Recent Match Report – Pakistan vs England 3rd Test 2022/23

Lunch Pakistan 117 for 3 (Azhar 45, Babar 30*) vs England

Azhar, restored at No. 3 after his surprise omission in the second Test in Multan, was given a standing ovation onto the pitch by a sparse crowd in his penultimate innings for Pakistan, and played with controlled aggression before gloving Ollie Robinson down the leg side for 45.

He had started cautiously against Jack Leach, his former Somerset team-mate, but looked to attack England’s teenaged debutant Rehan Ahmed, whipping his third ball through midwicket for four during a 71-run stand with Babar Azam.

But in the final over before the break, he was cramped for room by a back-of-a-length ball which deflected off his gloves and was snaffled down the leg side by Ben Foakes, diving low to his left on his return to the England side. The umpires were unclear if the ball had carried, with an soft signal of ‘not out’, but Marais Erasmus overturned the on-field decision.

Shan Masood, playing his first Test match since January 2021 after two seasons of prolific all-format run-making in domestic cricket, was positive early on, using his feet and twice hitting boundaries down the ground for four in Leach’s first over, but fell for a 37-ball 30, having earlier survived a close lbw shout on review while reverse-sweeping.

He had looked relatively assured against Mark Wood’s short-ball tactics, pulling him with control through square leg, but managed to miscue a 90mph/145kph bumper which he skewed down to Leach at long leg via the back of his bat.

That brought Babar to the crease, who played positively alongside Azhar. They put pressure on Ahmed, who became the youngest man to play a Test for them at 18 years and 126 days old but struggled for control of his length in his first five overs.

Azhar pulled his third ball through midwicket for four as he dropped short, the first of six boundaries that Ahmed conceded across the course of the morning. Those included a thick outside edge for four from Babar, slashing at a wide legbreak, but the rest came when Ahmed erred too full or short in his first spell.

Robinson bowled only three overs with the next ball before leaving the field for the best part of an hour with an upset stomach, but returned shortly before lunch to make the crucial breakthrough.

Azhar’s inclusion was one of four changes Pakistan made from Multan, with Masood, Nauman Ali and debutant Mohammad Wasim jnr replacing Mohammad Nawaz, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Ali and the injured Imam-ul-Haq.