England opt against follow-on as rain comes to Pakistan’s aid

MANCHESTER: England captain Alastair Cook decided against enforcing follow-on against Pakistan despite a mammoth first-innings lead in the second Test at Old Trafford

Published on: Jul 25, 2016, 11:13:29 IST

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MANCHESTER: England captain Alastair Cook decided against enforcing follow-on against Pakistan despite a mammoth first-innings lead in the second Test at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Pakistan were dismissed for just 198 in reply to England’s huge 589/8 declared – a deficit of 391 runs.

Yet Cook decided against asking Pakistan to bat again and posted 87/2 off 20 overs at the time of going to press.

England had the fifth biggest first-innings lead without enforcing follow-on in Test history.

Two of those instances had come in ‘timeless’ Tests, while the others were when Australia led England by 445 runs in Brisbane in 2006 and 398 at Adelaide in 2013 – with the Australians winning both of those Ashes matches.

Cook’s decision, with England 1- 0 down in the four- match series, seemed all the more curious given rain had stopped play for an hour earlier on Sunday.

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