Saturday 16 July 2016 00:24, UK
Nasser Hussain hailed Yasir Shah's 'remarkable' performance as the Pakistan leg-spinner took five wickets on day two of the first Investec Test at Lord's.
Playing in his first ever Test outside of Asia, Yasir took 5-64 to become the first leg-spinner to claim five wickets at the Home of Cricket since Mushtaq Ahmed's 5-57 in 1996.
"It's remarkable for a wrist spinner to take five wickets on a day two pitch at Lord's," Yasir said. "The great Shane Warne never took five wickets on this ground."
"In his first Test away from Asia, and with no spin from the surface, he used his drift, flight, and his change of pace to bamboozle England. He bowled brilliantly.
"England played him poorly - there wasn't that much spin, maybe just three deliveries that turned big, but England played him like he was turning it miles.
"He almost bowled it like Anil Kumble used to, rather than a Mushtaq or a Warne, and it worked brilliantly.
"Joe Root will admit that he opened the door for Pakistan with a loose shot. He and Alastair Cook were bossing the game, but his soft dismissal let Pakistan in.
"That's dangerous against Pakistan - give them a sniff and they'll take it, and they did."
Root (48) put on 110 for the second wicket with England top-scorer Cook (80), but his wicket - to a top-edged sweep - sparked a collapse that saw the hosts slip from 118-1 to 193-6.
Chris Woakes followed up his 6-70 with the ball with an unbeaten 31 to help England up to 253-7 at the close, still trailing by 86 runs.
Hussain feels Woakes' efforts ensure he will stay in the Test team for a long time, and his batting helps set up a fascinating third day's play.
He said: "England don't need parity because of Pakistan's batting line-up - make no mistake, England can bowl Pakistan out cheaply. It's a perfectly set-up Test match.
"Woakes has to play the next game. He started the day with wickets, he ended it with runs. Every time we've watched him recently he gets runs and wickets.
"The headache now for England is reserved for Steven Finn and others along the line.
"After the tour of South Africa, Woakes was the most droppable England cricketer when people talked about who we were going to leave out. The argument was, 'He's only a county player'.
"The lad has proved a lot of people wrong. He has proven in the last two months that he is a proper international cricketer."
Watch day three of the first Test live on Sky Sports 2 from 10.30am on Saturday, with the Saturday Debate on beforehand from 10am.
