Harmison and Panesar strike again

MANCHESTER, England, July 29 (Reuters) England's Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar took a wicket each on the third morning of the second test TOday to leave Pakistan on 101 for two in their second innings at lunch.

Younis Khan was on 34 while Mohammad Yousuf had scored 15 with Pakistan still needing 241 to avoid an innings defeat.

Harmison, who took six for 19 to help skittle the touring side for 119 in the first innings, broke through again with a brute of a delivery to dismiss Kamran Akmal after Pakistan had resumed on 12 without loss.

The ball cut in off the seam and reared towards Akmal's throat before being pouched off the glove by Geraint Jones.

That made it 21 for one but, while Harmison was still extracting life from an increasingly quiet Old Trafford surface, Matthew Hoggard was struggling at the other end.

Unable to conjure up any swing despite the cloudy conditions, the Yorkshireman made way for Panesar at the Brian Statham End and the left-arm spinner, who took three for 21 in the first innings, struck in his fourth over.

The left-handed Imran Farhat, like Jones playing with a fractured finger after hurting himself yesterday, had produced some solid looking shots, including two successive controlled glides to the third man boundary off Hoggard, to get to 34 but was immediately less convincing against Panesar.

One delivery spun back into him and beat everything on the way for four byes. Immediately afterwards, Farhat flat-batted unconvincingly for four through the covers only to fall in the same over, inside-edging onto his pad and into Ian Bell's hands at short leg.

Yousuf also had his early scares while facing the spinner, an arm ball brushing his pad and just clearing his stumps before Panesar had a big lbw appeal turned down after the batsman had made just three.

REUTERS DH PM1815