England Scraps to 248-9 on Gloomy Day at Lord's
Lord’s under low cloud and floodlights has seen far more glamorous England sides than this one, but few have had to scrap quite so hard just to stay upright.
On a murky, stop-start opening day of the second Rothesay Test, Jamie Smith and Jordan Cox dragged England from the brink of trouble to a total that might yet carry real weight: 248-9 in conditions built for Pakistan’s seamers rather than Root’s reshaped batting order.
Whether it proves enough will be revealed over the next four days. For now, it feels like a score earned the hard way.
Abbas leads Pakistan’s response
The mood at Lord’s matched the sky: heavy, uncertain, slightly on edge. England arrived with a chance to close out their first Test series win since 2024, but also under the shadow of another off-field embarrassment, the Brydon Carse affair hanging over the week like the low cloud over the Pavilion.
On the field, Pakistan finally turned up.
With the toss in his pocket and his injured hand healed, Babar Azam did what every captain dreams of on such a day: he put England in under thick grey cover, the floodlights already on by the time play began at 12:20 BST. The decision instantly looked justified.
Muhammad Abbas was relentless. This was classic Lord’s seam bowling from the Nursery End: full, nagging, just enough movement to keep batters guessing and edges busy. At one stage he ripped through England’s top order with three wickets for four runs in 16 balls, slicing away Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett and Joe Root.
Gay’s dismissal summed up the mood. Strangled down the leg side, he walked off in disbelief, another left-hander caught in the no-man’s-land between scoring shot and survival. Duckett followed, undone by Abbas’s immaculate length. Root, fresh from steamrollering Pakistan at Headingley in his first Test back as captain, nicked off early too, having been reprieved on one when Imam-ul-Haq spilled a chance at third slip. The escape bought him only three more runs.
From 0-0 with optimism in the air to a dressing room suddenly quiet, England were back in a familiar place: under pressure, with their top order picked apart.
Smith and Cox dig in
What followed was less about flair and more about resolve.
In only his third Test, Jordan Cox again looked as if he belonged. Compact, organised, unfazed by the scoreboard, he settled into a stubborn partnership with Jamie Smith that changed the rhythm of the day. The pair added 67 for the sixth wicket, not by dominating, but by refusing to be moved.
Smith’s innings mattered. England needed someone to look fluent, to break the pattern of edges and misjudgements. He did that, compiling a much-needed 61 with a calm that stood out against the chaos around him. Drives began to find the middle, leaves became more confident, and Pakistan’s bowlers – so menacing in the first session – had to work again for every chance.
Cox played the quieter hand but no less important. His 55 was a statement of temperament, another encouraging sign from a player still learning the tempo of Test cricket. He left well, cashed in when the bowlers overpitched and, crucially, absorbed time. On a day shortened by rain and then bad light, every over he occupied mattered.
England’s batters were not blameless. Dan Lawrence ran himself out after a mix-up, having earlier been dropped when Shan Masood spilled a simple catch at mid-wicket on 10. Masood, to his credit, atoned with the sharp run-out that ended Lawrence’s stay on 17. Harry Brook, bowled driving by Mohammad Ali, gifted his wicket just as he threatened to settle.
There was misfortune too. Gay’s leg-side catch felt harsh. Edges dropped short of the slips as Pakistan’s cordon and keeper Mohammad Rizwan consistently stood too deep. Yet the pattern was clear: this was a day where application counted more than talent.
Under Root’s second reign, England’s willingness to “roll up their sleeves” – to grind rather than blaze – is beginning to show. This was another example.
Pakistan’s missed chances and Ali’s support act
If Abbas was the heartbeat of Pakistan’s attack, Mohammad Ali was its sharp edge down the slope.
Ali’s three wickets all came the same way: batters bowled, beaten by the ball nipping down the famous Lord’s gradient. Brook’s stumps were shattered as he drove on the up. Smith, set and looking England’s best hope of a substantial score, fell the same way. Ollie Robinson joined them, undone by movement he simply couldn’t cover.
Those dismissals underlined how well Pakistan’s seam trio adapted. The control missing at Headingley returned. Lengths were fuller, lines tighter, and England’s scoring opportunities rare.
Yet Pakistan will look back at the slips cordon and wince. Imam’s drop of Root on one did not cost them much, but Rizwan’s miss behind the stumps did. Standing too deep, as he did for most of the day, he and his slip fielders watched a series of edges die in front of them. On a surface offering just enough, they needed to be braver.
They were not punished as heavily as they might have been, but in a tight Test, those moments linger.
Atkinson’s late surge and the match in the balance
Just as England risked folding for well under par, Gus Atkinson walked out and swung the tone of the evening.
His unbeaten 34 was not a slog; it was a smart, spirited counter-attack from a lower-order player who understood the value of every run. With the light fading and Pakistan sensing a quick finish, Atkinson picked his moments, driving and pulling with intent, turning what looked like 220 into something far more awkward.
By the time bad light finally dragged the players from the field, England had crept to 248-9. Not imposing. Not match-defining. But on a better Lord’s pitch than the poor surface used against New Zealand in June, under heavy skies with more rain forecast, it felt like a total that keeps them right in the contest.
England would have loved even a handful of overs at Pakistan’s top order under the lights. The umpires refused them that chance. The bowlers will sleep tonight knowing they might have had Babar and company in genuine trouble.
Instead, Pakistan will start day two with a clean slate and a clear opportunity. Bat well, and they take control of both match and series. Falter, and England’s hard-earned 248 could become the platform for a first Test series win in two years – and a very different headline to the one written about their week off the field.
After a day of rain, gloom and graft, the question now is simple: whose 24 hours will define this Lord’s Test – Abbas and his immaculate spell, or the response from England’s attack when the new ball finally comes their way?
