England v Pakistan: first men’s Test, day two – live updates | England v Pakistan 2026

A couple of emails. “Afternoon to you, morning from California,” says Michael Coad. “I’d like Dan Lawrence’s middle name to be Henry. DH Lawrence batting for England would be grand.”

“Wondered if you might be interested in my new blog on England v Pakistan at Lord’s in 1996?” asks Steve Pye. “A typical England Test match in the 90s, a story of hope, missed opportunities, Graeme Hick failing, resistance, and of course two collapses. Happy days.”

Poor old Hick: he wasn’t bad, he just never became the superstar that his county record had led us to expect.

54th over: England 239-4 (Brook 15, Lawrence 22) Another moral victory for Usman, who lures Lawrence into a top-edged sweep: but again, no wicket, as (unusually for a spinner) there’s no deep square. Lawrence retorts with a cut for four. Usman then thinks he’s got him LBW, but it’s the arm ball, sliding down. And that’s tea, with England living dangerously – but this pair have already added 37 and stretched the lead to 68.

53rd over: England 233-4 (Brook 15, Lawrence 16) Abbas keeps the pressure on with a maiden to Brook.

Meanwhile there’s more news on Quarter-Zip Man, who, Nasser Hussain reports, was given four free pints to replace the ones he dropped. Does that mean Pakistan get some free catches too?

52nd over: England 233-4 (Brook 15, Lawrence 16) Usman, who’s been testing, bowls his best over yet. Making the ball turn as if it was the fifth day, not the second, he finds Lawrence’s inside edge and then his outside edge without quite getting him out. The second delivery spat as well – and dribbled away for four.

51st over: England 228-4 (Brook 14, Lawrence 12) Saud Shakeel, captaining in place of the injured Salman, gives Khurram a breather (15-1-82-1) and brings Mohammad Abbas back for a short spell before tea. Brook flicks him for three.

“One of the things England under Stokes were criticised for,” says James Brough, “was getting into a competitive position and then having a bit of a brainfade. In the last few minutes, Cox has reviewed a thick edge to the keeper, Root’s reviewed an lbw that was hitting middle and Brook’s wafted something straight to second slip. I’m hoping these things come in threes…”

50th over: England 224-4 (Brook 11, Lawrence 11) Brook, facing Usman, picks up two with a Rootish glide. Now both batters are on 11 – but the double Nelson has been and gone.

49th over: England 222-4 (Brook 9, Lawrence 11) Lawrence gets a half-volley from Khurram and drills it back past him for four. He likes the feel of that so much, he does it again.

So we’ve got Lawrence on 11, taking England to 222, after replacing Root, who made 66, with 66 on his back, in his 66th Test as captain. And Emilio Gay made 33. Meaningless, of course, but mildly diverting.

48th over: England 214-4 (Brook 9, Lawrence 3) Dan Lawrence sometimes seems to play with just his bottom hand and it’s almost his undoing now. Trying to whip Usman to midwicket, he gets a leading edge that could easily be caught in the covers. But he survives, so does Brook, and England lead by 43.

47th over: England 213-4 (Brook 9, Lawrence 2) Brook, facing Khurram, wafts at his second ball – and is dropped by Salman Agha at third slip, the captain himself. He got a finger to it and hurt himself in the process. The ball went for four, Salman goes off for treatment, Brook leg-glances for four more – it’s all happening.

46th over: England 205-4 (Brook 1, Lawrence 2) Harry Brook, facing his first ball, gets off the mark with a push into the covers. But suddenly it’s a different game.

45th over: England 204-4 (Brook 0, Lawrence 2) To make matters worse, Root called for another bad review. England’s reviewing has been awful, both in the field and with the bat, and now they’re out of reviews in this innings. The lights are on, the rain is back and there are two new batters at the crease. Dan Lawrence, back from a two-year exile, starts with a purposeful push into the on side for two.

It’s not all about England, though. That wicket was a triumph for Khurram, after the pummelling he took earlier.

One brings two! After cutting Khurram for a dismissive four, Root plays all round a straight one. Root 66, as it says on his shirt.

