Live Test Match Blogging / Ed Hawkins / 30 July 2010 / Leave a Comment

England enjoyed a great opening day at the crease. Can they build on their solid foundations or will Salman Butt's men come back into contention on day two? Ed Hawkins talks you through the action...

17.12 Pk 147-9STUMPS
It was just getting gripping. Pakistan need eight to avoid follow on. England need one wicket. No matter. I'm currently strutting round the flat like I own the place (which I don't any more, of course) after James Anderson copped as top England bowler. Stuart Broad's first wicket ensured Steve Finn can't catch our man. You're welcome.

WICKET 17.08 Pk 147-9
D Kaneria b Broad 7

16.55 Pk 135-8
Pakistan need 155 to avoid the follow-on. The light is not great, though. So we might have a bit of a delay. Pakistan are [1.55] to score 150 or more if you fancy a wager on it.

16.36 Pk 108-8
Jimmy is almost there. He is two wickets ahead of Steven Finn and there are only two wickets left to claim. Danish Pastry Kaneria is in. He's as goofy with a willow as his buck-toothed mug suggests.

16.35 Pk 108-8
M Aamer c Swann b Anderson 25

16.28 Pk 107-7
Anderson back in front in our quest for him to be top England bowler. Four for him. Gosh, I hope he holds on. An Anderson triumph would complete a successful two days for us. We advised a back-to-lay of Pakistan on day one, Trott let us down, admittedly, by not making a 50 but we demanded you back England last night, and again this morning, while we can claim credit for pointing you in the direction of Any Other for top Pakistan bat. It's enough to make anyone think I know what I'm doing.

16.24 105-7
Shoaib Malik c Strauss b Anderson 38

16.05 Pk 101-6
The Victoria sponge was passed over in favour of chocolate-covered figs. They were 'hand dipped'. That sounds decadent. A bit like the last days of Rome here. Last days of home, in fact. Have managed to finally sell my flat. Am going north London, so I can be closer to Lord's. It's been a saga I can tell you. As the vendor (I felt like I should be dispensing crisps when called that) I was messed about something rotten by the buyers. Still, it's done now and the fury and disappointments have dissipated to the extent I'd greet my buyer like a long lost friend. Unlike a chap I know who had a particularly harrowing flat sale last year. After exchanging he went round sewing prawns into the bottoms of curtains, cracking eggs down the back of the oven, threatening to do a poo under the floorboards (he wanted to do a lot of that but I convinced him it was just dirty), jamming screw drivers back and forth in the dishwasher. Problem was, he still had another three weeks to live there.

TEA 15.42 Pk 90-6
A well-deserved cup of tea and biscuit for England. I shall be opting for a slice of Victoria sponge. It has to be said that if it wasn't for our wager on Anderson to be top England bowler, then we would have been talking more confectionary than the cricket, as is often our wont on this blog. Anderson will steam in after tea, so we will hope for more damage. Otherwise, Pakistan are just grimly hanging on and it doesn't make for fascinating watching.

15.27 Pk 69-6
Graeme Swann has come on for a bowl. His first over passes without a wicket. In his Test career he has 19 times taken a wicket in his first over of a spell. He went close, though. England referred a leg before shout against Aamer but the ball was slipping down the legside.

15.13 Pk 65-6
England will probably enforce the follow-on. We can never be sure, though. In the back of their minds we'll be a minor concern aboiut having to bat last. We're getting way ahead of ourselves but anything more than 150 would be tricky.

14.52 Pk 48-6
Finn is threatening our James Anderson 'bet of the day'. It's 3-3. Mohammaed Aamer is the new batsman. Long tail isn't it? They will do well to get to 100 here because after Aamer comes Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria and Mohammad Asif. They cannot bat. Rumour has it that they spend most of their time in the dressing room discussing which end of the willow to hold. I'm told it gets quite heated.

14.48 Pk 47-6
Kamran Akmal c Collingwood b Finn 0

14.42 Pk 45-5
Gee whizz, guys Pakistan are rubbish. No idea against swing. No idea against pace. Steve Finn gave Umar the three-card trick and he was suckered. Just hanging his bat out to dry to tamely guide the ball to Swann. Still, at least Pakistan's two best batsman are now at the crease. If there is to be any semblance of a fightback it will surely come from Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik. England [1.10] and Pakistan [17.50]

14.39 Pk 45-5
Umar Akmal c Swann b Finn 4

14.32 Pk 41-4
Azhar Ali was given out caught behind off Anderson, discussed with his partner using the referral system and then wandered back to the pavilion. Replays showed he did not hit it. No sound, no hotspot, nothing. All it showed was the ball taking a huge deflection off his pocket. Is the guy stupid? Why in goat's name did he not go upstairs? So ... confused. I know, let's call it 'inexperience'.

WICKET 14.30 41-4
Azhar Ali c Prior b Anderson 14

14.23 Pk 35-3
England's price collapsing to [1.19]. Pakistan's naivety against the moving ball is being exposed. That's no surprise at all, we have said all along that their strongest suit is bowling. It is a great shame that they failed to bring one from Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan to strengthen their batting. Then we could have had a really tight series.

14.20 Pk 35-3
Umar Amin c Swann b Finn 2

14.13 Pk 32-2
The birthday boy strikes again. Two wickets now for Anderson. Looking very good for blog followers. Farhat had no idea. It was in-out-in again. Umar Amin, who has played only three Tests, is the next lamb to the slaughter.

WICKET 14.12 Pk 32-2
Farhat b Anderson 19

14.00 Pk 25-1
Test cricket can be confusing. Imran Farhat is not a well-known international batsman. So he is called inexpeerienced. The truth is that he is not very good. He's played 35 Tests. That is more than enough. Experienced even. Certainly experienced enough to be averaging more than 33. His partner is new to it all, however. Azhar Ali is only his second Test. He looks as though he will be a better player than Farhat. He scored 30 and 51 against Australia at Leeds and seems to have the knack of playing the ball late and with soft hands.

13.46 Pk 16-1
Broad and Anderson in tandem again after the break. Different bowlers. Broad is pace and aggression. Anderson more subtle, getting nice movement. We're happy with our 'bet of the day'.

LUNCH 13.00 Pk 16-1
That's lunch and England prove what a decent wager they were at the [1.50] mark at the start of the innings. They are as short as [1.33] now with Pakistan [7.00] and the draw [8.80].

12.52 Pk 12-1
Pakistan's batting is their weakest suit. An inexperienced line-up, with no-one averaging 40 or more, we should expect England to make light work of them in these helpful conditions. Salman Butt, the first batsman to fall, is one of their better performers. So it is tough to negotiate their top-bat market. We are quite happy with our wager on Anderson to be top England bowler but if you must get involved again, Shoaib Malik or Kamran Akmal, both coming under Any Other at [3.60] represent decent value. They are experienced campaigners and have experience of batting in England.

WICKET 12.45 Pk 5-1
S Butt c Prior b Anderson 1

12.35 Pk 0-0
Regarding our bet of the day, James Anderson has an excellent record at Trent Bridge. He has taken 17 wickets at 22 with two five-wicket hauls.

12.25 Pakistan 0-0
Bet of the day. James Anderson is [3.50] to be top England bowler in the first-innings. Graeme Swann is a ludicrously short [1.80]. We know that the ball is bending - Asif's five-wicket haul proves that. Anderson is as good a bowler than Asif. Maybe better because he swings it at much quicker pace and can make it go both ways. Swann, of course, is a good bowler but one would have thought he will do more damage in the fourth-innings. Besides, Pakistan are much better players of spin than they are swing. Fill your boots.

12.18 England 354
Stuart Broad is castled by Umar Gul. Really good stuff from Pakistan this morning but it is a little too late. England, of course, will be disappointed they didn't punch on past 400 but given the state of the pitch - uneven bounce and swing - they will be happy with their total. Stand by for a seam and swing show from James Anderson. England [1.50], Pakistan [6.40] and the draw [6.60].

12.13 Eng 354-9
The flurry of wickets has seen England drift to [1.53] and Pakistan shorten to [6.40]. One of those is a very good price, the other is not. Guess which one?

12.12 Eng 354-9
Not Graeme Swann's six-minutes of his life. He's run out Matt Prior and then missed a straight one. Pakistan have been excellent this morning. If only they had managed a spell like this yesterday afternoon. Oh, as I type, James Anderson is OUT. Asif doing the business. Five wickets for him. Two in two.

WICKET 12.09 Eng 354-8
G Swann lbw b Asif 2

WICKET 12.03 Eng 351-7
M Prior run out 6

11.51 Eng 344-6
Both wickets to Asif this morning to take him level with Aamer on three. James Anderson, who celebrates his 28th birthday today - he's been around yonks hasn't he? - will be looking forward to bowling later on. He should represent more of a threat than Stuart Broad and Steven Finn because he is genuine pitch-it-up swing bowler, the other two ain't

WICKET 11.45
E Morgan lbw b Asif 130

11.33 Eng 340-5
England will be targeting at least 400 here, despite the loss of Paul Collingwood. In their Test match history, England have scored 400 or more in the first-innings of the match 136 times. They have lost only six of those. At Trent Bridge, 16 teams have scored 400 or more in the first dig. None have lost. It means Pakistan should be bigger than [15.00]. More importantly, England should be shorter than [1.45].

WICKET 11.25 Eng 337-5
P Collingwood lbw b Asif 82

11.15 Eng 337-4
For the umpteenth time since Alastair Cook began his Test career in 2006, Sky Sports are analysing his technique, coming to the conclusion that he is "out of form". For the umpteenth time I shout at the television "he's not out of form, he's just not very good". Morgan's success in this Test at least raises the distinct possibility that in future my voice will be saved. Cook's place is under threat and with a poor record against Australia, it is possible that when Ian Bell is fit Jonathan Trott could be asked to open and Cook will be watching on television. Probably won't be shouting at it, though.

11.00 Eng 331-4
Morning all. We're back again for day two at Trent Bridge. The first snippet of info to pass on is that there has been a strong market move overnight. Punters have woken up to the task facing Pakistan, and they have drifted to [19.00] from [14.00]. England are [1.41] from [1.50]. The main reason is the state of the pitch. Uneven bounce is likely to cause problems as the Test progresses and will hinder greatly Pakistan in any fourth-innings chase. Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan to resume.

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