana waste. What was that battle like for you versus him? I think it was a lot of players he missed, to be honest. But, you know, he batted well, he got through pretty much most of the day on scathed. And on days like that, I feel like you should have probably came in or not out. It was a bit strange how he got out of the wheel, how he got out.

But he played really well. And, you know, if you can get through that for most of the day, he should have gone on a bit more. Tell me about this quartet of bowlers that you're part of in this particular, line up. How do you work well together? Everyone, everyone chips in. You know, Ollie's been phenomenal since he started again. And Gus, Tongy, everyone just keeps picking up a slap. So it's nice because then not one bowler is getting run into the ground.

I don't want to say running into the ground, but not the bulk of the over is all put on one person. It's all spread around. And honestly, like, if this continues, we could play longer than expected. Are you communicating a lot? together with info, intel, what the pitch is doing, different batters? We didn't have to this game. Everyone, well everyone's played here before everyone knows what works here for them. A bit more at least, but here everyone can see. The media team keeps putting like the replays up as well. So before you even bowl, you have an idea of like what's, what's

working, the player misses, what type of balls they are as well. So you don't really have to, you know, annoy the bowler. Yeah. State of the game now there is only the weather that could halt English progress? I think it's only tomorrow, but, you know, if you get a nice full day, there's no reason why we shouldn't, we shouldn't boil them out again. You know, I think all the guys are really good for everybody's putting the ball in good areas at good pace as well. So as I said, there's one out there with your name on it. And, you know, we should, we should get the other time of kids.

I hope you feel better soon. Thank you. Cheers. There are so many things in there that are quintessential fast bowl. of stuff Jonathan Agnew. Like firstly I thought he played a missed a lot actually, you know, so I should have had his wicket he can't get the bouts from any credit. Yeah, no, then he's criticised him for getting out

to somebody else who wasn't him. And then he's talked about how, you know, we've got this great pack, we're hunting as a pack, we're none of us going to get bowled into the ground. I mean, that's a very articulate and happy Geoffrey Archer who's... Well, I was thinking actually when I was listening to it, that's the most sort of eloquent

I think I've heard him in an interview. He's often, you know, quite a reluctant interviewee. He was very keen there wasn't he? Although he was very engaging, especially with a stinking cold. So that was not, I think it probably reflects how he's feeling, isn't it? How his cricket is? You know, you can hear it there in his voice. Well, that was England's bowling. Just to very briefly dock the eyes and crossed the teas. Ollie Robinson was a pick of those bowlers with four for 11 in 13. It was Joffar Arch picked up three for 26 and Josh Tongue a couple two for 27 in just six overs. England then went out to bat and well the pick of the batters

Today has been Emilio Gay who's unfurled some lovely cover drives. It's a signature shot of his Jonathan. He's got to 30 unbeaten at the close from 69 balls. Didn't really knock the ball about that much, but he guarded his wicket well. Yeah, I mean, he didn't have to. I mean, I think it's a great opportunity for him here because there is no pressure from a match situation. He's what played is his fourth test, isn't it? Fifth test.

He's had a couple of 50s. He's just got in and then hasn't got on. But I like him. I just think he's got something, he's got some style. We've talked to him a few times, you know, out there and so on. He's quite a character. You know, he's not shy. And that's a good thing, I think, for an opening batsman, you know,

to be confident and to be able to stand up in the, because he's going to face more challenging bowling than this. We haven't really seen him up against proper fast bowling yet. And that's obviously something that has to be answered because that is what opening batsmen are going to face. And in South Africa, he's going to face some quick stuff. and the ball is going to be around his ears. Let's see how he goes.

But I don't see him flinching. I think he's that sort of a character. Lovely shots through the offside. He's got a chance to get that elusive big score in this innings. And it'd be really good to see him get on and do that. There was one fly in the ointment for England. I mean, there were three insurers. He lost three wickets.

They lost a couple of very early, Kouram Shazan picking up the wickets of Bend Duckett and Jordan Cox in no time, 13 for two. but what I want to talk about is Joe Root because he's a man with 14,000 test runs and yet, I mean Andy Gavis an incredible stat that he was out LBW once every 1,137 balls at one stage in his career

and now it's happening repeatedly every 84 balls to Seamus and it's happening time and time again not just with the keeper standing up the keeper of standing up today for example I mean he looked disgusted with himself because it wasn't a ball that exaggeratedly nipped back up the slope, it sort of came on with the angle, I mean, it's straight.

