Pakistan v England: first men’s cricket Test, day one – live | Cricket

58th over: Pakistan 260-1 (Shafique 102, Masood 149) Shafique, facing Carse, plays a checked hook for a single to bring up the 250 partnership, only the fourth in Pakistan’s history for the second wicket. Carse draws a false shot from him with another bouncer, a top edge that lands safely in the long-stop zone.

England’s best hope of a breakthrough is a retired hurt, as Shafique is now hobbling too. “Basically,” says Gower, “it’s two good legs between them.”

57th over: Pakistan 256-1 (Shafique 100, Masood 147) Masood toys with his opposite number by reverse-sweeping Leach for four. But it seems to give him some grief himself, causing a bout of cramp.

56th over: Pakistan 251-1 (Shafique 100, Masood 141) Carse is bowling to a packed offside field, and Masood still manages to slash for four. The only whiff of a wicket is a faint one as Shafique fences at a lifter and Jamie Smith takes the ball down the leg side, but there’s not even a token appeal.

55th over: Pakistan 246-1 (Shafique 100, Masood 137) Abdullah Shafique is facing Jack Leach, biding his time, waiting for … a ball to swing for a straight six! That’s a handsome way to reach a hundred. It’s come off 165 balls with ten fours and two sixes, the other one being the stroke that took him to fifty.

“It was at Multan,” says Krish Krishnamoorthy, “that Virendra Sehwag scored his triple century. This match is meandering to a draw unless England commit some harakiri. At this rate a few centuries by English bowlers are on the cards too.” True! Bashir could get there in his next spell: he’s gone for 59 off 11 overs.

54th over: Pakistan 239-1 (Shafique 94, Masood 136) It’s time for Brydon Carse, who, as Root said before the match, knows how to grab a wicket out of nowhere. He almost gets one now, luring Masood into a loose cut that goes straight to Pope at point. He gets his fingers to it but not under it as it dies on him. Masood, naturally, responds with a two, driven in the same direction.

“To be fair,” says Steve Cox, “Zain’s description is exactly how I imagine Edgbaston, with a few more rowdy drunks thrown in.”

53rd over: Pakistan 236-1 (Shafique 94, Masood 133) Leach continues after tea and springs a surprise with his first ball, an airy yorker that beats Masood and inches past the off stump. “I do believe he’s tossed one up!” says David Gower. Masood, unruffled, plays a leg glance to maintain his policy of getting ’em in twos.

The weather forecast appears on the screen – 34 and sunny. At the same time, an email comes in from Liam Crowley. “Is Zain honestly suggesting nobody ever complains about the weather in Britain?” Ha.

“Even before lunch on the first day,” says Jordan White, “everyone was up in arms about how poor England’s chances are, their bowling attack isn’t what it used to be, valid points about why Anderson is off playing golf etc etc. I do love watching English fans and journalists pile on their own team so quickly, not in a schadenfreude way but because it usually seems to me to be completely over the top.

“I could be wrong but I have a feeling that Brook, Root, Smith et al on this pitch could check in for a few days and notch up a few double tons. It’s not a sure thing but the massive pessimism is based on about the same level of gut feeling… Maybe I should spend less time on Twitter.” Join the club!

“You can’t help but chuckle,” says Zain Malik, “at how Multan is framed in the English press. A land so distant and scorching it might as well be Mars, just with more camels and donkey carts. It’s as if the English reporters expect a Lawrence of Arabia remake every time they step off the plane.

“Now, flip the script: imagine Pakistani media describing Edgbaston as a gloomy wasteland of perpetual rain, grey skies, and… street crime. ‘Locals seen preparing for another monsoon of drizzle; donkey carts swapped for Vauxhalls, no improvement noted.’

”Yes, it’s hot in Multan. Yes, Woakes is turning a shade of cherry red not seen outside of an actual cherry, but come on do you hear anyone complaining about how miserable visiting teams feel under England’s fifty shades of grey? The world is made of different climates, and if you’re playing cricket, you have to learn to deal. Today it’s heatstroke in Multan, tomorrow it’s trench foot in Manchester.”

