England frustrated as catches go down

Lunch Pakistan 97 for 2 (Azhar 36*, Shafiq 24*) trail England 328 (Moeen 108, Bairstow 55, Sohail 5-68) by 231 runsLive scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Pakistan’s nightwatchman, Yasir Shah, proved an unexpected frustration for England on the second morning at the Kia Oval, seeing off the new-ball threat of James Anderson and Stuart Broad for the first hour of the morning, before falling soon after the drinks break to Steven Finn. But, with Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq well set by the interval, Pakistan had reduced the first-innings deficit to 231 thanks to a well-compiled stand of 45.

Dropped catches, however, were the story of England’s morning, with Pakistan’s three batsmen each being offered a lifeline in the course of their innings. As England themselves demonstrated in the first innings, when a spate of let-offs allowed Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali to engineer their own recovery from 110 for 5, opportunities on this pitch can be hard to recreate when they are allowed to go begging.

Pakistan resumed their first innings under cloudless skies on a precarious 3 for 1, with Yasir foremost in England’s thoughts for a variety of reasons. Not only was he perceived as the weak link, having been sent out to join Azhar late last night, following Sami Aslam’s …

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