England vs Pakistan Second Test Predictions: Hosts To Finish Job At Lord’s?

England are 7/20 cricket betting favourites for the Second Test of their three-match series with Pakistan and William Hill News preview the upcoming contest, which gets underway on Thursday.

The hosts wrapped up the opening match of the series inside three days. Lord’s, which has provided bowler-friendly surfaces in recent history, could see another short Test this weekend.

England are unbeaten in their last five home Tests against Pakistan. Pakistan have failed to win their last five Test series, dating back to when they hosted England in 2024-25. Their last away series win came in Sri Lanka in 2023.

More Night Out Controversy

Hopes of turning over a new leaf under a new coach/captain regime were dampened when Brydon Carse made unwanted headlines after allegedly being drunk and disorderly on a night out following Durham’s County Championship win this week. Carse has been removed from the Test squad and is under investigation.

Joe Root was forthright on saying he doesn’t believe in curfews. Carse wasn’t going to make the XI for this Test anyway, but this latest controversy will be an unwanted distraction ahead of this match and will inevitably take up plenty of time during Root’s media availability.

An excellent all-around performance from the fast-bowling unit means England are likely to stick with the same XI that blew Pakistan away at Headingley. Sam Cook, Sonny Baker, and Matthew Fisher are in the squad if any of the four quicks suffer an injury or require a rest.

Nightmare Surface

There was massive lateral movement off the seam and inconsistent bounce when England faced New Zealand at Lord’s earlier this summer. Pakistan’s batters were all at sea at Headingley, so it’s hard to see how they will post competitive scores at the Home of Cricket.

Babar Azam’s return is a positive, of course, though he only averages 31.18 with the bat in Test cricket since the start of 2023.

England’s quick bowlers were unrelenting in Leeds. A four-pronged pace attack will be very hard to face if Lord’s plays as expected. In contrast, Pakistan’s seamers bowled too many bad balls and will give England the chance to score at a decent rate without taking too many undue risks.

England v Pakistan Best Bets

• Babar Azam Under 29.5 1st Innings Runs (17/20)
• Pakistan Under 22.5 Runs at First Wicket (17/20)
• Harry Brook Over 34.5 1st Innings Runs (17/20)
• Azan Awais Under 19.5 1st Innings Runs (17/20)
• No Hundred In The Match (16/5)
• Ollie Robinson England Top Bowler 1st Innings (12/5)
• Mohammad Abbas Pakistan Top Bowler 1st Innings (2/1)

Pakistan’s openers aren’t going to protect Babar from the new ball (they were 0-1 in both innings in the First Test). Only 617 runs were scored for 40 wickets in the Test at Lord’s earlier this summer. Ben Duckett was the only top four player on either team to reach double digits in the first innings.

Harry Brook scored 91 off 93 balls in his only knock in the First Test. It was a reserved innings by Brook’s standards, punishing the loose deliveries and playing most balls on their merits. That innings was a taster of how prolific Brook can be in Test cricket – he’s shown repeatedly that he can be a difference-maker on tricky surfaces, including a 54 against New Zealand at Lord’s this summer.

Azan Awais scored nine runs off 15 balls in the First Test, including being dismissed off the first ball of the series. Dismissed by Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer, Awais is in for another challenging match.

Only two 50s were scored in the last Test at Lord’s – neither of those players reached 60. There have been some low-scoring County Championship matches at Lord’s this summer – only six centuries have been scored in four matches and one of those matches didn’t see a player reach triple figures.

Robinson took five wickets in the first innings against New Zealand and had a five-wicket haul in the first innings at Headingley. This pitch should be perfect for the Sussex man to rip through Pakistan’s top order.

Mohammad Abbas only took one wicket in the First Test and showed his age in the field. Still, he was the most economical of the bowlers and will relish the opportunity to bowl on this Lord’s pitch. It’s going to be a pitch for seamers, and Pakistan’s other quicks didn’t pose much of a threat. We’re expecting to see much more of the keeper up to the stumps with Abbas bowling a tight line.

*Odds subject to change – prices accurate at the time of writing*