Stats highlights from what have been two extraordinary days of Test cricket at Lord’s
S Rajesh28-Aug-2010 To start with, the 332-run stand between Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad was the highest for the eighth wicket, and it was one of only eight 300-plus stands for one of the last five wickets in Test cricket. That itself is an astonishing statistic, but what made the partnership even more incredible was the position from which it was conjured up. When Broad joined Trott at the crease, England’s total was a hopeless 102 for 7. Of the 97 century stands for the eighth wicket in Tests, only five have come from a worse position, but none of them have yielded more than 127. Of the seven 200-plus partnerships for the eighth, this has easily come from the poorest position. While Trott led the way, Broad’s 169 was easily the bigger surprise, and it fell only four runs short of equalling the highest score by a No.9 batsman – Ian Smith had blitzed his way to 173 off a mere 136 balls against India in Auckland in 1990. Broad’s hundred was the 15th century by a No.9 batsman. Broad’s score in this one innings exceeded his cumulative score in his 13 previous innings, during which period he aggregated 160, with a highest of 48. Broad has become the fourth England batsman to score more than 1000 runs batting at positions 8-11. Among those batsmen, his average is clearly the highest. Trott’s knock pushed him past the 1000-run mark in his 13th Test. Pakistan’s first-innings deficit of 372 is their second-highest in a Test against England. The only time they fared worse was way back in 1954 at Trent Bridge, when England bundled out Pakistan for 157 and then declared at 558 for 6, a lead of 401. England have become the second team to dismiss Pakistan for less than 100 five times in Tests – two of those instances were in 1954, and three in 2010. Australia have done it too, including twice in the same match, in Sharjah in 2002. It’s been a wretched series for the Pakistan top order, most of whom have finished their work for this series after another abysmal collapse in the second innings at Lord’s. The aggregate partnership for the top four wickets in the entire series was a pathetic 498 runs in 32 completed innings. The average of 15.56 runs per dismissal is the worst for the top four wickets in a series in Pakistan’s Test history (minimum of 16 partnerships). It’s worse even than that forgettable series against Australia in Sri Lanka and Sharjah, when they were bowled for 53 and 59 in a Test. Pakistan’s innings lasted 33 overs, which is among their lowest for a completed innings. In their entire Test history, only six times have they done worse. And of their nine such poorest efforts, seven have been since 2000. If England take the remaining six wickets for less than 46 more runs, they’ll achieve their biggest win at Lord’s. Pakistan need to score many more to avoid their worst beating in Test cricket.