44th over: England 198-3 (Root 61, Brook 0) Before that, Root pulled out the reverse sweep and nailed it. He added a single, whereupon Cox played a streaky chip for two. That brought up the 150 partnership – and then Cox perished.

The breakthrough! Cox gets a nick, sees the finger go up, tries a review, and finds that the snicko is not on his side. So that’s a bad review but a good innings in his first go as England’s makeshift No 3.

43rd over: England 191-2 (Cox 71, Root 57) Khurram to Cox again: will the carnage continue? Not for now, as there’s a plan – aiming at sixth stump with a packed offside field. Cox shapes to pull but can’t beat mid-on. And that’s Khurram’s first maiden in the match, so he’s shown some resilience.

42nd over: England 191-2 (Cox 71, Root 57) Usman Ali continues, with most of Pakistan’s hopes on his shoulders. He seems to be an old-school left-arm spinner, of the kind England have given up on. The batters handle him with care but still collect four singles.

41st over: England 187-2 (Cox 69, Root 55) Here’s Khurram Shahzad, back from the doghouse – and then straight back in it! His first ball, a long hop, is clonked back to him by Cox, perhaps suprirsed by the lack of pace, and Khurram drops the catch. That’s a full house: bad ball, bad shot, bad miss. Khurram stays on the short side, and Cox pulls him for four, twice. “This is the kind of spell,” says Dinesh Karthik, “that gets your team drooopy in the shoulders.” Cox cuts for four more. That’s 12 off the over and 29 off the last two from Khurram, who now has 11-0-60-0. Oh dear.

40th over: England 175-2 (Cox 57, Root 55) Salman Agha, possibly in desperation, brings on his spinner, Usman Ali. Mark Butcher is just saying the ball is unlikely to turn when Usman rips one past Root’s outside edge. That could make the rest of this match more interesting, as England don’t have a front-line spinner. Root responds immediately, bringing out the paddle sweep and picking up two.

39th over: England 171-2 (Cox 56, Root 52) Yesterday Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue reached their five-fors off consecutive balls (the first time this had ever happened in Tests, apparently). Now Cox and Root do the same thing with their fifties. Root brings up his 108th Test half-century with a clip for four off Ali. Cox adds a crunchy straight drive and the scores are level. That’s drinks, with England well on top: they’ve made 59-0 off 14 overs today.

38th over: England 162-2 (Cox 52, Root 47) Salman Agha posts a leg slip for Mohammad Abbas. Cox, unperturbed, flicks for four through the vacant second leg slip. That brings him a fine first Test fifty off 78 balls with ten fours. From what we’ve seen so far, he plays with a flourish.

37th over: England 151-2 (Cox 47, Root 46) A single to each batter off Ali, who now has 11-1-44-1. Some crowds would be getting restless by now, but at Headingley they don’t mind a bit of graft. And they’ve had the satisfaction of seeing Quarter-Zip Man go back for four more beers. He delivered them safely to his mates, acknowledging the cheers with a wry smile.

36th over: England 149-2 (Cox 46, Root 45) After 15 balls without a run, England break the shackles with four leg-byes! Cox, taking the hint, punches Abbas through the covers for four to bring up the hundred partnership – 101 off 26 overs. It’s been fairly serene.

35th over: England 141-2 (Cox 42, Root 45) Stuart Broad is just observing that this Pakistan attack is too medium-paced to switch to sustained short-pitched bowling, when Mohammad Ali bowls a bouncer. “I think that’s the first one we’ve seen in this innings,” Broad says. ““And Joe Root just laughs as it goes past.”

34th over: England 141-2 (Cox 42, Root 45) A big cheer suddenly goes up, and another. The big screen shows a grey-haired man in a green quarter-zip holding a tray of four pints in one hand, but not for long as he promptly drops them. Is he trying to make a meme of himself?

Meanwhile, in the middle… Abbas keeps Cox quiet, then turns him round, draws another of those thick edges and collects another maiden.

33rd over: England 141-2 (Cox 42, Root 45) As Mohammad Ali continues, up comes a graphic showing that 84pc of Root’s runs in this innings have come behind the wicket. Sounds like 37 of his 44… and, right on cue, he glides a single to make it 38 out of 45. Cox follows suit. Apart from that one bad over, the bowlers have been decent today. But because of the hole their batters dug for them yesterday, decency is not enough.

