Simon Burnton’s report from Multan is live, which means time’s up and that’s the end of the show. We’ll be back at 5.30am tomorrow morning; see you then.
England Women play South Africa this afternoon in a big game at the T20 World Cup. You can follow that with Adam Collins.
England’s spin-bowling coach Jeetan Patel talks to Sky Sports
That was a day of solid toil. Pretty proud of the boys to put in the stint they did in the final session. You need energy from your teammates and the guys put in a helluva stint in the field.
To have them six down would have been amazing, but taking three wickets in the last session really sets us up for the morning.
[What’s it being in the field on a day like that?] You go through every plan you’ve got, every idea, but you keep getting overwhelmed by the weather and the heat. You have to dig deeper and deeper and deeper and I think the boys did that.
The way Chris Woakes got Babar Azam was high-class bowling, moving one away and then bringing it back. But when you’re that knackered, and your shirt is saturated, and you’re dripping with sweat, it’s a fine art.
The pitch didn’t spin as much as we thought it would. It’s challenging because you have one eye on not giving them too many boundaries and the other eye on taking wickets. We kept catchers in but we also had sweepers, almost as a cuddle so that they could go about their work.
We always talk about the scoreboard and putting two wickets on it. If we can put two on it – maybe three with the nightwatchman – and they’re 350 for 7… We’ll see what happens, you can’t judge the pitch until both teams have batted on it.
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Abdullah Shafique, who made a classy 102, speaks to Sky Sports
I’m feeling happy because performing for your team is a next-level feeling. I tried to focus on the process (rather than the outcome). When a senior batter like Shan Masood is playing so well it helps me a lot, and it’s a chance for me to learn by watching him as well.
Thanks Tim, hello again. It’s not often that 328 for 4 represents a reasonable day, but England will feel quite upbeat as they leave the field – especially as Babar Azam took the same walk off a few minutes earlier.
Stumps! Pakistan's day, but not a cakewalk
85th over: Pakistan 328-4 (Shakeel 35, Naseem Shah 0) Pope, who has looked more like a captain as the day has gone on, turns to Brydon Carse for the last over. That almost works too as there’s an LBW shout against Shakeel, but there was bat involved. Shakeel retorts with a whip for four and that is that. England have done well to fight back from 260-1, but the day belongs to Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique, the two centurions.
And I have a plane to catch, so Rob is generously reappearing. Thanks for your company and correspondence.
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84th over: Pakistan 324-4 (Shakeel 31, Naseem Shah 0) So the new ball does the trick, Babar’s run of under-50 scores continues, and Woakes begins to repay the selectors’ faith by taking his first Test wicket on Pakistan soil. When Naseem comes out as a nightwatchman, Woakes beats him twice outside off.
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WICKET! Babar LBW b Woakes 30 (Pakistan 324-4)
Woakes digs deep, beats Babar outside off with a beauty, then raps him on the pad and persuades Kumar Dharmasena to raise the finger. Babar reviews but the three reds are all in a row. Where does Woakes think he is, Edgbaston?
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84th over: Pakistan 324-3 (Babar 30, Shakeel 31) Babar drives Atkinson for three. Shakeel cuts hard and gets only a single, as Pope takes a painful blow on the hand but manages to take the pace off the ball. The TV director concentrates on the sunset, a fried egg writ large.
83rd over: Pakistan 319-3 (Babar 26, Shakeel 30) It’s not Leach, it’s Woakes. He finds enough movement away from the left handed Shakeel to draw a thick edge, but it never looked like going to hand. And Shakeel responds with a rasping cut for four.
82nd over: Pakistan 315-3 (Babar 26, Shakeel 26) Shakeel breaks the shackles! He drives Atkinson’s first delivery for an effortless three, and then Babar follows suit with a four to bring up the fifty partnership – 52 off 113 balls, a throwback to the old school.
Atkinson rallies, finds some lift, tries a yorker, but Babar stands firm. The commentators remind us that, on England’s last tour of Pakistan in 2022, Stokes gave the new ball to Leach.
