While Pakistan captain Babar Azam blamed his side’s batting failures for their 194-run defeat by England in the second Test at Lord’s on Sunday, England skipper Joe Root said the new Duke balls are responsible for low scores in the current Test series.
Pakistan, who won the toss and opted to bowl first, were bowled out for 215 in their first innings and 172 in their second as England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
“I think we won the toss and bowled first, and we tried to utilise the conditions. Then, the batting was not up to the mark,” Babar said at the post-match presentation.
The Pakistan captain praised Saud Shakeel for his brilliant second innings knock (97) and Mohammad Abbas for his superb bowling performance (4/73 and 5/57).
“Second innings again, bowling… Abbas was outstanding, but our batting again collapsed.”
Saud was the only Pakistan batsman to have put up a fight, showing patience and resilience as he tried to keep the chase alive. He was eventually dismissed for a fighting 97.
“I think Saud showed class and determination,” Babar said. “We just followed our plans and tried to build a partnership, but unfortunately we didn’t have partnerships.”
Abbas, recalled to the Pakistan side after a lengthy absence, was the standout bowler, taking five wickets in England’s second innings to finish with nine wickets in the match.
“I think a Lord’s five-for is a memorable moment for Abbas,” Babar said. “To be honest, we’re trying to do our best with both batting and bowling.”
England’s victory extended a remarkable run of low-scoring Tests in the country this summer, with batting proving unusually difficult across the series.
Neither England nor Pakistan have produced an individual century in the opening two Tests. Pakistan have also failed to score 200 in any of their four innings.
There have been only two team totals above 400 in England this summer — New Zealand’s 416 in their series-deciding victory over England at Trent Bridge and England’s 465 in their innings-and-103-run win over Pakistan in the first Test at Headingley.
England captain Root believes a new batch of Dukes balls could be contributing to the bowler-friendly conditions.
“I think the balls have been very different this year,” Root said.
“I think there’s a different lacquer to them. I’ve not got evidence on that, I probably need to ask Dukes, but I think there’s a lacquer on the seam. They don’t want them to go out of shape and get them changed.”
The recalled Ollie Robinson has been particularly effective, taking 23 wickets in three Tests at an average of 8.34 after claiming eight wickets in the second Test at Lord’s.
Root, England’s leading Test run-scorer, made only 28 runs across the two innings and was dismissed lbw twice. He has now been given out lbw nine times in his last seven matches.
The 35-year-old said the hardness of the balls could also be contributing to greater assistance for seamers from the pitches.
“They seem a lot firmer and probably if they’re dinting the wickets then it’s going to seam off the dints, it’s going to make it move more,” Root said.
“Sometimes you do come across summers where you know it is the perfect storm. You get overcast conditions, you get a bit of rain to contend with, the balls are slightly different and it’s hard.
“But that’s part of the challenge of Test cricket.”
Source: Khaleej Times