Updated on
Summary
Pakistans brittle batting was brutally exposed by Australian pace battery as they slumped to 141 for 9 at tea on the second day of the first neutral Test at Lords on Wednesday. Responding to Australian first innings total of 253, they were undone by paceman Shane Watson who has so far taken four wickets under conditions ideally for seam and swing bowling. The players took an early tea when rain and bad light stopped the proceeding for the second time in the day. Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger captured two wickets each as Australia looked poised to take a handsome first innings lead. With overcast conditions helping the pace bowlers, Pakistanis found runs hard to come by. Only vice captain Salman Butt faced the Australian bowlers with any degree of confidence, completing his 15th half century in 78 balls in his 28th Test with ten fours and after two hours at the crease. However, he was ninth batsman to fall at 133, becoming one of four victims of paceman Shane Watson. His batting knock of 63 contained twelve fours from 94 balls and innings spanned 171 minutes. Responding to Australias modest total innings total of 253, Pakistan made a poor start losing opener Imran Farhat for 4 at 11 to Ben Hilfenhaus who found edge of the left-hander batsmans bat and gave Tim Paine his first Test catch behind the stumps. Test debutant Azhar Ali (16) added 34 runs for the second wicket with Salman Butt before Hilfenhaus claimed his second wicket in 36 balls. Azhars lack of footwork cost him his wicket as he just pushed away from his body to a ball shaping away outside the off-stump and the thin edge was taken by Paine for his second catch. Pakistan went into lunch at 49 for 2 but there was a 40 minutes stoppage on resumption because of bad light and rain. And when play restarted, Pakistan lost their third wicket at 54 when debutant Umar Amin fell to third catch by Paine off left-arm pace bowler Mitchell Johnson for 1. When fourth pace bowler Shane Watson was introduced into the attack in the 27th over, he produced immediate results with wickets of Umar Akmal (5) and his brother Kamran Akmal (0) in quick succession as Pakistan slumped to 83 for 5.
