England v Pakistan: Hosts dreadful at Lord's and do not look like a unit

Being brutally honest, England's nine-wicket defeat by Pakistan in the first Test at Lord's was a truly dreadful performance.

To be outplayed so comprehensively by a touring team at home in May is shocking.

It is a result that you could tack on to a winter that saw England fail to register a win in seven matches in Australia and New Zealand. But these are early-season, home conditions. It is a time when England should be thriving.

We know the problems. Here, the first-innings batting was once again to blame. You do not win many Tests after being bowled out for 184 on the first day.

But, without being inside the camp, it is very difficult to explain why these problems persist. What we can say is that England do not look like a unit at the moment.

They say they are working hard. Are they? I see batting coach Mark Ramprakash every morning, throwing so many balls at players that are queuing up to have a bat. No problems there.

But Pakistan looked sharper, better drilled and more prepared than England. On the outfield before play began, the Pakistan fielding practice was intense and their bowlers collectively steamed in. England played football. This is an area where coach Trevor Bayliss must take responsibility.

Neither are England a team willing to exercise any amount of patience. Positive batting is fine so long as you remember that you can defend positively too.

You can have the desire to impose yourself on the bowlers, but that does not mean that you throw the bat at everything.

England must learn that Test cricket is an ever-changing process and you must adapt to suit the situation. It is something we have said a million times about this team, but it is something they seem incapable of doing.

The way they batted in the first innings was extraordinary, reckless and irresponsible. If you are that loose in helpful bowling conditions, you lose Test matches.

England and Root punished for impatience

Impatient could also be used to describe Joe Root's captaincy. Why, for example, was Mark Wood asked to bowl bouncers inside the first hour of day two, on a green pitch that had just seen England shot out for under 200? It can only be an unwillingness to stick to the basic principles of Test cricket for long enough.

It is now down to Root and Bayliss to muster something from the players before the final Test of the series at Headingley begins on Friday.

Bayliss is in the curious position of England's one-day form being excellent while the Test side are struggling.

He is certainly under pressure to improve results, but I don't think his job will be threatened if England fail to win in Leeds. Remember, Andy Flower has temporarily taken over from Andrew Strauss as England director of cricket and it would be a pretty huge call for him to replace Bayliss in his short time at the helm.

Defeat underlines scale of Smith's task

The other person involved in leading England from their problems is new national selector Ed Smith. It's doubtful that many, if any changes will be made for Headingley and, in some ways, Smith had a decent start at Lord's.

The two players he brought into the side - Jos Buttler and Dom Bess - performed well on the third day, even if they did not mask the wider deficiencies of this England side.

Bess, in particular, has given England a decision to make when his Somerset team-mate Jack Leach is fit. Bess was handed a debut for his off-spin, which we did not see too much of. He has, however, proved his worth by making a half-century at number eight.

This result has given Smith a true indication of the job he has taken on. He is an intelligent man, so was probably already well aware of the size of the task at hand.

For all of the criticism of England, we must not forget what a wonderful performance this was by Pakistan. They were well prepared for this Test and came away with a brilliant result.

They came here to work hard and seemed like a group who knew exactly what they were doing. In this match, they looked like a first-rate Test team.

• Pakistan thrash England by nine wickets

• 'When England lose, they get hammered' - listen to the TMS podcast

Spot-fixing claims a surprise

I must also address the allegations that came to light at the end of this match.

A documentary by Al Jazeera is claiming that three England players 'spot-fixed' part of the fifth Test in Chennai on England's most recent tour of India in 2016.

These suggestions are very surprising to me. I was at that match and had no suspicion of anything untoward. It came at the end of a long tour when England were routed and Alastair Cook eventually resigned as captain.

However, these are very serious allegations and I hope the people who have made this documentary turn them to the relevant authorities so they can be properly investigated.

Jonathan Agnew was talking to BBC Sport's Stephan Shemilt.