Brook punishes Pakistan drop as England dominate first Test

Harry Brook made Pakistan pay for dropping him early in his innings, scoring a rapid 91 to cement England's dominance in the first Test at Headingley.

England reached 366-8 at stumps on a rain-affected second day on Thursday, leading by 195 runs after Pakistan were bowled out for a modest 171 in their first innings.

For local fans, there was disappointment as no Yorkshire player scored a century, with captain Joe Root dismissed for 66 and Brook falling late in the day.

Dan Lawrence, recalled after former captain Ben Stokes retired from international cricket, made 51 and shared a 120-run stand with Brook in the first Test of the post-Bazball era.

Jordan Cox (73) and Root had earlier added exactly 150 for the third wicket before falling in quick succession, giving Pakistan a glimmer of hope in this three-match series.

However, Brook should have been dismissed on 1 when he edged the ball, but Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha – leading the side in place of the injured Babar Azam – rushed forward and dropped the chance at second slip.

Brook made the most of it and was on course for a first Test century at Headingley – and his 11th in 39 matches overall – when he attempted to sweep left-arm spinner Ali Usman but the ball struck his front pad before crashing into the stumps.

The 27-year-old faced just 93 balls, hitting 13 fours.

It was the second time Brook, the world's top-ranked red-ball batter, had been dismissed in the 90s in a Test at Headingley after scoring 99 against India last year.

Usman was the standout bowler in an attack that relied almost exclusively on pace, taking 5-92 in 23 overs, his first five-wicket haul in a Test in only his third appearance.

After removing the top three batters, Usman dismissed Gus Atkinson and Ollie Robinson in consecutive deliveries before Jofra Archer survived the hat-trick ball.

England, having lost the morning session to rain, resumed on 112-2 after fast bowlers Robinson (5-51) and Josh Tongue (5-46) shared all ten Pakistan wickets on Wednesday.

Root and Cox shine

Root, in his second spell as official England captain, was unbeaten on 37 alongside Cox – replacing the injured Jacob Bethell – who was on 23 not out.

Cox was aggressive against anything loose, and the 25-year-old marked his second Test with his first half-century, driving Mohammad Abbas through the leg side for his 10th four in 78 balls.

That ended the over, and just as Robinson and Tongue had taken five wickets on Wednesday in consecutive balls, the next delivery saw Root join Cox on fifty with a flick off Mohammad Ali through the leg side for four.

Cox had a slice of luck on 57 when Shahzad dropped a return catch off a leading edge.

Usman succeeded where the pacemen had failed, dismissing Cox as a sharp turner flew to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan.

England's 198-3 became 202-4 when Root was given out leg-before four balls later, providing the only wicket for a persistent Shahzad in 19 overs that cost 111 runs.

The failure of Cox and Root to convert their starts into big scores was seen as two more examples of the lack of ruthlessness that has plagued England in a run of seven losses in nine Tests.

But it mattered little on Thursday, with Pakistan's woes summed up when Agha tried to run out a advancing Lawrence, only for the ball to ricochet off the batter's pad and his throw from slip hit Rizwan on the back of the leg.