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81st over: Pakistan 308-3 (Babar 22, Shakeel 23) Another over of spin, another single for Saud Shakeel. And the new ball is being taken!
80th over: Pakistan 307-3 (Babar 22, Shakeel 22) Just a single off Leach’s over too. Not only do both batters have 22, but they’ve both taken 55 balls to get there. Could they both get hundreds? They could, though the new ball should have something to say. England may not take it tonight, given the weary limbs of the seamers – though this spell from the spinners suggests that Pope is keeping his options open.
79th over: Pakistan 306-3 (Babar 22, Shakeel 21) Just a single off Bashir’s over. You know those moments when the game of cricket goes to sleep? This is one of them.
“So, where has this Pakistan performance been hiding?!” asks Em Jackson. “This is good stuff from them (although, as the cliché goes, can you tell a pitch until both sides have batted on it?).” That’s not a cliché, it’s one of the eternal verités.
”Secondly, whilst The Hundred may have been good for the women’s game – but we will need to see if England lift the World Cup to know a bit more about the health of the short-form game for England’s women – how many Hundred listeners who were were there when Ben Stokes was injured will be listening to/watching this Test match, do we think?
”England should never have to rely on one player, but losing one’s captain for first Test of an away Test series (especially for the Hundred), seems careless at the very least!
“Em Jackson, nr Newcastle, basking in Durham remaining in D1 & Glos winning some silverware this year.” Impressive geographic spread there, Em.
78th over: Pakistan 305-3 (Babar 22, Shakeel 20) Leach continues, yeoman that he is. Shakeel goes back to the sweep, reversing for two.
77th over: Pakistan 302-3 (Babar 22, Shakeel 17) Bashir, bowling to Babar, gets that maiden. He’s been much more parsimonious in this spell (5-2-10-1). Pakistan’s run rate, which was racing along at 4.7 when Masood was at the wheel, has now slowed to 3.9. And there’s a new ball looming if Ollie Pope fancies it.
76th over: Pakistan 302-3 (Babar 22, Shakeel 17) Babar brings up the 300 with a push into the covers off Leach. Shakeel, feeling tied down after making only three off 32 balls, goes down the track and doesn’t quite get to the pitch, but improvises well with a chip for two.
75th over: Pakistan 299-3 (Babar 21, Shakeel 15) Bashir beats Shakeel with a beauty, his second-best ball of the day. Dip, turn, everything but the edge. Bashir puts his hands on his head and so does Root at slip.
74th over: Pakistan 298-3 (Babar 20, Shakeel 15) Carse, like Woakes, is taken off after two overs, so maybe this is a policy to save the quicks from sheer exhaustion. Leach returns, bearing dots, not letting Shakeel play his sweeps. A caption shows that Leach has offered a little less turn than the other two spinners. Yes, but far more control.
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73rd over: Pakistan 298-3 (Babar 20, Shakeel 15) Babar, still a bit itchy, goes down the track to Bashir, who tries to fire the ball down the leg side. It’s not wide enough and Babar adjusts smoothly to flick it over midwicket for four.
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72nd over: Pakistan 293-3 (Babar 16, Shakeel 14) Carse continues and the batters remember that singles are an option too. The sun is still out, but the shadows of the floodlight pylons are paler now – and so long that they stretch right across the field.
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71st over: Pakistan 290-3 (Babar 15, Shakeel 12) Bashir, eyeing another maiden, manages five dots to Babar. And then he gets cut for four, with a hint of imperiousness.
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70th over: Pakistan 286-3 (Babar 11, Shakeel 12) Woakes is taken off after only two overs, for reasons I can’t work out, but it makes little difference as Brydon Carse keeps up the pressure with a maiden. Off the last ten overs, Pakistan have scored only 25-2 – and half of those runs came in one over from Leach, when Shakeel played those three sweeps.
Meanwhile, back home, Surrey have decided they haven’t got enough seamers.
Think this now means Surrey currently have 14 English Test cricketers on their staff. https://t.co/HaxA8whh6j
— Yas Rana (@Yas_Wisden) October 7, 2024
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Drinks: England back in it
69th over: Pakistan 286-3 (Babar 11, Shakeel 12) Leach takes a well-earned breather and hands over to Bashir, who capitalises on his fine fielding by bowling his first maiden of the day. The only run is a bye as Jamie Smith misses a take down the leg side. And that’s drinks, with England winning the last hour by dismissing both the centurions.
68th over: Pakistan 285-3 (Babar 11, Shakeel 12) Babar wants to get on with it. He cuts Woakes, hard, beating the man at short cover but not the man at deep cover, Bashir, who makes a fine stop. Next he goes down the track, only to find he can’t reach the pitch and has to defend. Then he stays put and plays a flashing drive – straight to Bashir again. Woakes picks up his first maiden and, nice guy that he is, he will be giving some of the credit to Bashir’s vigilance and Ollie Pope’s canny field setting.
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67th over: Pakistan 285-3 (Babar 11, Shakeel 12) Babar cuts Leach for four, playing it late, showing his class. There are still 23 overs left in the day, in theory, so the extra half-hour will be needed. If England wilt in the heat, Pakistan may well get the chance to push on towards 400.
66th over: Pakistan 280-3 (Babar 6, Shakeel 12) Atkinson gets a breather after his success and Woakes returns. He is thriftier than he was earlier, keeping Shakeel quiet after allowing Babar a single.
“Pakistan were talking the Bazball talk before the game,” wrote Steve Hudson, before those two wickets, “and they are now very much walking the walk.
“There are a surprising number of England fans who hate (not too strong a word) Bazball, on the grounds that it is undignified, unscientific, simplistic slogging, and is therefore just not Test cricket as they know it.
“But clearly other Test teams see this differently. Will it take the experience of England losing a series to the kind of positive, attacking cricket that they hate, to make them think there is merit in it?” Good question.
65th over: Pakistan 279-3 (Babar 5, Shakeel 12) Shakeel, facing Leach, has only one thing in mind: sweeping all before him. He opens his account with a crisp sweep for four, then reaches even further forward to sweep for four more. And then a reverse for four more! The counter-attack is on.
64th over: Pakistan 267-3 (Babar 5, Saud Shakeel 0) With two new arrivals at the crease, even on a road, the batting is uneasy. Babar is a great player going through a lean patch: his Test average since the beginning of last year is only 21, with not a single fifty. He shows why that might be by shaping to cut Atkinson and inside-edging for a jammy four.
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63rd over: Pakistan 263-3 (Babar 1, Saud Shakeel 0) Masood may now be wishing he had retired. He shaped to off-drive into a gap but got too much bottom hand into it and gave a low return catch, coolly taken by Leach. In this spell, 9-2-20-1, he has quietly reclaimed his place as England’s senior spinner.
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WICKET! Shan Masood c&b Leach 151
One brings two!
62nd over: Pakistan 263-2 (Masood 151, Babar 1) Babar, facing Atkinson, tries to get off the mark with one of his dreamy drives, only to be foiled by a sharp stop at mid-off. Then there’s a full toss which he tucks away. He sets off fast, seeing a two, but Masood can only limp a single. I wonder if he was thinking of retiring hurt until Shafique got out.
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61st over: Pakistan 261-2 (Masood 150, Babar Azam 0) You wait hours for a maiden from a spinner, then two come at once. Leach, the only miser in this attack, now has 14-2-37-0, and he should probably get a sliver of the credit for that wicket.
60th over: Pakistan 261-2 (Masood 150, Babar Azam 0) Even in this heat, Gus Atkinson’s golden arm is still working. He went full and wide, found a smidgen of away-swing and drew Shafique into a loose drive. So Mushtaq Mohammad and Zaheer Abbas hang onto their record, which has now stood for 53 years.
WICKET! Shafique c Pope b Akinson 102 (Pakistan 261-2)
The breakthrough!
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Shan Masood goes to 150!
A gentle pull for a single takes Shan Masood to 150. He has slowed down since reaching 100 but has still got there in 165 balls. He was under pressure before this; he’s not any more.