32nd over: England 139-2 (Cox 41, Root 44) Yes, it’s Abbas from the Kirkstall Lane end, as Khurram heads off to the naughty step. Cox is itching to get at him, using the crease as if he’s in The Hundred, but Abbas is wily enough to bowl a maiden.

31st over: England 139-2 (Cox 41, Root 44) Salman Agha makes his first bowling change of the day, replacing Mohammad Abbas with Mohammad Ali (possibly so Abbas can change ends). Ali starts with a rank loosener and is lucky to be clipped for only two by Root, but the rest of the over is tidy enough.

30th over: England 137-2 (Cox 41, Root 42) Cox, facing Khurram, gets another freebie on the pads. He flicks it with more conviction, picks up his first four of the day and goes to his highest Test score! To celebrate, he helps himself to three more boundaries: a square drive with an open face, a thick edge that he does well to keep down, and a crisp tuck through midwicket. Seventeen off the over!

29th over: England 120-2 (Cox 25, Root 42) Cox picks up another single as Abbas strays onto the pads. The cameras find a man in the crowd, wrestling with his poncho. It’s all over his face: perhaps he’s in fancy dress and has come as a ready meal.

28th over: England 119-2 (Cox 24, Root 42) Jordan Cox finally gets to face his first ball of the day. It’s wide down the leg side from Khurram, and the next one is wide outside off. Cox shows no interest in either before pushing a single through the vacant fourth slip. He thus prevents his Test career from turning into a nice easy maths question – what’s next in this sequence: 27, 25, …?

Khurram’s outswinger beats Root again, but it’s too short to take the edge.

27th over: England 117-2 (Cox 23, Root 42) At the other end it is, of course, Mohammad Abbas. The keeper, Mohammad Rizwan, stays back, so Root cashes in, steps out and clips the first ball for four. Rizwan, admitting his mistake, comes up to the stumps and that’s enough to keep Root quiet for the next five balls.

26th over: England 113-2 (Cox 23, Root 38) A wicket fell to the first ball yesterday, and it nearly does so today too. Khurram starts with a juicy outswinger that Root is lucky to miss. Later in the over Root is beaten again, this time on the inside, by the nip-backer. But when Khurram goes back to the outswinger, Root is ready for it, producing a solid prod followed by a glide for a single.

It’s going to be Khurram Shahzad, who opened the bowling last night without success.

Thanks Jim and afternoon everyone. So England are about to resume on 112-2, and we have 58 overs left in the day (weather permitting).

Righto, Pakistan are in a huddle on the boundary edge, Joe Root and Jordan Cox appear in their batting kit and Test cricket is about to break out at Headingley.

Sadly, that is the end of my shift/stint of weather watch. Tim de Lisle is making himself comfy in the leather OBO armchair to bring you the first real action of the day. Thanks for your company and comments. Play!

The restart time has been pushed back slightly to 2.45pm.

The stumps are getting knocked in and the crease lines being painted. Hold. Hold.

The official word is that an extra fifteen minutes were needed to prepare the pitch.

Tea will now be taken at 5pm and the final session will be 5.20pm – 7.00pm with an extra thirty mins to bowl the overs. There will be a maximum of 58 overs in the day

“Hi James”

Chris Howell is here to tell the real story of that 2010/11 Adelaide Test.

“If it helps dispel nightmares of dimension-hopping rainstorms wiping out cricket history, my recollection of that Adelaide test is that it was well-known that rain was going to finish the game early, probably soon after lunch on day 5.

Going into the final over of day 4, Australia needed around 140 to make England bat again with 7 wickets in hand. Leading Stuart Broad critic Michael Clarke middled the second ball from Pietersen to Cook at short leg and stood his ground when given not out, with the DRS confirming the smallest involvement of pad in any bat/pad dismissal in the history of the game, so Australia went in 4 down.

The following morning, they contrived to lose 6 for 66 in just under 20 overs, with the expected rain starting soon after, earlier than forecast. At the time it felt like a game that Australia really ought have made a much better fist of saving, even if the rain hadn’t come, rather than a game that England were going to win unless the rain took it from them.”

