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Aslam and Azhar repel England's quicks

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Lunch Pakistan 72 for 1 (Aslam 27*, Azhar 38*) trail England 297 by 225 runs
Scorecard

Sami Aslam cuts early in his innings © Getty Images

Pakistan overcame the loss of Mohammad Hafeez in the first over of the second day to reach lunch on 72 for 1 with 20-year-old Sami Aslam making a positive early impression on his return to Test cricket and Azhar Ali producing his best innings of the series to date.

Hafeez, playing his 50th Test, fell to the fourth ball of the morning when he slapped a short, wide delivery from James Anderson low to point but that was the only success for England over the first two hours. They did not bowl at their best, generally pitching too short, but credit should go to Aslam and Azhar who showed excellent judgement and concentration.

Aslam, brought into the side to replace Shan Masood, shaped up well in his third Test showing good awareness of his off stump and an eagerness to take singles to keep the strike rotating. Neither was he shaken when he ducked into a short ball from Chris Woakes that did not rise and glanced off the back of his helmet. For a man who hadn’t played a first-class innings since December 2015 it was a commendable effort.

Azhar has struggled in the opening two Tests, making 39 runs in four innings, but fought hard and started to reap the benefits as the session progressed, driving a boundary off Woakes and cracking a short delivery from Steven Finn over point before showing intent against Moeen Ali when the offspinner was brought on shortly before the interval.

Finn’s first spell was notable for its efforts as he charged in, flinging the ball down at good pace, but there were not enough deliveries threatening the batsmen, a charge that could be laid against all England’s bowlers. Anderson also became frustrated towards the end of his first spell when umpire Joel Wilson took interest in his follow through and on finishing an over grabbed his cap off Wilson and remonstrated in a manner which may come to the attention of the match referee.

Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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