Abbas Four-For Leaves England 248 For 9 At Lord's

Mohammad Abbas took four wickets on the opening day of the Lord's Test, leaving England 248 for 9 at the close. Pakistan won the toss and chose to field. Rain delayed the start. Bad light ended the day early. Only 56 overs were bowled.

Babar Azam made the call at the toss and the ball answered him almost at once. It seamed all day under low cloud. England were three down inside the first hour, and although Jamie Smith and Jordan Cox rebuilt through the middle of the innings, the last hour belonged to Pakistan again. England resume on day two with one wicket standing. Pakistan trail the series 1-0.

Abbas and Ali share the new ball

Abbas was the pick of the attack. He bowled a full length and found movement in both directions. Mohammad Ali took three wickets, Khurram Shahzad one. Pakistan leaned on three seamers for almost the entire innings and never turned to spin for control.

Sky Sports listed the full bowling analysis as follows.

• Mohammad Abbas 4 for 56
• Mohammad Ali 3 for 67
• Khurram Shahzad 1 for 79

Smith and Cox rebuild the innings

England were 36 for 3 inside 10.3 overs, according to Sky Sports, with Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay and Joe Root all back in the pavilion. Root made four. Duckett made 17. Cox and Smith then put the innings back together, Cox making 55 and Smith top scoring with 61. Harry Brook made 15. Dan Lawrence made 17 and was run out.

Smith was the more fluent of the two once he settled. "I felt I scratched around at the start, but once I found the middle of the bat, it was slightly different," he told Sky Sports. Gus Atkinson finished unbeaten on 34 from 27 balls. Josh Tongue was with him on one.

Rain and bad light cut the day short

The weather ran the day. Sky Sports reported a delayed start at 12.20pm and a close at 6.10pm when the umpires took the players off for bad light, roughly an hour ahead of schedule. Only 12 overs were possible in the final session, and Pakistan took four wickets in them, according to The News. The day finished 34 overs short of a full allocation.

Both sides sit low in the Championship table

The ICC published its World Test Championship 2025-27 standings on 27 August. England are seventh on 29.76 percent from 14 matches, with five wins, eight defeats and one draw. Pakistan are ninth on 19.05 percent from seven, with two wins, four defeats and one draw. Australia lead the table on 80.00 percent.

England won the first Test at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs, inside three days. That was Joe Root's first match of his second spell as England captain. Babar returned at Lord's after a fitness doubt and told reporters before the match that he was 90 percent fit. A Pakistan win here would level the series and lift them off the bottom of the table.