Blue sky appeared over Southampton around 4pm, just moments before the fourth day of the second Test was abandoned. There were 10.2 overs bowled in the morning but rain had left the outfield needing “two and a half to three hours” of preparation and thus the officials felt there was no hope of a resumption.
It made for a slightly maddening scene, one too often seen in this country, when the Rose Bowl was then bathed in late afternoon sunshine but with the players having already packed up for the day. Had there been spectators in the ground, much chuntering would likely have featured as they headed home.
The hope now is that the final day, on which England resume at seven for one in reply to Pakistan’s 236 all out, can produce some kind of meaningful action before Friday’s third Test, even if the draw looks a certainty. Joe Root’s side will go into the decider 1-0 up, a scoreline that may mean any rotation plans are recalibrated.
During the brief cricket witnessed England claimed the final wicket they required when Mohammad Rizwan eventually skied one up to Zak Crawley off Stuart Broad. It ended an impressive 72 from the wicketkeeper, 60 of which had come while batting with the final four in the Pakistan lineup.
It was then over to England’s openers, Dom Sibley and Rory Burns, to see off the new ball in ideal bowling conditions before the forecasted rain arrived. But just four deliveries into the innings the latter departed, as a handsome delivery from Shaheen Afridi found the edge and flew to Asad Shafiq at second slip.
Jonathan Trott, England’s batting consultant while Graham Thorpe spends some time outside the bubble, said: “There’s not much you can do when you get that early on. It was always going to be a tough little period with the weather coming.
“It is important we don’t just see [day five] as a day to bat out and walk away with the draw and be 1-0 up. There is still work to be done against the new ball to make sure we are in a good place for the third Test. We’ve seen strange things happen in cricket and we know the conditions will be pretty tough if the weather is similar.”
Trott was recently on our screens when The Edge, the documentary that charted the side that rose to No 1 in the world in 2011, was shown on BBC Two a fortnight ago. As well as exploring mental health in sport, it served as a reminder of what a formidable batting lineup that team possessed.
The current side is some way off that level but has embarked on a mission, under the stewardship of Chris Silverwood, to make heavy first-innings runs in a similar fashion, using the top order to blunt the new ball and allow the stroke-makers lower down to make merry against the older one.
Asked how far Joe Root’s side have to go here, given their oft-stated goal of reclaiming the Ashes in 2021-22, Trott replied: “The dedication and desire is there but it is a case of how much cricket is played after this series, in the winter, to accelerate that process and build as a unit.
“When you have continuity, and the team selects itself, you have confidence in each other and then you start building the relationships. You get the familiarity batting together and so it’s not just becoming comfortable as an individual, but as pairs.”
Sibley and Crawley, opener and No 3, are one such partnership and, provided the weather behaves on the final day of this cursed second Test, they have another opportunity to work on developing this familiarity.
