The third and final Test of the ‘raise the bat’ series started between England and Pakistan on Friday (August 21) at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. England won the toss and opted to bat first. Fast bowler Jofra Archer was recalled by England in place of Sam Curran while Pakistan picked an unchanged team.
The home had a terrible beginning as their opening batsman Rory Burns once again failed to impress and went back to the pavilion for just 6 runs. Burns was caught at third slip by Shan Masood off the bowling of left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi.
No. 3 Zak Crawley, however, batted brilliantly and smashed Pakistan bowlers all around the ground.
During the 57th over of England’s first innings, Crawley etched his name in record books as he became the third-youngest English cricketer to hit a century against Pakistan in the longest format of the game.
The moment Creepy reached his maiden Test century! 🕷
Scorecard/Videos: https://t.co/JVsNai1pz8#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/FtndOrCotw
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 21, 2020
Last England No.3 to score a Test hundred:
- At home – 254 by Joe Root against Pakistan in Manchester, 2016
- Overall – 110 by Jonny Bairstow against Sri Lanka in Colombo SSC, 2018-19
After the end of 59 overs, England have reached 191/4 with Crawley and Jos Buttler batting at 104* and 24* respectively.
Earlier, after the wicket of Burns, Dom Sibley (22) was trapped leg before wicket by Yasir Shah.
Yasir continued the momentum and dismissed Ollie Pope (3) as well. Before that, skipper Joe Root (29) received a cracking delivery from 17-year-old Naseem Shah which caught the outside edge, and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan completed a brilliant catch.
For the tourists, Yasir has taken 2 wickets while Shaheen and Naseem have picked up one wicket each.