52nd over: Pakistan 233-1 (Shafique 94, Masood 130) Shafique looked as if he was shutting up shop before tea, but now, facing Root, he sweeps for four and punches for two. And that’s tea, with Pakistan lording it. After making 122-1 in the morning session, they’ve added 111-0 in the afternoon. The pitch is so flat that they could make 700.

For England, only only Gus Atkinson has a wicket, and that seems to have come several weeks ago.

51st over: Pakistan 227-1 (Shafique 88, Masood 130) “Just once,” says one of the commentators, “I’d like to see Leach try a moon ball.” Leach mysteriously fails to comply, but he does manage another near-maiden.

50th over: Pakistan 226-1 (Shafique 87, Masood 130) Tidy enough from Root. England have managed to seal off the boundary, conceding no fours since that controlled edge by Shafique off Woakes seven overs ago. But only one ball, that ripper from Bashir, has carried any threat.

“Nice visors England,” says Paul Sokhy. “Where’s the next wicket coming from?” At a wild guess, Harry Brook’s medium-pace filth.

49th over: Pakistan 222-1 (Shafique 86, Masood 127) Leach does well, tying Masood down for five balls, beating the bat with two of them but finding the pad rather than thin air.

If you’ve never sent an email to the OBO, now would be a good time to start.

48th over: Pakistan 221-1 (Shafique 86, Masood 126) There’s a change at the other end too, as Woakes goes back to the deep to wonder why he isn’t putting his feet up back in Brum. On comes Joe Root, who, according to the ICC ratings, is the fourth-best all-rounder in Test cricket. Not many people would agree with that, least of all Root himself, but he’s well worth a go. He makes a respectable start, finding some flight, but Masood marches on. He has time for another hundred today.

47th over: Pakistan 217-1 (Shafique 84, Masood 124) Pope makes a change at the spin end, replacing Shoaib Bashir with Uncle Jack Leach, who’s been the most frugal of England’s bowlers. He reels off three dots before allowing three singles.

46th over: Pakistan 214-1 (Shafique 82, Masood 123) Another over from Woakes, another pair of twos for Masood. The ring of four Under-10 fielders is now a ring of five – three silly mid-offs, two silly mid-ons. And no silly shots.

45th over: Pakistan 209-1 (Shafique 81, Masood 119) A gentle cut for a single from Masood lifts this stand to 200, Pakistan’s best for the second wicket against England since 1971 (my Mushtaq and my Zaheer long ago). Masood and Shafique have done it off only 40.4 overs, showing flair as well as grit: one of them hadn’t made a Test hundred for ages, the other had been struggling to reach five.

44th over: Pakistan 207-1 (Shafique 80, Masood 118) You know those edges Chris Woakes finds at will in England? Well, he’s just got one here. But Shafique controlled it well, steering it past the spot where, in England, second slip’s right boot would be. Woakes has 10-0-48-0: a decent shift in an ODI.

43rd over: Pakistan 202-1 (Shafique 76, Masood 117) We have a review! Masood tried to sweep Bashir and the ball looped up to Ben Duckett at leg slip. England leave the decision. late and the third umpire confirms that there was no bat. “It was sent upstairs,” says Mike Atherton, “with absolutely no conviction by Ollie Pope.” Harsh but fair: in his four Tests as captain Pope has been a consistently hopeless reviewer.

42nd over: Pakistan 199-1 (Shafique 75, Masood 115) Still no joy for Woakes as Masood helps himself to a couple of twos and a single.

41st over: Pakistan 194-1 (Shafique 75, Masood 110) Bashir manages a moral victory, beating Masood with a beauty – pitching on middle-and-off, turning sharply, flicking the pad. HawkEye shows that it was a little too high, the only thing keeping it from perfection. But Bashir then gives Shafique an easy drive for three, so his figures don’t get any better (9-0-54-0).

40th over: Pakistan 189-1 (Shafique 72, Masood 109) Woakes continues, running in hard, as if he didn’t have a terrible overseas record to carry around. His only slip, Joe Root, now moves to short extra, one of four men in a ring, standing around like they did in the Under-10s. That means Woakes needs to pitch it up, but he goes back of a length outside off and Shan Masood glides for four.

Morning everyone and thanks Rob. He got the short straw today: rising at 5am and then having only one wicket to report.

