England vs Pakistan: Dan Lawrence's brilliant 50 lifts hosts to 357-run lead, as rain causes havoc on day three at Lord's

England advanced to a healthy 357-run lead over Pakistan on a frustrating rain-affected third day of the second Test at Lord's, as Dan Lawrence (50no) brought up an impressive half-century.

Lawrence battled hard to acclimatise to the uneven bounce on the Lord's pitch, but would surge to a superb 64-ball half-ton, which included a booming six to long-on, and lead England to a score of 177-7 at stumps.

• Scorecard: England vs Pakistan, second Test at Lord's
• 'A joke!' - Hussain fumes as day three abandoned
• What's gone wrong for Pakistan cricket?
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Intermittent showers delayed proceedings for almost three-and-a-half hours on Saturday morning, with Emilio Gay and Harry Brook eventually taking to the field to bat at 2.20pm.

Mohammad Abbas took full advantage of the conditions, which were highly conducive to the pace bowlers, utilising the pitch's uneven bounce to jag the ball left and right and take impressive figures of 3-48.

Gay and Brook struggle in tricky conditions

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Gay's time at the crease would be short-lived, with Abbas pinning the England opener lbw with an unplayable delivery in the second over of the day.

The England batter, who fought brilliantly on Friday evening, will feel hard done by the delivery after the ball skidded off the surface, bouncing low under his bat and onto his back pad.

After another rain delay, Brook (34), who had thought his way through his innings, edged Abbas behind to Mohammad Rizwan standing up to the crease.

It was another excellent piece of bowling from Abbas, who had played his four previous balls down the off side, before coming down much straighter to Brook, jagging the ball away to the off side.

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With Rizwan up to the stumps, Brook couldn't get closer to the pitch of the ball and nullify its lateral movement, with the Yorkshireman ultimately edging behind.

While dark clouds loomed low over the Home of Cricket, the rain held off for another four overs before Abbas produced another jaffa to remove Jamie Smith (7).

This time, the ball nipped towards Smith's leg stump, and the wicketkeeper drove forward, pushing an inside edge to Shan Masood, who took the catch comfortably.

An early tea was called as rain began to fall again, but three balls after the break, Pakistan reduced England to 162-7, with Mohammad Ali forcing Gus Atkinson (7) to step across his crease before pinning him on the front pad.

Only 1.5 more overs were bowled before the heavens opened again and the grounds staff raced onto the pitch with the covers.

Fans waited for the players to return to the field and the sun finally broke through the gloom, but farcically, play was abandoned just after 6.30pm due to bad light.

Lawrence and Ollie Robinson (2no) will return to the crease on Sunday for day four.

Fans will be frustrated by bad light decision

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Many fans had been left waiting in the stands at Lord's after the players were pulled off the field at 5.08pm due to rain.

The conditions gradually started to improve, but fears arose that both sides would not return to the pitch as the light began to fade.

Just after 6pm, grounds staff began to remove the covers and the sun broke through the clouds.

Both teams needed to be back on the field before 7pm for the match to continue through to the 7.30pm cut-off, and conditions had improved considerably by that point, to the extent that the game could have resumed.

However, the umpires, who have been commended for their efforts to keep play going throughout the opening two Tests, made the decision to abandon the match - a move that will understandably frustrate many of the fans inside the ground, who had already missed more than half a day of cricket due to the weather.

Watch day four of the second Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's live on Sky Sports Cricket on Sunday from 10.15am. Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream no contract