GRAHAM Gooch had to go into bat for Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen last night, after each had put himself under a little more urgent pressure to score runs.

While the England captain did so by deed – bowled through the gate for 13 by an unstoppable inswinger from Mohammad Asif in England’s 39 for one on a drastically rain-shortened day at Lord’s – Pietersen did so by word.

His public admission that his confidence has suffered badly in the near 18 months since he last scored a century means the scrappy 80 he made to help win the Edgbaston Test three weeks ago is no longer the currency which will silence the doubters.

Strauss’ travails, in a series against Pakistan characterised by a lack of collective runs and the clatter of wickets under cloudy skies, have taken his personal account to 155 in seven innings.

There have also been less than complimentary observations about his captaincy in an npower series England lead 2-1, with four days left to decide their superiority or otherwise.

England batting coach Gooch sees mitigation in conditions and opposition for his team’s mediocre returns, but he sees no sign of the strain taking its toll on Strauss. ‘‘I haven’t seen anything get to him. I think he’s captained the side really well,’’ he said.

‘‘With every batsman, if you don’t score runs, you can’t be completely happy.

‘‘That’s not just him personally, that’s anyone – because that’s your role in the side, to provide the platform for your bowlers to win the game.’’ In former England captain and opener Gooch’s expert opinion, there is no evidence yet to conclude Strauss is really struggling.

‘‘He is not out of form. What happened here today and at The Oval... I’ve been there ...

you are vulnerable if you get a good ball and your judgement is not spot on.

‘‘In the last two Tests, he’s been out too early to say his game is not working. But confidence only comes from spending time at the crease.’’ Similar remarks apply to Pietersen, who is yet to take guard in this match but has had no opportunity to do so in any domestic cricket this summer because of the abrupt end to his employment at Hampshire.

‘‘He’s got to transfer the way he prepares and practises into the middle,’’ Gooch advises.

‘‘Obviously he’s desperate to make a score, like any player.

‘‘But you’ve got to get the balance between attack and defence, what I call how you manage the batting. You get confidence from scoring runs in the middle. That is an important part of feeling good as a player.’’

Scoreboard

FOURTH npower TEST

England v Pakistan At Lord’s

Pakistan Won Toss

England First Innings Close

A J Strauss b Mohammad Asif .............13

A N Cook not out ..................................10

I J Trott not out ...................................... 8

Extras (w5 nb3 pens 0)................ 8

Total 1 wkt (12.3 overs)................39

Fall: 1-31

To Bat: K P Pietersen, P D Collingwood, E J G Morgan, M J Prior, G P Swann, S C J Broad, J M Anderson, S T Finn.

Bowling: Amir 5.3-2-18-0. Mohammad Asif 6-1-17-1. Wahab Riaz 1-0-4-0.