Novice opener Sami Aslam and Azhar Ali shared a 181-run stand for the second wicket after Pakistan lost Mohammad Hafeez without a run on the board.
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So overall we’re pretty happy with that, and if the conditions are the same tomorrow (Thursday), our bowlers will be very happy.
Anderson’s day was not improved by the fact that Joe Root dropped Ali on 38.
Anderson’s progression from winning nag to losing his rag summed up a day when England were poor, taking just three wickets as Pakistan moved patiently to 257-3, just 40 runs behind England’s first innings total.
England played like a “car without a wheel” as they struggled to cope without injured all-rounder Ben Stokes, with Pakistan in control after day two of the third Test at Edgbaston.
James Anderson gave the home side, who made 297 on day one, the flawless start by removing Mohammad Hafeez as the opener chased a wide delivery – Gary Ballance grabbing the chance at point.
Mushy also told me that if you don’t bowl (too) fast and give the ball air, it will swing.
“We spoke at tea saying, “Let’s get to 300 and we’ll be happy with that”, so we’ve got near-enough 300 and I think overall we’re relatively happy”. But Bayliss and the England management had spotted the change without Stokes in the team and it is why they pressed for him to play in the first Test against Pakistan at Lord’s as a specialist batter.
England leveled the four-match series at 1-1 with a crushing 330-run win in the second Test at Old Trafford – a margin of victory that was testimony to the tourists’ batting woes.
The 20-year-old Aslam used his first opportunity in the series to hit a maiden test half-century.
Aslam’s only prior innings this tour was his 17 against Worcestershire during last week’s two-day warm-up match.
Ballance passed fifty for the first time since being recalled to the side and he struck seven fours in more than three hours at the crease before edging leg-spinner Yasir Shah to Sarfraz down the leg-side. He batted nearly through the day to bring up his 10 Test hundred in his 48 match.
Azhar nearly fell to Ali on 68, but the bowler was unable to hold a return chance above his head off a hard-hit drive.
But Anderson’s response in an initial exchange with Joel Wilson, in his morning spell from the pavilion end, made especially uncomfortable viewing as he appeared to dispute the umpire’s judgment and snatched his cap from him at the end of the over.
Azhar’s ungainly pulled four off paceman Stuart Broad saw him to his second Test century against England in 209 balls.
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Anderson has already received a reprimand this northern summer for showing disrespect towards umpire Sundaram Ravi on the third day of the final Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s.
