Pakistan's bottom position remains as they reach 358-8 against England on day 2 of the 2nd cricket test

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's long tail held up against England's pace and spin to reach 358-8 at lunch on the second day of the second cricket test on Wednesday.

The bottom side struggled around all-rounder Aamer Jamal's unbeaten 37 and frustrated England on a reused dry wicket, where Pakistan lost the first Test by an innings and 47 runs.

No. 10 batsman Noman Ali, batting on 29, played confidently against the spinners, sweeping Jack Leach (3-114) for a couple of boundaries and then smashing fast bowler Brydon Carse (2-43) for two more fours in the penultimate Over before lunch break.

Pakistan lost pair Mohammad Rizwan (41) and Salman Ali Agha (31) overnight before Jamal added 49 runs with Ali.

Rizwan's hard hitting ended in the third over of the day when Jamie Smith took a spectacular diving catch while Carse used his pace to bring the batsman to order.

Jamal and Noman got the better of England in the second half of the first session as Pakistan added 99 runs to their overnight score of 259-5.

Debutant Kamran Ghulam grabbed the headlines with a determined century on the first day as Pakistan sought their first home win in 12 matches by stocking their playing XI with three specialist spinners and just one fast bowler in Jamal.

Ghulam had scored well in Pakistan's domestic seasons over the last four years but got his chance after Pakistan rested their top batsman Babar Azam for the remaining two Test matches of the series against England.

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AP Cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket