July 30: James Anderson marked his 28th birthday with five wickets as Pakistan slumped to 147 for nine on the second day of the first Test against England at Trent Bridge here on Friday.
Anderson, in overcast conditions ideally suited to his swing bowling, took five wickets for 49 runs in 20 overs as Pakistan were left 207 runs behind England'’ first innings 354 when bad light forced an early close. It was the ninth time in his 49 Tests that Anderson had taken five or more wickets in an innings and he was well supported by Middlesex quick Steven Finn, who took three for 20 in 11 overs.
Pakistan were in dire straits at 47 for six but at close of play they were just eight runs shy of avoiding the follow-on thanks to tail-ender Umar Gul’s 30 not out at better than a run a ball. Mohammad Asif, who rocked England earlier on Friday with a five-wicket haul of his own, was unbeaten on nought.
Pakistan were indebted to a seventh-wicket stand of 58 between Shoaib Malik (38) and Mohammad Aamer (25) for getting them to three figures. Under similarly dark skies at Headingley, Pakistan bowled Australia out for just 88 in the first innings of their three-wicket second Test win last week.
Brief scores: England 354 (Morgan 130, Collingwood 82; Asif 5/77, Aamer 3/41) vs Pakistan 147 for 9 (Anderson 5/49, Finn 3/20).