Yeah. But you're about it. Tell me, what has he got to do to solve this problem? Is it a technical problem? It's a mental problem and a technical problem as well. What he has got to do is to just look for that angle back into the stump. So not worry about the art swinger. If he's so iffy regarding that line and he's getting out to lick to that in swinging angle,

then he's got to manage that angle by maybe not walking across the line. across the line. You see, I feel that he stays in the crease at times. He walks across. His footwork is not great. It comes across as a bit lethargic, bit loose at times, and he's looking to get on with it, and seems to have a certain pattern by walking out of the crease at times, trying to take the ball a little earlier. But it's not work. So I think it's hurting his mind, it's hurting his game, it's set up at the crease. And what he has to do is to do two things. A, the angle of the bat is it has got to come down straighter and B, if that's not happening and it's difficult for him,

try to open himself up so that he becomes almost like a Javid Miyadh's stance at the crease, square on so that you just protect that in swinging angle and so that your front foot doesn't come in line of the ball. The two things he can do. And see, great players go through this at time. So maybe he'll get a break, you know, play somewhere. where batting is a little easier. These are difficult conditions, by the way.

Even the bowlers don't know how much the ball is going to deviate and move around. So if you are finding it tough, managing that angle, it becomes doubly difficult. I mean, he needs time off at the end of the season to work on this, doesn't he? Well, it's quite interesting because I was looking at some stats in that he scored only 7% of his runs this summer in the V. In other words, on the front foot playing down the ground. And yet he's missing the ball. There's a foolish length to be LBW. So something not quite right.

Those two things don't, perhaps they do tell a story, you know, that he's not getting in the right place to play these balls in that V to score runs. And he's missing them. I mean, Joe, it's missing a lot of balls, which again is, it's strange. So the trouble is, as we all know, once you get something in your head, it sort of just, you know, it's there nibbling away at you. And it'll be starting. It's like, well, it's like, do you remember all the Kevin Peterson and the slow left arm stuff?

And of course, he, and the more he kind of denied it, obviously, getting out to left arm spin. It's happening too often for route now for their not to be a problem. But it does seem to be, I think it's tied in with that fact that those runs are not coming straight down the ground. He's missing balls of a full length with the keeper standing up and he's being able to double.

So I think the two things are kind of interlocked. Yeah, Michael Vaughn sort of identified that maybe sort of balance issues. He's on his tiptoes when he comes forward. But then he uses that to go back and then play that release shot through backward point, doesn't it? She loves that shot in order to tick the scoring over. He'll work it out.

He'll work it out, but it's really fascinating that this very old technique of a medium pacer bowling with the keeper standing up, which was around 80, 90 years ago, look at the old pictures, has suddenly come back to life. And it's really rather nice. In the modern game, here we are, is an old tactic that's been resuscitated. Well, the rest of the England dinnings, I told you about Ben Duckett made one, Ben Duckett made one quarter cover. Jordan Cox 11.

He was LBW to Kouram Shazad. There's been some of very good reviews, by the way, by Pakistan in this match. And Joe Root, Lb to Mahmila, lead for 24. He did review, and he was sort of convinced the review by Emilio Gay. But Shone shouldn't have done because it was clattering into the top of middle stump. But Emilio Gay took England through 30 not out at the end of 69. Harry Brooks, 7 of 13. So a lead now, because they're 81 for 3, a lead of 261.

We've sort of given up on Pakistan's chances. Joffra Archer has definitely given up on Pakistan's chances. Rammies, have you? Yes, sadly. Okay, well, that's pretty concise. Yeah, that is unfortunate. Well, we're going to let you go. We don't know. We don't know what's to come.

