Mohammad Yousuf stabilized the Pakistan first innings yesterday morning after nightwatchman Mohammad Sami was dismissed for a duck in the second over on the third day of the first test against England at Lord's.
Yousuf, known as Yousuf Youhana before he converted to Islam last year, recorded his 25th test half-century, to steer the tourists from their overnight 66 for three in reply to England's 528 for nine declared, to 165 for four at lunch.
At the interval he had taken his score to 66 while captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, had reached 44 not out.
Difficult chance
Liam Plunkett, who'd removed opener Imran Farhat late on Friday, nearly had a wicket with his second ball yesterday when he had Inzamam, then on 17, edging an intended cut. But Marcus Trescothick, leaping high at first slip, was unable to hold the difficult one-handed chance and the ball sped away to the boundary.
After left-arm spinner Monty Panesar had bowled the opening over from the Nursery End, Hoggard caught the edge of Sami's bat with his fourth delivery and the ball flew to acting captain Andrew Strauss at second slip.
England appealed for the catch but, after consulting his fellow-umpire Simon Taufel, Steve Bucknor confirmed the ball had bounced.
The next ball again caught the edge and wicketkeeper Geraint Jones, moving to his right, made no mistake with the catch.
Bounced
Steve Harmison, who took two wickets in three balls on Friday evening, was immediately recalled in place of Panesar and beat Yousuf for pace flashing outside the off stump. He then bounced the new batsman Inzamam and Hoggard also bowled several short-pitched deliveries to the Pakistan captain with two men back for the hook.
Inzamam, supremely unruffled as always, got off the mark with a sumptuous off drive off Hoggard and Yousuf accumulated runs steadily with deft deflections and flashing cover drives, including one off Harmison which raced to the boundary before the bowler had completed his follow-through.
Hoggard, who had been passed fit after having six stitches in his bowling hand last Saturday when he was spiked by a team mate, switched to the Nursery End while Panesar returned to bowl over the wicket at the Pavilion End.
But neither could force the breakthrough on a pitch still looking full of runs.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
RSS