39th over: Pakistan 184-1 (Shafique 72, Masood 104) Masood was on 16 when he successfully reviewed after being given out LBW to Brydon Carse. Since then he’s been almost flawless, and his calculated assault before lunch has definitely affected Shoaib Bashir. His figures belong to an ODI from the early 2000s: 8-0-50-0.

Bashir drops short and is cut for three by Shafique, then drifts too straight and is tickled for three more by Masood.

“Aura,” says Gary Naylor matter-of-factly. “Viv.”

Time for drinks and for me to hand over to Tim de Lisle. See you later.

38th over: Pakistan 177-1 (Shafique 69, Masood 100) Chris Woakes, whose last over was the 12th of the innings, returns to the attack to signal the end of England’s bumper bonanza. He has a slip, short mid-on, leg gully and fervent hope that this ball will start to reverse swing.

Masood drives his first ball majestically for four, then tucks two off the pads to move to 99. A single off the hip takes him to a refinded and courageous hundred, his first in Tests since 2020 and his first as captain. He was under so much pressure coming into this game; he has responded by racing to a century in 102 balls.

37th over: Pakistan 170-1 (Shafique 69, Masood 93) Bashir replaces Leach, who may change ends himself. As Ian Ward says on commentary, if Pakistan take Bashir down here Ollie Pope will have serious problems.

A decent over from Bashir includes a wider delivery, on the classical Australian line, which Shafique inside-edges into the leg side.

36th over: Pakistan 169-1 (Shafique 69, Masood 92) Shafique swivel-pulls Atkinson past leg slip for four more, then plays a beautiful back-foot drive to the cover boundary. This is now his highest Test score since the 201 against Sri Lanka 15 months ago.

We’ll never know how the stars of 2022 – Anderson, Robinson and Wood – would have done on this pitch. It does look exceptionally good for batting.

“Which team or individual had the greatest ‘aura’ do you think?” says Simon McMahon. “The All Blacks? Brazil? The great West Indian and Australian cricket teams? Spain and Barcelona? Muhammad Ali, Shane Warne, Phil Taylor, Roger Federer, Tiger Woods? Though I think ‘aura’ is not always the same as ‘great’. Some individuals can carry a certain aura within a team that does not, like Stokes and the current England side, and somebody like Cantona certainly had an aura, but doesn’t normally feature in any greatest player of all time debates. Many of those who faced a peak Phil Taylor were beaten before the first dart was thrown. Likewise Mike Tyson in the late 80s. I’m not sure any of this makes sense, but that’s never stopped me before.”

The first person who comes to mind is Warney, specifically at Edgbaston on 17 June 1999, though I might not say that to the face of late 80s Mike Tyson.

35th over: Pakistan 161-1 (Shafique 61, Masood 92) With mid-off up, Shan Masood feels secure enough to dance down the track and blast Leach for six. That’s a lovely shot to bring up a tremendous 150 partnership with Shafique. England are in abundant bother.

“I know it was only a few ODIs but I felt like Brook showed more captaincy potential in that Australia series than we’ve ever really seen from Pope,” asys Phil Harrison. “I know this is a tough gig and not everyone can be Ben Stokes but Pope just seems a bit random and scattergun – whereas Brook seemed to have decent plans and gambler’s instincts. I guess it’s a workload thing with him but I’d like to see them turning to him again, sooner rather than later.”

He did look more natural, didn’t he. It’s not easy to change the vice-captain while keeping him in the team, though ideally this wouldn’t be a consideration. I do also think Pope is no longer being judged objectively, even if I can’t quite work out why.

34th over: Pakistan 154-1 (Shafique 60, Masood 86) Ben Stokes is watching on with Matthew Potts, who might be secretly glad to have missed out here, and Jordan Cox. He loves a spell of short stuff so this post-lunch tactic will surely have had his blessing, but for now all it’s really doing is fatiguing the England quick bowlers. Atkinson has now bowled nine overs, Carse eight, Woakes six.

33rd over: Pakistan 151-1 (Shafique 59, Masood 84) Leach continues to keep things pretty tight: 5-0-10-0. The rest are all going at at least four an over, seven in Bashir’s case.

32nd over: Pakistan 150-1 (Shafique 58, Masood 84) Atkinson takes over from Carse on bumper duty. After gloving one well short of Jamie Smith, Masood top-edges a pull over the man at fine leg for six. Joe Root, fielding on the boundary, was almost in business.

