Share

Prior punishes Pakistan

Nottingham - Pakistan is facing a heavy defeat against England in the first Test after lurching to 15-3 at stumps on day three Saturday while chasing 435 for victory.

Stuart Broad took 2-14 and James Anderson 1-1 in the evening session after England declared on 262-9 at Trent Bridge.

Matt Prior hit an unbeaten 102 from 136 balls, with two sixes and seven fours, as England's last four wickets added 164 runs in the evening session.

Umar Gul was Pakistan's leading bowler with 3-41 and he was also its best batsman, hitting 65 not out in the morning session as the tourists avoided the follow on before being bowled out for 182.

James Anderson took 5-54 and Steven Finn 3-20.

Pakistan began the day on 147-9, requiring 8 runs to ensure England batted next.

Gul hit the first ball, from Anderson, for four through mid-on and then launched a blistering attack on Finn, taking 18 off his first over to reach a maiden test 50.

He then smashed three sixes from five balls, all off Finn.

The innings ended when Gul tried to take a single off the final ball of the 54th over and Morgan, fielding at point, threw down the stumps to run out Mohammad Asif for 0.

That gave England a first-innings lead of 172, but its second innings was only four balls old when captain Andrew Strauss fell on 0 to a bizarre dismissal.

Strauss edged Mohammad Aamer's delivery to second slip, where Umar Akmal failed to hold on to the ball but flicked it up volleyball-style. His brother, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, dived full length to take the catch, leaving England on 2-1.

Asif claimed his 100th Test wicket with the first ball of the eighth over, drawing Alastair Cook on 12 into a flick down the leg side that was caught behind.

England reached 49-2 at lunch and batting in the afternoon session proved treacherous. Just as Kevin Pietersen seemed to have played himself in on 22, he was caught behind after Gul drew an inside edge.

Gul should have had a wicket with his next ball, but Akmal dropped an easy chance from Paul Collingwood. In his next over, however, he produced a superb delivery to splay Jonathan Trott's stumps, bowling him for 26.

Collingwood hung around for 33 minutes after his reprieve but scored a solitary single before he was lbw to Gul, a decision he opted not to review after consulting batting partner Eoin Morgan.

Morgan was the only batsman who looked comfortable, but he was run out for 17 by Umar Akmal, chasing a third run when he was sent back by Matt Prior at the end of the 38th over.

That reunited Prior with Graeme Swann, who ran him out in the first innings on Friday, and the pair added 22 runs to reach 120-6 at tea.

Pakistan's hopes of limiting England to a manageable target were dashed by the tail in the evening session.

Swann was lbw to Danish Kaneria for 28, after a referral, but Prior moved to his 50 with a sweep off Malik in the 56th over.

Prior and Stuart Broad built England's biggest partnership of the innings, 56, before Broad was caught at first slip by Imran Farhat off Malik in the 60th.

Anderson was out for 2 two overs later, top-edging Malik to give Kamran Akmal a steepling catch.

Prior hit out in pursuit of his century and smashed two towering sixes off Kaneria over long off in the 69th over, but he then hit singles from the first ball of the next four overs, leaving Finn to take the strike.

Prior crept to 99, before finally reaching his third test hundred in the 76th over, with a three down to third man, after which England declared. Finn was 9 not out.

Pakistan was rocked when it lost two wickets in the fourth over of its second innings.

Broad had captain Salman Butt caught at third slip by Collingwood for 8, before Azhar Ali followed in controversial fashion two balls later without scoring.

Ali referred Tony Hill's decision to give him out lbw, but even though replays suggested the ball was fractionally high, the decision was upheld.

Umar Amin didn't bother to ask for a review when he was lbw to Anderson in the next over for 1.

England raced to bowl another over before the cut off at 1800 GMT, but Farhat (6 not out) and Aamer (0 not out) clung on.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1473 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2252 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE