Live Test Match Blogging / Ed Hawkins / 26 August 2010 / Leave a Comment

England had Pakistan just where they wanted them until last week's surprise defeat at The Oval, can the tourists pull off a dramatic comeback? Ed Hawkins has the answers. Email him here

CLOSE 17.49 Eng 39-1
The draw is [1.88] and, weather permitting, our first act of day two may well be to lay that. Time can be made up, folks and the forecast for the remaining four days is pretty decent. Join us tomorrow for, hopefully, a more thrilling day.

17.35 Eng 39-1 RAIN
An inspection is imminent. We expect that play will be called off. It's still raining after all.

16.43 Eng 39-1 RAIN
Check out the weather radar. More play today look unlikely.

16.12 Eng 39-1 RAIN
Here's an amazing stat to keep your mind whirring. According to Jo King, the Channel Five scorer, Umar Akmal's drop was Pakistan's 18th of the series. Those drops have cost Pakistan 380 runs. The highest score of the series is 354.

15.44 Eng 39-1 RAIN
Tea is being taken, which means that in theory they could start at 16.00 and go on until 19.30 for the final session. But it is still wet and even if the rain did stop, the light is no good

15.26 Eng 39-1 RAIN
Still gloomy and now raining.

14.46 Eng 39-1 BAD LIGHT
Bonkers. The floodlights are on. There are patches of blue sky. But it's not bright enough for play, apparently. The bad light rule is so archaic, a throwback to when batsmen did not have helmets and they were genuinely at risk. Not now, though. Annoying.

14.38 Eng 35-1
Just shows what I know. I reckoned England were a decent wager at [2.00] because their runscoring record at HQ is fab. On the last six occasions they've batted first, they've breached 500 in four of them. Still, the delivery which Asif produced to beat Strauss neck and crop was a beauty.There was very little Strauss could do to keep that out. We won't see a better abll than that for the rest of the Test. England [2.06], Pakistan [5.60] and the draw [2.90]

WICKET 14.35 Eng 31-1
A Strauss b Asif 13

14.30 Eng 27-0
Cook has successfully referred a catch behind, which is a shame because I am close to pulling out my retinas such is his shocking style. Wahab Riaz, the five-wicket hero from The Oval, has come into the attack. The lights are also on at HQ, which makes one worry about the possibility of bad light. England are still even money. I think that's a decent wager, I really do. I'll give you a stat as to why in a mo but in the here and now, Strauss and Cook have survived the most difficult period.

14.06 Eng 21-0
Apologies. When I said I didn't have a huge amount of confidence in any of these England batsman, I should of qualified that with 'except Cook'. I have ZERO confidence in Cook. It is telling you can't lay the guy for a 50. Personally, I reckon the best top-bat bets are Trott or Collingwood. Obdurate pros who will make crease occupation their first goal rather than runscoring.

14.01 Eng 20-0
I must say I don't have a huge amount of confidence in any of these England batsman at the moment. That makes putting your money down on one of them for top-bat difficult. However, my mind is made up that neither Strauss nor Cook are value. With the ball doing as much as it is, they are hugely vulnerable. They are both [2.20] for half-centuries. Only Strauss, at [2.44] is available to lay at the mo.

13.54 Eng 11-0
Cook has reverted to type after his century at The Oval. No feet movement whatsoever and he has been dropped at slip. A real dolly off Aamer. Here are the prices for England top-bat...
Strauss [4.50]
Cook [4.70]
Trott [5.80]
Pietersen [5.30]
Collingwood [7.00]
Any Other [5.10]

13.45 Eng 5-0
Let's take a look at the averages of England's batsmen at Lord's in preparation for top-bat musings.
Strauss 62.2
Cook 59.8
Pietersen 67.5
Collingwood 40.5
Prior 50.5

13.40 Eng 4-0
Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook are in position. A mighty tricky task for them because the ball should swing in these moist conditions. And in Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif, Pakistan have two superior swing bowlers. We expect to see the greatest movements in price coming for the tourists and the draw, in and out respectively. We can play until 19.30. Aamer's first ball goes for four wides.

13.19 Pakistan win toss and bowl
Here are the prices; England [2.00], Pakistan [5.60] and the draw [3.10]

13.17 Pakistan win toss and bowl
A bit of a no-brainer that for Salman Butt, Pakistan captain. We will start at 13.40. Here are the teams...

England 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Eoin Morgan, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Graeme Swann, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven Finn

Pakistan 1 Yasir Hameed, 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Salman Butt (capt), 4 Azhar Ali, 5 Mohammad Yousuf, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Mohammad Amir, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Mohammad Asif

13.00 START DELAYED
Covers are coming off, apparently. Meanwhile, check out the fixtures for next summer's England games here. Sri Lanka and then India are in town.

12.23 START DELAYED
Lunch is being taken so we're some way off from play, especially as more covers are on the field. The draw is [2.66]. The longer the delay, the shorter it will get. Bear in mind, though, that time can be made up.

11.55 START DELAYED
I've got the weather radar out. One we start, we won't stop, it would seem.

11.30 START DELAYED
We should have an inspection in 30 minutes or so. The delay has, obviously, impacted the prices with the draw shortening. Currently it is [2.96]. England are [1.96] and Pakistan are [6.40].

11.10 START DELAYED
The covers are still on. Interestingly, it's not raining here in west London, about five miles down the road. While you wait, why not read the fourth Test preview.

10.55 START DELAYED
You've got time for another round of Weetabix, folks. Drizzle has delayed the start of this final Test match. But once it stops, we shouldn't be far off. Lord's has the best drainage in the world. They should do. They spent more than one million quid on it.

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