You never know. Barbara Arsam might unfurled an absolutely magnificent 150 and he might get some support from old or new, players in the side but that remains to be seen it might not be much of it in tomorrow because of the rain but let's keep our fingers crossed and he's Altzman is still here what has what has taken your eye today well let's start with those route LBWs nine in his last seven tests as you as you mentioned and that extraordinary rate of dismissal to seam bowling of one of the 80384 balls three times dismissed by seam in his previous 39 tests seven times this summer he's been out And that ties the all-time record for most LBW dismissals by a player in an international test season. And that's only in nine innings, isn't it? In nine innings. Yeah.

So the only other player to be out seven times in an English season was Kim Hughes in the 1981 Ashes. That was over six tests. So yeah, a very curious sequence for Root. He's also on the list overseas in the 2016-17. 1617 season he was out LBW seven times that six of those were to spin as England toward Bangladesh and India that that winter and he sort of rectified that at that stage of his career he's been a great problem solver during his career is averaging only 29 this summer this is 14th home summer of test cricket currently fractionally

his lowest average in a home summer behind the 2019 Ashes summer and in the last five English summers 31 tests he scored 1,300 so this summer is a dip compared with his phenomenal recent form. Only one century for England so far this season, that was Ben Duckett. He's only got 150 plus score in his last 10 tests since the start of the ashes. So it's been a very difficult summer for batting. And Pakistan are challenging some of the all-time records for least adept performance by a team's batting line up in a series. Delicately put, yeah.

England's bowlers collectively. You've got a strike rate of 20, wicket every 25.4 deliveries in the three innings in the series so far. So it's all quite early in the series. But at the moment that's the sixth lowest strike rate ever by a team in a test series and the third lowest by England. And the other two in England have had a better strike rate and that were both in the 19th century. So we still have quite a lot of stats that are, you know, wickets falling quickest at any point since the 19th century over the last few years.

The two first innings combined 104 overs. That's the sixth shortest combined first innings in a Lord's test. And the sixth time in the last 11 tests here that the first innings combined have lasted less than 140 overs, something that had happened only 10 times in the first 140 tests on this ground. So as we talked about yesterday, this is a long-standing issue for Lords. The lateral movement is right up there with the most in any test match in England in the last 20 years that they've been recording this data. So it has been a fiendish match for the batting so far and some phenomenal bowling figures for England.

Ollie Robinson, four for 11 from 13 overs with six maidens. Now averaging 20. And I think under 17 in home test matches now. I've just lost the screen with that stat on. But he's right at the top of the best averages of England. This is Sid Barnes Territory. We're talking here, isn't it? So he missed last summer where England's bowels of 25 balls per wicket in this series against India last year.

It took them 72 balls to get each wicket. So we could every 12 overs last summer against India. A weekend every 4.1 overs against Pakistan. Very different challenges. We saw flat pitches last year. I think with the nature of modern cricket, the nature of modern balls, maybe we need more flatter pitches, which you wouldn't have said 20 years ago, certainly. But yeah, it's been, well, there's some good bowling stats and some bad, some very bad batting stats.

Okay, well, before I let you go. Just one more. Pakistan have been out in under 50 overs and all three innings so far this series. Only two touring teams have ever suffered that fate. And all out in under 50 overs and the first three innings of a series. That was Bangladesh in 2005 and Sri Lanka in 2016. Right. So I asked Ramiz Raj, if he had any hope for Pakistan. Have you got a single stat that can give Pakistan?

any hope in this match? Well, I mean, their bowlers are picking up some decent stats as well. Let's focus on Mohammed Ali's batting. Epic innings from the, well, the scheduled number 11, he came in at number 10 and stepped up to the added responsibility with an innings of three not out from eight balls. His highest test score in his 13th innings. So does that count as a crumb of comfort?

Not a lot. I mean, it hasn't taken his average. quite up to one yet. Yes. If it's a kind of crumb you find it about it might be a bed bug. Right. Well, there you go.

I'm sorry if you're listening in and you'd like some crumbs of comfort as a Pakistan fan, but it's hard to find them. You're listening to the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. What's that saying about not letting the truth get in the way of a good story?

Well, I'm Coral Prince and I'm in the way. Online I catch out some of the biggest names in football, holding their tool tales to a count, but now the tables have turned. Can I spot the truth from the lies as those same guys who I try to catch, try and catch me out? Roll the tapes. I'm Carol Prince, lie detector on the Football Daily podcast.

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