LONDON, 28 August 2026 — Pakistan’s pace trio dominated a rain-hit opening day of the second Test as Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali and Khurram Shahzad shared eight wickets to leave England struggling at 248-9 at stumps on day one of the ICC World Test Championship match at Lord’s.
Play began late due to rain and was reduced to 56 overs. England, put in to bat first, lost wickets regularly before bad light ended proceedings with almost an hour left. Gus Atkinson (34) and Josh Tongue (1) were unbeaten when the players walked off.
Abbas leads the charge
Abbas was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 4-56 in 15 overs. He struck early to give Pakistan the perfect start, removing Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett and captain Joe Root inside the first 11 overs.
Gay was caught down the leg-side by Mohammad Rizwan, while Duckett was given out lbw on review — ball-tracking showed the ball hitting off-stump — to bring up Abbas’ 900th first-class wicket. Root fell three balls later, trapped lbw to leave England at 36-3.
Middle-order fightback
England recovered through a 67-run stand between Jordan Cox (55 off 105, 7x4s) and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith (61 off 80, 10x4s). Cox was involved in three key partnerships 41 with Harry Brook, 43 with Dan Lawrence, and the 67 with Smith but fell to a stunning one-handed catch by substitute fielder Salman Ali Agha off Khurram at second slip. That was Khurram’s only wicket of the day.
Smith top-scored for England and helped lift them from 120-5 to 187-6, but his resistance ended when Ali bowled him. Dan Lawrence was run out for his efforts after a sharp throw from Shan Masood at short mid-wicket.
Ali finished with 3-67, striking twice in the 53rd over to bowl Ollie Robinson for a two-ball duck and later dismissing Smith. Brook had earlier been bowled by Ali for 15.
Abbas returned to break a 21-run ninth-wicket stand, bowling Atkinson’s partner before bad light stopped play. England lost four wickets for 61 in the final nine overs of the day.
Score at stumps
England 248-9 in 56 overs
Jamie Smith 61, Jordan Cox 55, Gus Atkinson 34
Mohammad Abbas 4-56, Mohammad Ali 3-67, Khurram Shahzad 1-0
With conditions expected to remain tricky, Pakistan will look to wrap up the innings quickly on day two and press their advantage in this three-match WTC series.