Masood has scooted to 84 from 86 balls, Shafique has 58 from 98. England look a bit lost, though we should stress this is the flattest of pitches.

31st over: Pakistan 142-1 (Shafique 58, Masood 76) Masood gets down on one knee to sweep Leach behind square for four. Man he’s played well today. He said before the series that the 2022 series changed the world; it certainly changed the tempo of Masood’s batting. Until the end of that series his Test strike-rate was 46; since then it’s 77. I know this is veering into Jaiswal/Duckett territory but stats are stats.

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30th over: Pakistan 137-1 (Shafique 58, Masood 71) Shafique pulls Carse through midwicket for four with oodles of authority. One of the most impressive things about Pakistan’s batting today has been the C-word. Clarity, doofus. They’ve picked the right balls and the right times to attack, and I keep blinking at their scoring rate of 4.6 per over as it feels like they have taken very few risks.

The umpire calls ‘over’ after five balls, but then somebody realises the mistake and a weary Carse has to go back to his mark and finish it off.

29th over: Pakistan 132-1 (Shafique 54, Masood 70) A chastening day like this is what England need, certainly their inexperienced bowlers. Atkinson, Carse and Bashir should learn lessons that will be valuable in the future; Test cricket isn’t all milk, cookies and Dukes balls.

Leach, with the aid of some relatively defensive fields. has slowed Pakistan down by conceding only four runs from three overs. He did this at times in the 2022 series, bowling dry while England waited for the ball to reverse swing. The square was fairly lush this morning so we don’t know if there will be any reverse today.

28th over: Pakistan 130-1 (Shafique 53, Masood 69) A short ball from Carse sits up perfectly for Masood to pull through midwicket for four. This is his highest Test score since that 156 against England in August 2020, which is his highest overall. It might not be in a few hours’ time because this pitch looks so flat.

It’s notable that Carse’s pace is already down below 85mph. I don’t say that criticially: it’s inevitable when he’s flogging the ball halfway down in 35 degree heat.

27th over: Pakistan 124-1 (Shafique 53, Masood 63) Jack Leach continues after lunch. He ended the season in terrific form for Somerset, taking 36 wickets in eight innings, so he should be full of the joys. He has a slip and short leg for Masood, who drives a single to deep mid-on. There’s a hint of turn, no more than a soupçon.

26th over: Pakistan 123-1 (Shafique 53, Masood 62) Carse has no slips, so both batters know what’s coming: a short spell in more ways than one. Masood pulls a single and then Shafique gloves a pull safely on the leg side. The ball landed well short of backward square leg but that’ll give England a bit of encouragement.

The Pakistan physio comes on at the end of the over. It looks like Shan Masood needed an energy gel or some such.

Brydon Carse is going to start after lunch, replacing Shoaib Bashir at the end whose name I know not.

“It’s great to see young Abdullah Shafique back in form,” writes Zain Malik. “The last time he played this soundly was in Colombo, where he amassed a brilliant 200 runs. Batting in Asian conditions against the red ball, he has been outstanding, showcasing the promise everyone seemed to overlook during his recent slump. Now, the bookish, technically sound and brave Abdullah is back, supporting his captain with poise.

”Shan Masood’s aggression has been key to helping Abdullah settle in and change gears, allowing him to shift from cautious to confident with ease. On the other hand, Carse has bowled well, creating some pressure, while Woakes and Bashir looked off coloir and as easy to read as a well-thumbed novel. With England’s inexperienced bowling attack struggling, Pope must be wishing for a magic playbook because his current field placements are giving new meaning to the term ‘trial and error’.”

I’d agree with all of that except maybe the last bit. We should cut him a bit of slack, this being his first Test as captain outside England, and he went through some of the Stokes playbook. The worry is that he doesn’t have Stokes’ intuition when it comes to deviating from that playbook.

Welcome to Pakistan. England endured two hours of hard yakka on a flat Multan pitch, and there’s plenty more than come. Saim Ayub fell early, gloving Gus Atkinson down the leg side, but Abdullah Shafique and the captain Shan Masood made classy fifties to put Pakistan on top. Brydon Carse was probably the pick of the England bowlers. Both Shafique and Masood went after Shoaib Bashir, whose six overs disappeared for 40. Reports of Pakistan’s decline and all that.

