England v Pakistan, 1st Test, Lord's, Day 3 - I enjoyed watching Chris Woakes and Asad Shafiq

It had been a fabulous day of Test cricket. I was able to enjoy some superb pace bowling and temperamentally, some high quality batting as well. This Chris Woakes is not a fringe bowler anymore, but over the years he has developed into a versatile and skillful pace bowler. He generates sharp pace and his control is quite brilliant. Using the crease is a very important aspect of a Test bowler and Woakes has garnered that ability quite well. The ball with which he dismissed Asad Shafiq was the product of well-utilization of the bowling crease where he was able to create an angle to bring the ball back in and catsle Asad. He is a very fine prospect for England.

I loved the way Asad Shafiq fought. He reminds me of Steve Waugh as because, mentally this man is very strong. Technically, Asad is astute as well. In the last 21 innings, Asad averages 58.55 which indicates how productive he is as a batsman. The future of Pakistan batting will depend a lot on this man if he is treated in a sensible manner by the Pakistan hierarchy.

Pakistan have taken a healthy lead and I think, it’s enough to torment the English batsmen on this track which will suit Yasir Shah a lot in the fourth innings.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar