‘Is it second division county cricket?’: Michael Vaughan rips into Pakistan's batting ‘standards’ after Lord's horror

Things are going from bad to worse for Pakistan on their tour of England. The opening Test saw the visitors losing the contest by an innings and 53 runs, but there was a sense of optimism heading to Lord's, considering Babar Azam made a return from his injury. However, the inclusion of the regular captain did nothing to ease Pakistan's tensions in the three-match series against England, as the side crumbled to 110 in the first innings at Lord's, giving England a significant advantage on Friday.

Opening batter Azan Awais was the top scorer for Pakistan, returning with a knock of 46, while the likes of Babar (8), Abdullah Shafique (5), Shan Masood (1), and Mohammad Rizwan (7) all returned to the hut for single-digit scores.

Amid the batting woes, former England captain Michael Vaughan tore into Pakistan, saying the hosts are having a field day with the ball because they know they aren't going to be challenged at all and can do whatever they want to on the field.

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"I'll be brutally honest. The England bowlers aren't being challenged at all. And this Pakistan batting lineup is possibly the easiest batting lineup I've seen in a long time to bowl to. And not only that, I think as a bowler, I think they're all queuing up to bowl because they know there are wickets out there," Vaughan said on the BBC Test Match Special.

"You're not going to get hurt. There's no batter that's going to hurt them. No one's going to damage their figures, and it's really, 'roll up, roll up, who wants to get the wickets?'," he added.

Vaughan went one step further, comparing the current Pakistan batting unit to a second division county lineup, saying the Babar-led side doesn't belong to the standards of an actual Test match batting lineup.

"I think they all know that Pakistan aren't going to get big scores. So you're only going to be out there for 40 to 50 overs, so you give everything in every spell, you keep going to Joe Root saying, Err, I'll bowl another one.' There are so many wickets out there," said Vaughan.

"It's so easy. They're still doing a good job, and they're still looking very threatening. And I think this bowling attack, the way they're bowling, will challenge better batting lineups if they continue in this fashion. But this is Pakistan batting. Is it second division county cricket? There's no way that they are batting in any standard to say that, that is a Test match batting lineup," he added.

It is worth mentioning that opener Imam-ul-Haq didn't bat for Pakistan in the first innings after he picked up a calf strain injury at Lord's. Speaking of the Test, England ended Day 2 at 81/3, extending their lead to 261 runs.

Vishesh Roy is a sports journalist with a strong focus on cricket. He began his career at Asian News International (ANI), where he covered a range of high-profile events, including the India Open, Legends Cricket League, the England–India Test series in Ahmedabad in 2021, and the inauguration of the Narendra Modi Stadium.