England’s bowling attack has continued to dominate Pakistan’s fragile batting lineup in the ongoing Test series, maintaining one of the best strike rates in over a century. Across their first three innings, England’s bowlers have claimed wickets every 25.4 deliveries, marking the sixth best strike rate for a team in a Test series and the third best since 1896. The English seamers, spearheaded by Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, and Gus Atkinson, have relied largely on pace bowling, delivering 122 overs of seam and just six balls of spin on pitches that have favored lateral movement and seam.

Despite Robinson’s no-ball allowing Pakistan to register some runs in their opening stand against England—an uncommon reprieve—their batsmen have continued to struggle, extending an unwanted streak of consecutive opening partnerships that fail to reach 50 runs in away Tests against England. This marks a record 41 innings without a 50-plus opening stand since the last occurrence in 1996, when Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail compiled a century partnership at The Oval.

Pakistan’s record against England’s bowling in English conditions is stark. In their 21 Tests in England, their average opening-wicket partnership stands at just 15.4 runs, lower than any other wicket, including the last. This is notable given that Pakistan have not claimed a Test series victory in England since 1996, although they have managed several competitive drawn series in 2001, 2014, and 2016.

The difficulties Pakistan’s top order has faced can be partly attributed to challenging pitch conditions at venues like Lord’s, where the ball has exhibited marked lateral movement, among the highest recorded in English Test matches in the ball-tracking era. Furthermore, Pakistan are contending with a high-caliber England pace attack, featuring four bowlers with at least 50 Test wickets at averages below 29 since December 1981—a benchmark last achieved by an English bowling unit during India’s tour of Delhi in 1981.

England’s batting lineup, meanwhile, has not been smooth sailing either. England’s captain Joe Root has experienced an uncharacteristic dip in form this summer, averaging 29.4 across five Tests, his lowest home Test average. England’s batsmen collectively hold an average of 24.7 with only one century so far in the series, compared to the previous summer’s 41 average and 12 hundreds across six matches. Root’s struggle particularly stands out, as he has been dismissed leg before wicket (LBW) seven times in nine innings during this English summer, equaling the record for most LBW dismissals in a single international season. Historically, Root was rarely dismissed LBW, making this turn of events noteworthy.

Despite the testing conditions, England’s batsmen showed resilience on the third day of the series, negotiating challenging bounce and movement with patience and technique, though still losing three wickets for 81 runs.

For Pakistan, avoiding the ignominy of being bowled out in under 50 overs for four consecutive innings—an occurrence witnessed only twice since the 19th century—would mark a minor success. Additionally, achieving their first 50-plus opening partnership against England in England in over three decades would provide a notable milestone in an otherwise difficult series for the visitors.