Mahmood Ahmad
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1st Test: England v Pakistan at Lord's, 17-21 May 2001 Mahmood Ahmad |
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Pre-game:
England 1st innings: |
England reached the 150 of their innings immediately after the tea break, as Hussain slammed Shoaib through extra covers for his third four. The pace man conceded another boundary in his next over, when Thorpe executed a brilliant off drive played on the up.
The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ bowled one more over after that before limping off the ground for perhaps the umpteenth time in a highly erratic career. Although he did return to the field but was not brought on to bowl.
His place at the Pavilion End was taken over by Wasim Akram. The veteran left-hander produced some fine deliveries to unnerve the batsmen. However, he couldn’t find success despite finding the edge of Thorpe’s bat, watching in frustration as Rashid Latif failed to grab the ball down the leg side before it ran over the fine leg rope.
There was no chance whatsoever for the Pakistan bowlers after that, as both Thorpe and Hussain secured confidence. They posted the fifty of the partnership for the 4th wicket, when Thorpe edged Wasim Akram to the vacant third man region. Although the shot wasn’t confident, but was effective enough to add four more runs to the total.
The Surrey left-hander reached his fifty (off 101) balls, as he helped himself for the 8th boundary – an elegant cut through point. Incidentally, that shot also brought up the 200 for England in the 75th over.
It was not long after that when the hundred of the partnership was reached in 226 balls, with Thorpe’s contribution 59 and Hussain’s 40. Thereafter, the scoring rate rose markedly, especially after the introduction of part-timer Younis Khan, as Thorpe cut and swept the ball for boundaries on both side of the wicket.
Waqar took the new ball immediately when it had become due and brought Wasim along with himself on. Yet nothing was to deter the two batsmen, at least for the next 5 or 6 overs, as runs kept flowing easily from their bats. It was during this period that the England skipper reached his fifty (145 balls) by flicking Wasim for a boundary to square leg.
Thorpe went in the 85th over, bowled by Waqar, as the left-hander mistimed a pull and holed out to Abdur Razzaq at long leg. He made a fine 80 off 145 balls, 44 of which having come in boundaries.
The dismissal of Thorpe brought nightwatchman Ryan Sidebottom at the crease. The longhaired youngster was up to the task, defying with complete confidence the fiery bowling unleashed by Wasim and Waqar in the dying moments, triggering in response loud cheers from the crowd.
He was unbeaten on 4 and skipper Hussain on 53 in England’s total 254 for 4 when stumps were drawn for the day. Waqar turned out to be the only successful bowler in the session finishing the day with figures of 72 for one in 19 overs.
It was slow going for the hosts immediately after the break, as both Shoaib and Azhar found some movement off the wicket. However, they bowled too many deliveries outside the off, rather than targeting the off stump. That’s probably why the batsmen opted to leave most of the balls without offering any stroke.
The passage from England’s lunchtime score of 92 to 100 comprised six singles and a two, a shot which brought up the hundred in the 33rd over. The very next over, however, saw the shackles breaking as Vaughan helped himself to another boundary, square of the wicket off Shoaib.
That proved to be the last productive shot for the lanky right-hander. Going for a leg side glance off Azhar, he only ended up edging the ball to a diving Rashid Latif behind the stumps. Vaughan made 32 off 55 balls and hit five fours and a six.
Atherton could add just nine for the third wicket with skipper Nasser Hussain, before the England opener's long vigil ended. He made 42 off 122 balls before being beaten for pace by Azhar. The batsman was a bit late in bringing down his bat, as the ball skidded on to his stumps.
Graham Thorpe started off in a belligerent fashion, hammering Wasim for a boundary through covers. He executed another lovely off drive, this time behind the wicket, to welcome Waqar Younis in his new spell.
Hussain, on the other hand, adopted a very sedate approach. After getting off the mark early on in his innings, he took 30 more balls to get his second run, but not before surviving a confident lbw appeal off Wasim. He hit his first boundary in the 51st over, driving Azhar Mahmood through extra cover, and went on to hit one more before the tea break.
At tea, England have reached 146 for three, with Hussain on 15 and Thorpe on 18, made with the help of two boundaries.
Azhar Mahmood bowled throughout the session, getting two for 14 in 14 overs, figures quite contrasting with that of other more experienced bowlers. Razzaq is the other successful bowler, having got Trescothick’s wicket at the cost of 19 runs in five overs.
First it was a 60-run opening stand between Atherton and Trescothick, then a 32-run unbeaten partnership between Atherton and Michael Vaughan, which provided some entertaining batting for a healthy crowd gathered at Lord’s.
Against all expectations, the pitch had no mischief whatsoever in it expect for some movement late in the session. The Pakistan pacemen bowled a bit off line, allowing quite a few runs behind the wicket on the offside. The pace was certainly there, but no swing or seam was witnessed, especially in the early part of the session.
However, all credit to the English openers who grafted quite sensibly, preferring to play with a straight bat and avoiding any undue risks, for there were plenty of opportunities to score on a quick Lord’s outfield.
Pakistan started with the famous duo of Wasim and Waqar. They bowled nine overs in tandem, but did not pose many problems for the batsmen. Atherton hit his first boundary in the second over, a beautiful cover drive off Waqar.
Shoaib Akhtar came on to bowl the tenth over with a shortened run up and a reformed action. He delivered three overs in his only spell, producing quite a few of his hallmark ‘expresses’, mixed with some slower ones. Yet nothing could shake Atherton and Trescothick’s unfailing confidence.
They kept scoring runs, with a boundary every now and then, to take the total past 50 in the 16th over bowled by the skipper. Pakistan found the only success of the session when Razzaq, bowling his second over, induced Trescothick to edge one straight to Azhar Mahmood at gully. The left-hander got 36 (52 balls) with the help of three boundaries.
Michael Vaughan, the new batsman, got off the mark in the same over when he drove Razzaq to the long off boundary. The last ball of the same over saw him edging the ball behind the wicket, where Rashid Latif failed to grab a difficult low catch to his right.
That was the only chance the right-handed Yorkshireman was going to offer, as he gradually gained in confidence. He hit his second boundary in Razzaq's next over, punching a short one from the medium pacer through extra cover. He went on to get two more boundaries off Wasim, first through his favourite offside area and the second one to fine leg.
In a surprising move just before lunch, Waqar introduced leg spinner Younis Khan into the attack. Still there was no stopping Vaughan as he pulled only the second ball of the over to mid-wicket for the first six of the match.
England have reached 92 for 1 at lunch, with a composed-looking Atherton on 30 (4 fours) and Vaughan racing to 23 off only 30 balls, having already hit 4 fours and a six.
Craig White is out of the match, making way for Ryan Sidebottom, the left-arm pace man. Ian Ward is the other debutant for the home side. Dominic Cork is also in the side along with the fearsome duo of Gough and Caddick.
Pakistan has also stuffed their sides with seamers. The most surprising inclusion being the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ Shoaib Akhtar, who has been continuously afflicted by injuries, forcing him to miss two of the side's matches prior to the Test. Azhar Mahmood comes into the side, whereas Saqlain Mushtaq goes out. Saleem Elahi has retained his place in the team after a confident innings of 94 not out against Kent.
The two umpires for the match are Daryll Hair from Australia and Peter Willey from England.
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Date-stamped : 18 May2001 - 22:29