Five face-saving partnerships which rescued England after batting failure

#4 Jos Buttler and Dom Bess (126 against Pakistan, May 2018)

Debutant Dom Bess paired up with Jos Buttler in a courageous partnership

In the first Test at Lord’s, Pakistan had England already pinned down on the mat as the visitors had skittled them for only 184 in their first innings. In reply, the subcontinental nation posted 363 thus securing a healthy 179-run lead.

In the second innings, the picture was not too different for England as Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ameer reduced them to 110/6. With 69 runs still in arrears, England was staring down the barrel until the debutant Dom Bess paired with Jos Buttler.

Jos Buttler (67) and Dom Bess (57) then stitched together a crucial partnership of 126 runs to remove the possibility of an innings defeat and pushed England’s lead to a substantial number. However, England lost three quick wickets after Buttler’s dismissal and ultimately suffered a nine-wicket defeat.