The crowd are filing in at Headingley with regular glances to the heavens and the patient punters hopeful for play in just over fifteen minutes.

Chris Goater has another Butterfly Effect rain delay for us:

“Hi James, I keep thinking of the England tour of the West Indies 1989-90. An England team that had been thrashed by Australia in the summer turned up under a new captain (Gooch) and missing the likes of Botham, Gower and Gatting. They sensationally beat the all-conquering West Indies in the first Test and all the momentum was with them. But the second test was a total washout, and England were winning the third test until rain made their chase of 151 to win impossible. Gooch’s hand injury in the fourth innings ruled him out of the rest of the series, and eventually Richards’ side regained control and won the series 2-1. But were it not for rain I think England would have won the first three Tests and it would have been the most unlikely series victory of all time.”

… If there is no more rain. So thirty minutes longer to wait. The Pakistan players make their way out to the middle for some warm ups. Marcus Trescothick can be spied kicking a football around. I’m afraid to say I don’t even think ‘Banger’ would be able to hack it at our regular Friday night five a-side football. Actually, scratch that, we’d have him as a target man up top.

More good news! The covers are now completely removed apart from the hover cover over the actual wicket. It is still fine, if a little grey, and the official inspection is in five minutes. Might we see some cricket break out at Headingley this afternoon?

Righto, the ground staff are coming out to begin a clear up operation so progress of sorts. The official word is there will be a further inspection at 1:45pm provided there is no further rain. The radar doesn’t look great for the next two hours actually but then clears right up for later in the afternoon. Cross those fingers and tootsies.

The umpires wander out for a look at conditions out in the middle accompanied by a couple of members of the ground staff. It isn’t raining currently and hasn’t been for a little while. Kiwi ump Chris Gaffaney is using his umbrella as a pointing stick as they do a tour of the outfield…

There’s some hope here at Headingley, currently there isn’t really any rain falling and the official word is there will be a pitch inspection at 1pm provided it stays clear. It is brightening up a little, keep the faith!

“You’re spot on re: the fourth Test in 2023” says Patrick Brennan. “Momentum was entirely with England and I have no doubt they would have won that series 3-2. Arguably they could and should have won it 5-0, they were streets ahead of the Australians that summer.” Hmm not sure about this second bit though, Paddy.

“It was very much England ‘won’ 2-2 that year although I think it’s entirely fair to say that Australia ‘won’ 2-2 in 2019, and could/should have won that series 4-0 without Benjamin Stokes…

Tom Barrington has one that doesn’t even bear thinking about:

“Hi Jim, a big one for me was the rain that fell after the end of play in the Adelaide Test in 2010-11 Ashes series. If the expected rain had come along and washed out the rest of the day, it would have been two emphatic draws for England but perhaps the spectre of lost opportunity would have weighed on them. They lost at Perth so would have gone into the boxing day test 1-0 down, and the famous series win may never have materialised!”

I had forgotten about that. England could have done with a bit of the wet stuff at Adelaide the last time around…

In fact, that’s quite a decent, if soggy, rabbit hole to head down for an OBO discussion. The Butterfly Effect of rain delays. Which games and whose careers might have looked significantly different if the wet stuff hadn’t fallen at a particular time or other?

I’ll wrack my brains, right now I’m just thinking of Tim Henman v Goran Ivanišević in the 2001 Wimbledon Semi Final:

Speaking of that Old Trafford Test in 2023, undoubtedly Zak Crawley’s finest display in an England shirt. He was unstoppable that day. I remember seeing Pat Cummins shaking his head in disbelief as himself and his bowling attack were relentlessly dispatched to all parts.

There’s a fair debate to be had that the BazBall project and Crawley’s Test career could have both had a very different feel in the following couple of years if the skies in Manchester hadn’t broken and wiped out the end of that match.

“Morning Jim, as someone who took one nephew to THAT particularly rainy Ashes day at Old Trafford and has day four tickets with another nephew for Headingley on Saturday, I can’t say I’d be that upset at a few lost overs today” writes a conflicted Michael in New Mills. “Although I don’t want to hope for too much rain for today’s crowd and the inevitable bad karma that would bring about.”

It’s a safe space here on the OBO Michael and between us we can keep karmic forces at bay.

