Broad and Swann give England advantage

by Setanta Staff , 25 January 2012

Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann both took three wickets as England enjoyed a decent first day in the second Test against Pakistan.


The tourists were looking to bounce back after the first Test debacle in Dubai but Pakistan opted to bat first after winning the toss.

They reached 51 before Taufeeq Umar was bowled by Swann for 16 and then the returning Monty Panesar got one through the defences of first Test hero Mohammad Hafeez (31).

England went into the match with just two recognised seamers and it was Broad who did the business, removing Younis Khan and Azhar Ali in quick succession - both for 24.

The 'hosts' were reeling at 103-4 but Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq dug in to put on a stand of exactly 100 before the latter fell lbw to Swann for 58.

Skipper Misbah continued on his merry way and was unbeaten on 83 at stumps - a knock which included four sixes, two of them hit in the final over of the day.

There were two further scalps late in the day for Andrew Strauss' men as Swann bowled Abdur Rehman for a duck and Broad trapped Adnan Akmal in front for just nine and the late wickets have given England a slight edge heading into day two.

Broad (3-47) was the most successful bowler, while Swann's 3-52 was a decent reward for some excellent bowling.

Panesar, somewhat surprisingly, bowled many more overs than Swann and returned figures of 1-91 from 33 overs, while James Anderson toiled away with no luck to record figures of 0-45 from 18 overs.

England will be looking for quick wickets on Thursday morning before their batsmen try to atone for their woeful display last time out and gain a sizeable lead.

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