25th over: Pakistan 122-1 (Shafique 53, Masood 61) Jack Leach, playing his first Test since the miracle of Hyderabad in January, is given the final over before lunch. Nothing to report, just a single to Shan Masood. It’s been Pakistan’s session!

24th over: Pakistan 121-1 (Shafique 53, Masood 60) Now Shafique is ready to dominate Bashir. He drives and cuts stylish boundaries before skipping down to smack Bashir over mid-on for six. That’s a brilliant shot which takes him to a classy fifty from 77 balls. Bashir’s figures aren’t pretty: 6-0-42-0.

23rd over: Pakistan 105-1 (Shafique 38, Masood 59) Ollie Pope is trying a few things in the field, including a leg slip for Masood. But England look a little flat, the reality of bowling in Pakistan starting to kick in, and a no-ball from Atkinson brings up the Pakistan hundred in excellent time. They’ve had a superb morning.

22nd over: Pakistan 99-1 (Shafique 35, Masood 58) Masood made Test hundreds in three consecutive innings in 2019-2020, culminating in a mighty 156 against England at Old Trafford. Over the next four years he averaged less than 20. And, while it’s too early to hail a return to form, the signs are really encouraging for him and Pakistan.

21st over: Pakistan 98-1 (Shafique 35, Masood 57) Shan Masood times Atkinson through midwicket for a couple to reach an admirable half-century from 43 balls. It takes courage to play this positively, even on such a flat pitch, when you’re under so much pressure as captain. A gorgeous drive through extra cover brings him four more.

“Looking like a good toss to win!” says Gary Naylor. “Ben Stokes’ figures are hardly in Jacques Kallis/Imran Khan territory, but it’s in situations like this where his aura, an underrated attribute in sport, really comes into its own. Inexperienced bowlers (and batters) could always glance across at the all-rounder, lately captain, and think, ‘We’re still in this’ regardless of the scoreboard. Someone is going to have to acquire an aura – and soon.”

Aura and also imagination in the field; England are definitely missing that.

20th over: Pakistan 89-1 (Shafique 35, Masood 48) Masood continues his calculated assault on Bashir with a whip through midwicket for three. His speed of scoring is allowing Shafique to settle in; he defends the rest of the over and has made 3 from his last 23 balls.

19th over: Pakistan 86-1 (Shafique 35, Masood 45) Gus Atkinson replaces Brydon Carse, who bowled a threatening first spell of 5-1-21-0. There has two slips so you’d expect him to generally bowl fuller than Carse did in his last couple of overs. Indeed he does, and Shafique plays out a maiden.

18th over: Pakistan 86-1 (Shafique 35, Masood 45) Shan Masood makes it three boundaries in four balls off Bashir, rocking back to pull mightily over midwicket. That, as Mike Atherton says on commentary, is Masood’s reward for coming down the pitch in the previous over. Bashir pulled his length back slightly and Masood took advantage.

This is extremely good batting from Masood, who ends the over by running down the pitch to drive over mid-off for four more. He has quietly raced to 45 from 41 balls, including 20 off 12 from Bashir.

17th over: Pakistan 78-1 (Shafique 35, Masood 37) Pope misses a run-out chance when Shafique takes an inexplicable single to short mid-on. He was barely in the frame when Pope’s underarm throw whistled past the stumps. Pope, who was only a few yards away, punched the stumps in frustration.

Carse is now bowling a lot of short deliveries, which is hard work in this heat. Shafique is taking very few risks, in his strokeplay if not always his running, and the over passes without further incident.

16th over: Pakistan 76-1 (Shafique 34, Masood 36) Bashir has a big shout for LBW turned down when Masood flicks across the line. Ollie Pope, who burned 10 reviews against Sri Lanka, decides it didn’t straighten enough. And he’s right.

That appeal leads to an inelegant hack for four from Masood, who charges down the pitch to drag Bashir past mid-on. He comes down again next ball, this time to smash the ball back over Bashir’s head for another boundary. That’s a much better shot, and an emphatic statement of intent. Pakistan have scored 59 in the last 10 overs.