Amir fired England is struggling

Mohammad Amir ripped through England's middle order on the second morning at Lord'

Mohammad Amir produced one of the finest spells of left-arm swing seen at Lord's as he skittled England's middle order on a dramatic second morning. He collected Alastair Cook with the third delivery of the day then dispatched Kevin Pietersen - first ball - Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan for ducks as England crashed to 47 for 5.

It was just the fifth time in Test history that numbers four to six had been removed without scoring and the first time it had happened to England as their batting woes reached new levels. With Amir and Mohammad Asif gaining prodigious swing it appeared as though the home side would fold before lunch but Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior, England's two most confident batsmen, did an impressive job to prevent further damage with an unbroken stand of 50.

Amir had three balls left in the interrupted over from the previous evening and he was in the action straight away when Cook edged a fine outswinger to Kamran Akmal having been beaten by the previous delivery. Cook's technique still struggles against the moving ball, but most batsmen would have had a tough time in the conditions.

However, there was very little excuse for Pietersen's horrid dismissal as he drove at a very wide delivery first ball and edged low to the wicketkeeper. He spoke yesterday about how his confidence has been 'hammered' in recent months and this was a shot to back-up those sentiments, but it isn't the first time Pietersen has been undone by his desire to feel bat on ball straight away. On the Pakistan balcony Waqar Younis, the coach, could barely hide his excitement at the wicket which suggested it may even have been a plan to play on Pietersen's ego straight away.