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Thursday March 28, 2024

England on top as Root, Cook hit tons

By our correspondents
July 23, 2016

MANCHESTER: England made a strong start in the second Test against Pakistan as two of its top order batsmen struck centuries on the first day here at Old Trafford on Friday.

England amassed 314 for four as skipper Alastair Cook and Joe Root hit 105 and 141 not out, respectively. Cook struck 15 boundaries while Root hit 18.

CR Woakes was not out on two with Root after middle order batsmen JM Vince (18) and GS Ballance (23) were removed by Rahat Ali.

Cook marked his 50th Test as England captain with a century before he fell to Mohammad Amir on the stroke of tea.

England were 210 for two heading into the final session.

Cook, who won the toss, was out for 105 off what became the last ball before tea when he was bowled off an under-edge by an Amir delivery that kept low.

Together with vice-captain Root, Cook put on 185 for the second wicket after Alex Hales (10) was bowled by Amir.

At tea, Amir had taken two for 48 in 12.4 overs.

For left-arm quick Amir, who made his return to Test cricket in Pakistan’s 75-run win in the series opener at Lord’s — the scene of his 2010 spot-fixing crime — Cook’s wicket was an ideal response to the repeated cries of “No-ball!” he had to endure from some sections of the Old Trafford crowd.

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who took 10 wickets at Lord’s, remained wicket-less throughout the day, giving away 111 runs in 31 overs.  Left-handed opener Cook’s 29th Test century saw him extend his own England record and drew the Essex batsman level with Australia great Don Bradman’s tally.

Bradman, however, played just 52 Tests while this was Cook’s 131st match in the format.

More significantly, this was Cook’s first century in 20 Test innings since his monumental 263 against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in October.

Hales was dropped in the gully on six by Asad Shafiq off the bowling of Amir. But three balls later, having repeatedly moved the ball away from Hales, Amir skillfully swung the ball back into the right-handed opener.

The delivery also cut off the seam a touch and knocked over Hales’s middle and off stumps.

Shah saw his second ball Friday cut in front of point by Root for four.

Cook then cashed in on a rare Shah short ball with a pull to the mid-wicket rope.

Root, in the manner of Yorkshire and England great Geoffrey Boycott, forced both Wahab Riaz and fellow left-arm quick Amir through cover-point off the back foot for fours.

At lunch, England were 95 for one with Cook 40 not out and Root 41 not out.

Root just beat Cook to the fifty milestone, getting there in 86 balls to the captain’s 90.

Cook reached the landmark in style with a straight-driven four off Shah.

A similar stroke saw him into the 90s and raised the 150 stand.

Cook’s two to mid-wicket off Amir saw him to a hundred in 157 balls including 14 fours and the normally restrained Essex batsman celebrated his century with several fist pumps.

But Amir then took the shine off an excellent session for England by bowling Cook.

England have not lost a home Test batting first since 2012, a sequence encompassing 10 wins and two draws.

Score Board

England won toss

England 1st innings

*A N Cook b Amir     105

A D Hales b Amir      10

J E Root not out        141

J M Vince c Sarfraz b Rahat 18

G S Ballance b Rahat 23

C R Woakes not out  2

Extras (lb 3, w 5, nb 7)       15

Total (4 wickets; 89 overs)  314

To bat: B A Stokes, †J M Bairstow, M M Ali, S C J Broad, J M Anderson

Fall: 1-25, 2-210, 3-238, 4-311

Bowling: Amir 20-4-63-2 (1w); Rahat 20-3-69-2 (2w); Wahab 16-1-59-0 (7nb, 2w); Yasir 31-5-111-0; Azhar 2-0-9-0

Pakistan team

M Hafeez, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, *Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, †Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, M Amir, Rahat Ali, Yasir Shah

Umpires: H D P K Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and R J Tucker (Australia). TV umpire: J S Wilson (West Indies). Match referee: R B Richardson (West Indies)