 |
| Andrew Strauss was defeated by a super delivery from Mohammad Asif before the rain returned at Lord's |
The start of the crucial final Test at Lord's was delayed by persistent morning rain that, while not as heavy as the previous night's downpours, was enough to keep the covers in place and an early lunch was called for 12.30pm.
The umpires, Billy Bowden and Tony Hill, made an inspection and it appeared conditions were improving before further rain arrived shortly before they were due to have another look at 11.50. The forecast for the first two days of this Test suggests rain will never be far away, but conditions look more promising over the weekend.
Pakistan are chasing a victory which would give them a share of the spoils after they went 2-0 down with heavy defeats at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston. England, meanwhile, are desperate to finish the Test season on a winning note in their last five-day match before the Ashes starts in November.
Both teams are expected to be unchanged from The Oval with England using the same XI throughout the series and Pakistan resisting the temptation to rush back Umar Gul following his hamstring injury. Gul's replacement, Wahab Riaz, was an able stand-in with a five-wicket haul on his debut at The Oval.
England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss, 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 (probable) 1 Yasir Hameed, 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Salman Butt (capt), 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Azhar Ali, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Mohammad Amir, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Mohammad Asif
No comments:
Post a Comment