James Taylor hit a maiden half-century in his comeback match to bolster England to 222/4 at stumps on the second day of the second Test against Pakistan in Sharjah on Monday.
James Taylor hit a maiden half-century in his comeback match to bolster England to 222/4 at stumps on the second day of the second Test against Pakistan in Sharjah on Monday.
The 25-year-old, playing his first Test since 2012, kept Pakistan at bay with an unbeaten 74 and found an able ally in Jonny Bairstow (37 not out) as the two put on an invaluable 83 for the unbroken fifth-wicket stand at the Sharjah Stadium.
That leaves England just 12 behind Pakistan’s first-innings total of 234 with six wickets intact as they hope to gain a decisive lead in their bid to level the three-match series.
Pakistan lead the series 1-0 after winning the second Test in Dubai while the first Test ended in a draw in Abu Dhabi.
Taylor kept England in the hunt as he survived a keen tussle between bat and ball, with Pakistan’s spin duo of Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar threatening to take wickets.
But Taylor, playing his first Test since his two debut Tests against South Africa three years ago, batted with resolve, using his feet and sweeping to blunt the spin. He pushed paceman Wahab Riaz for a single to reach his first half century off 100 balls. He has so far hit six boundaries during his 141-ball fight.
When Taylor walked in England were struggling at 97/3 after Alastair Cook (49) and Joe Root — their two key batsmen — had been dismissed.
SCOREBOARD Pakistan (1st innings): 234 England (Ist innings): A. Cook c Ali b Shah 49, M. Ali c Younis b Malik 14, I. Bell st Ahmed b Shah 40, J. Root c Ahmed b Rahat 4, J. Taylor (batting) 74, J. Bairstow (batting) 37. Extras: (lb2, nb2) 4. Total: (for 4 wkts, in 92 overs) 222. FoW: 1-19, 2-90, 3-97, 4-139. Bowling: Rahat 16-8-35-1, Shah 29-3-79-2, Riaz 15-4-23-0, Babar 25-2-60-0, Malik 5-2-16-1, Ali 2-0-7-0.
