Crawley, Buttler put England on top

England went to Tea on day two at 490 for five. Crawley scored more than half of the runs with a knock that has thrust him into cricket’s global consciousness. By the time he was stumped off part-time spinner Asad Shafiq, Crawley had moved into 10th place in the list of top scores by an England player — above the likes of Geoffrey Boycott and Joe Root.

His 393-ball knock contained 34 fours and a chipped six down the empty ground at the Ageas Bowl. The 22-year-old Crawley, playing in his eighth Test, had every shot in the book — reverse sweeps, cuts off the back foot, whips into the leg side — and deserved a capacity crowd in Southampton.

When he was finally dismissed, Pakistan players ran to Crawley to congratulate him, many giving him fist bumps.

His partnership with stumper Jos Buttler was worth 359 runs, a record fifth-wicket stand for England in Test matches and its joint-sixth highest ever.

Buttler was still there, on a Test-best 140 off 290 balls, having reached his second century just before lunch. The wicketkeeper-batsman survived a scare on 99. Buttler was given out caught behind off Mohammad Abbas, only for a review to show he hadn’t touched the ball with his bat.

Chris Woakes was with Buttler on 2 not out, having been padded up for nearly four full sessions. England, which started Day 2 on 332 for four, leads 1-0 and is looking to clinch a first series victory over Pakistan in 10 years, as well as a second of the summer after beating the West Indies 2-1.

BRIEF SCORES (AT TEA): England 490 for 5 (Z Crawley 267, J Buttler 140*) vs Pakistan.