England
Pakistan
England and Pakistan will meet in the 2nd Test of the 3-match series at Lord’s, London. England will enter the match with 3 wins and 3 losses from their last 6 Tests, while Pakistan will have just one win and 5 defeats in the same period.
Joe Root led England to a win in the first Test against Pakistan, taking a 1-0 lead. Pakistan was without Babar Azam. England currently sit seventh in the WTC standings with 5 wins and 8 losses from 14 matches. Pakistan are eighth with 2 wins and 5 losses from 7 games.
England will have the recent head-to-head advantage, winning four of the last six Tests against Pakistan. However, Pakistan will have won the previous series 2-1 in 2024. At Lord’s, England will look to use home conditions and their stronger recent record to take control of the series.
England’s pace attack will have the edge in home conditions, with Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue already taking 5 wickets each in the first Test.
The betting tip is...
Top Bowler's Team - England
68 %
32 %
EnglandPakistanEngland’s batting unit had several strong contributions in the first match. Harry Brook top-scored with 91 runs from 93 balls at a strike rate of 97.84, while Jordan Cox made 73 from 100 balls.
Joe Root scored 66 from 112 deliveries, and Dan Lawrence added 51 from 79 balls. Emilio Gay contributed 33, while Jamie Smith scored 25. Jofra Archer remained unbeaten on 23 from 25 balls.
With the ball, Ollie Robinson had been the standout performer with 8 wickets across both innings. Josh Tongue also claimed 5 wickets for 46 runs from 9.1 overs. Gus Atkinson took 1 wicket for 40 runs from 12 overs. Overall, England were the stronger team in both departments.
Root, Brook and Robinson are the key players in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wk), Ollie Robinson, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue
Pakistan’s batting was led by Abdullah Shafique, who scored 61 runs from 104 balls at a strike rate of 58.65 in the first innings of the first Test.
Imam-ul-Haq added 42 runs from 74 balls, while Salman Agha made 21 from 29 deliveries. Khurram Shahzad scored 14 from 12 balls at a strike rate of 116.66. Babar Azam is expected to return for the second Test as the batting struggled against English bowlers.
With the ball, Ali Usman had been Pakistan’s best bowler, taking 5 wickets for 95 runs in 24 overs at an economy rate of 3.95. Khurram Shahzad claimed 3 wickets for 133 runs from 21.5 overs, while Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ali took 1 wicket each.
Masood, Rizwan and Usman are the key players in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Agha (c), Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali and Mohammad Abbas
England will once again have the advantage with the ball at Lord’s, where pace, bounce and movement will create problems for Pakistan’s batting. Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue will have already taken 5 wickets each in the first Test, while England’s bowling attack will have Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson adding further pace.
Pakistan’s bowling unit has less depth, which could put more pressure on their batters. England’s top order are also better placed to handle the conditions, with Harry Brook, Jordan Cox and Joe Root having scored 73, 91 and 66 runs respectively in the first Test.
Pakistan’s batting will need long partnerships to stay competitive, but England’s stronger pace attack should have the bigger impact across the match.
