Key events
4th over: Pakistan 10-1 (Shafique 4, Masood 2) Before that wicket I’d typed that England might be in a for day of hard yakka, because there hasn’t been as much lateral movement as expected.
“I’m pleased to see Pakistan are batting as I dreamed that England were bowled out before lunch for 86 in stark contrast to the first day of the 2022 series,” says Dave Voss. “I also dreamed that I won a gold medal in the coxless pair at rowing with none other than Steve Redgrave, despite forgetting about the final and him finding someone else to row it with him but still giving me the medal. Not sure what it forbodes for the series but there you go.”
The first part of your dream is clearly PTSD from day one of the 2011-12 series, when England’s all-conquering batters were reduced to 43 for 5 on the first morning. The second part, I got no idea.
WICKET! Pakistan 8-1 (Ayub c Smith b Atkinson 4)
Saim Ayub is caught down the leg side. He gloved a short ball off the hip and was smartly taken to his right by Jamie Smith. At first it looked like a typical strangle but maybe he was undone by some extra bounce. Either way, a fine start for Gus Atkinson in his first overseas Test.
3rd over: Pakistan 5-0 (Shafique 1, Ayub 4) Saim Ayub, a talented left-hander playing only his fourth Test, is beaten on the angle by Woakes. This is a pretty good start from England – but when Woakes pitches one up, looking for swing, Ayub drives elegantly to the cover boundary. Lovely shot.
2nd over: Pakistan 1-0 (Shafique 1, Ayub 0) Gus Atkinson shares the new ball, as he did for most of an outstanding debut summer in Test cricket. You’d imagine he’ll learn more in these three Tests than he did in six in England.
He starts with a maiden to Shafique: very tight line and length, pace around 84mph.
1st over: Pakistan 1-0 (Shafique 1, Ayub 0) Chris Woakes opens the bowling to the right-handed Abdullah Shafique, with three slips in place. Zak Crawley, who has just recovered from a broken finger, isn’t among them. For now the line-up is Root, Duckett and Brook.
Woakes has an LBW shout second ball when Shafique pushes around his front pad. It was missing leg but this is a nice start, with the fourth zipping past the outside edge. Woakes averages 51 away from home and this is a huge series for him, essentially an exam to assess his suitability for next winter’s Ashes.
Shafique gets off the mark with a quick single into the covers.
“The numbers suggest it’s not as warm as the English summer of ‘22 when it hit 40°,” writes Med. “Hopefully Pakistan provide some opposition this time.”
Never was I happier to live in Orkney than during that week.
A reminder of the teams, who are currently lining up for the anthems.
Pakistan Ayub, Shafique, Masood (c), Babar, Shakeel, Rizwan (wk), Ali Agha, Jamal, Shaheen, Naseem, Abrar.
England Crawley, Duckett, Pope (c), Root, Brook, Smith (wk), Woakes, Atkinson, Carse, Leach, Bashir.
Simon Burnton
From our man in Multan
There are an extraordinary number of kites circling, swooping and settling on the outfield as I write. They might not quite outnumber spectators but there’s not much in it. We rarely get more than a scattering of pigeons in England – if the match between the nation’s cricket teams was preceded by one between their outfield avians it would be a short and extremely bloody battle. Anyway, here are the ticket prices for this series. Lord’s it ain’t.
Pitchwatch
There’s a bit of grass, so England could have some joy this morning, but there are also cracks that will widen in the Multan oven. It sounds like batting first was a fairly straightforward decision.
Ollie Pope speaks
These are the hottest conditions I’ve played in but we’ve trained really well and we’re ready for that challenge
We would’ve batted first. There’s a bit of moisture in the pitch so hopefully we can take advantage of that. I’m excited to see [Brydon Carse] go in Test cricket – he’s got that extra bit of pace and he’s exciting to watch.
Ramiz Raja, conducting the toss, tells the Pakistan captain Shan Masood: “Keep that smile on your face boss, you’ll need it.”
Pakistan win the toss and bat
Chris Woakes, playing his first overseas Test of the Bazball era and his first in Asia since 2016, will be straight into the action.
1 December 2022: the day the world changed
Temperatures should reach 37 degrees in Multan today
This McCullum fella needs to chill out a bit
“I don’t have any concerns, it was a combined decision” 🗣️
Brendon McCullum defends bowling consultant, James Anderson’s decision to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship meaning he will miss the start of the first Test against Pakistan 🏴 pic.twitter.com/0B2CGkJUiu
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 6, 2024
Team news
Both captains named their XIs in advance, which saves us engaging in futile speculation. Brydon Carse, who has jumped the cab rank in the last six weeks, will make his Test debut for England. Zak Crawley and Jack Leach also return, with Dan Lawrence, Josh Hull and Olly Stone dropping out of the side.
No new faces for Pakistan but Aamer Jamal, who was hugely impressive in his debut series in Australia last winter, returns from injury to join Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah in an eyecatching pace attack.
Both teams have picked three seamers and two spinners, a balance they may regret if the pitch is as grassy as suggested. We’ll soon find out.
[Edit: this last bit was nonsense from me – both teams have the right balance. It’s as if they know what they’re doing.]
Pakistan Ayub, Shafique, Masood (c), Babar, Shakeel, Rizwan (wk), Ali Agha, Jamal, Shaheen, Naseem, Abrar.
England Crawley, Duckett, Pope (c), Root, Brook, Smith (wk), Woakes, Atkinson, Carse, Leach, Bashir.
Preamble
Morning folks. Enjoy the off season? Less than eight days after the end of the English cricket summer, the winter begins with the first Test against Pakistan in Multan. Ordinarily that would generate a certain ennui. But when a man is tired of Pakistan v England, he is tired of sport; for there is in Pakistan v England all that sport can afford.
These series always give us something, from exhilarating cricket to pantomime controversy to surprise victories. Pakistan are in a bit of a mess, and were recently beaten 2-0 at home by Bangladesh, yet that often makes them more dangerous – especially now that Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah are back in the side. There are a few 2005-06 vibes about the build-up to this series. Pakistan low, England high; final score: Pakistan 2-0 England. And don’t get me started on 2011-12.
A more obvious reference point is England’s last tour of Pakistan, the remarkable 3-0 win in 2022 that elevated Ben Stokes to the ranks of truly great captains. He’s unfit for this game, though he will be in the dressing-room as both the boss of the family and consigliere to Ollie Pope.
In 2022 Stokes and England had to get blood out of a road to win. This time, by all accounts, the pitches could be much livelier. Rise and shine everyone!