I can confirm the rain has abated slightly here at Headingley and the super soppers are at least being operated up and down the rain strewn covers. We’re a long way away from an inspection and a start time at the moment though.

Rain delay reading:

“It won’t be, but this summer should be the ultimate wake up call for our cricket schedule. It’s an absolute farce considering the weather we’ve had recently in this country to now be watching covers” writes a disgruntled Liam Crowley.

“Pushing the county championships to the edges of the season has been a disaster, now we are doing it with the Test summer and lo and behold… I’m not having the attendance argument either. These Tests have sold pretty well for three days anyway. That’s about as much as the half empty Hundred is pulling for a handful of grounds.”

All fair points Liam, the debate about the schedule and The Hundred owners buying a chunk of August will rumble and grumble.

Speaking of the Champo – Tanya is on the tools on the County blog, it is a soggy scene in most places but play has broken out in some of the shires:

“Morning James! Hope you’re enjoying the Test. I’m most certainly not…” writes Zain Malik.

“I sent this in yesterday and think it would better reflect circumstances and mood this morning:

The visiting cricketer must first contend with the peculiarities of the local climate. The sky hangs low over Headingley, a vast sheet of grey through which the sun, presumably, exists somewhere. Moisture clings to the grass and gathers on the seats. The pitch is a threatening shade of green. Beyond the boundary, spectators disappear beneath coats and umbrellas while the floodlights will soon glow in what the calendar, rather optimistically, describes as summer. This is most certainly not what a “heatwave” looks like.

Then comes the waiting.

The covers advance and retreat. Groundstaff emerge, confer and disappear. Water droplets gather on television cameras. Broadcasters in raincoats staring towards the square, caricatures of English cricketing misery, wearing the anxious resignation of patients at the dentist’s reception waiting for a name neither particularly wants to hear.

For Pakistanis, though, this is all strangely familiar. Test cricket has long played in the background of Pakistani life: on televisions in offices and bank branches, in shops and drawing rooms, followed intermittently between meetings, customers and cups of tea. And no fixture has tested that national appetite quite like a Test series in the English summer. The hours are convenient, the opposition familiar and the audience enormous; only the weather refuses to cooperate. England asks the Pakistani cricket follower to master one of the game’s more peculiar disciplines: spending an entire day watching almost no cricket at all.”

Lovely stuff Zain. I’m afraid to say it is steady mizzle at Headingley. The city buildings disappearing in a grey fug in the background, never a good sign.

Two Men and a Ball:

One win in England’s last 17 Tests. Those were the numbers that greeted Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes when they took over in 2022, a reminder of just how bad things had ended under Joe Root. It was a statistic that gave the new boys permission to rip up the old order.

So it’s easy to forget that precious one. It was near the middle of that horror run, and it came at Headingley against India five years ago this month. The tourists were bowled out for 78 as Root reached three figures and celebrated his 27th victory as Test captain, a record among Englishmen. The Yorkshireman had to come home to find some breathing space.”

Taha wrote a lovely piece about Root, Robinson, recent history and new beginnings:

Preamble

James Wallace

Was there anything more soul-sappingly disappointing as a child than flicking on the television on a summer holiday Test match morning fully expecting to luxuriate in a day of Test cricket watching only to be met with the sight of gun metal skies, thick drizzle and full covers stretched across the outfield? “As am sure you can see from the rather inclement scene behind me…” a mournful David Gower, Mark Nicholas or Tony Lewis would say down the lens. Crushing.

Welcome to the second day of this first Test between England and Pakistan from Headingley. I’m afraid to say that it is a wet one, folks. As the Beautiful South nearly sang – From Garforth to Gipton it’s rain. From Roundhay to Rawdon it’s rain.

The forecast isn’t good for most of the day but there’s a chance things might improve in the afternoon. From my perch here in the media centre at the ground I can see two unmanned super soppers on each side of the wicket and full covers in place. Urgh

Still, there’s plenty to get stuck into and we’ll be here to provide updates and facilitate debate, please do get in touch with your thoughts, theories and dead air time killing conversation topics.

In the meantime – catch up with Ali’s report from Day one which starred Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue and a sawn in half Dukes ball.