59th over: Pakistan 260-1 (Shafique 102, Masood 149) Leach bowls a maiden! With a little help from these injuries. It’s the fourth of the day and the first by a spinner.
The 250 partnership
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.”
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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.
A hundred to Abdullah Shafique!
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.
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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.”
Tea: Pakistan's cup runneth over
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.
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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.
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The partnership reaches 200
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.
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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.
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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.
Shan Masood makes a superb hundred!
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.
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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.
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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.
In other news, are you a Wisden superfan? Well you jolly well should be! Their podcasts are really terrific – insightful, mature, funny, infectious - and now there are loads more of them on Patreon.
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.
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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.
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“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.
Lunch
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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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15th over: Pakistan 67-1 (Shafique 33, Masood 28) A wide ball from Carse is driven stylishly past extra cover for four by Masood; that’s his best shot of the morning.
Ollie Pope has switched to a funkier field, with only one catcher behind the wicket, Ben Duckett in a kind of sixth slip position. Time for some short stuff. Masood turns his back on a ball that doesn’t get up and whacks him on the fleshy part of the thigh arm.
“Not quite toasty in Sale today, looking at Multan,” says Guy Hornsby. “Poor old Zak Crawley, back in the side but taken out of the firing line with him healing finger seems to have spent most of the morning session running to the boundary. That must be brutal, this early into five long days. I’m definitely happy to be sat at home in comfortable clothes, hearing that. He’s going to get his steps in!”
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14th over: Pakistan 61-1 (Shafique 32, Masood 23) With nothing much happening for the seamers, Ollie Pope has an early look at Shoaib Bashir. He starts with a dipping full toss outside leg stump which Masood flicks for three to bring up a rapid, well-judged fifty partnership from 59 balls. Two more singles from the over.
13th over: Pakistan 56-1 (Shafique 31, Masood 19) When Carse pushes one wide of off stump, Shafique times a lovely drive through mid-off for four. Risk and reward, cricket’s eternal dance.
Masood is beaten later in the over, playing a slightly absent-minded cut stroke. Carse has been the most threatening of the England bowlers tis morning, though you’d also expect him to be the most expensive as the day progresses. After an interesting first hour, it’s time for drinks.
12th over: Pakistan 50-1 (Shafique 26, Masood 18) Woakes has an LBW appeal caught in the throat when he registers an inside-edge from Shafique. He does lunge around his front pad a bit at times so he should be an LBW candidate.
A single to Shafique brings up Pakistan’s fifty inside 12 overs, which is good going given how few risks they’ve taken.
11th over: Pakistan 49-1 (Shafique 25, Masood 18) This has been a good start from Carse, whose pace is now consistently around 89-90mph. Every mile helps.
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Masood is not out!
Masood had thick edged the previous delivery for four, so Carse went fuller and even straighter to hit the pad in front of middle and leg. It was clearly hitting and the only issue was where it pitched. Replays showed it was fractionally outside leg stump so Carse will have to wait for his first Test wicket.
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REVIEW! Masood given out LBW to Carse I reckon this pitched just outside leg stump and will be overturned.
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10th over: Pakistan 42-1 (Shafique 25, Masood 12) Woakes changes ends to replace Atkinson, who bowled a first spell of 4-1-17-1. Shafique opens the face to glide his first ball wide of gully for four, an accomplished shot that adds a bit more colour to Woakes’ already flushed cheeks. The last ball, thrown deliberately wider, beats Shafique’s attempted drive. Woakes has bowled better than figures of 5-0-25-0 suggest, so we should definitely resist the urge to jump to conclusions. Should.
“It’s no surprise that Shan Masood, as Pakistan’s Test captain, has never quite captured the hearts of fans or the dressing room,” writes Zain Malik,. “Stepping in for the beloved Babar Azam, this university-educated, Yorkshire-bred skipper carries an air of elitism that seems out of sync with the rugged charm of Pakistani cricket.
“He presents himself as the ‘gentleman cricketer,’ a breed last spotted in Pakistan in the ‘80s. Every time he walks to the crease, he’s not just facing the opposition. He’s facing fans who aren’t sold on him and teammates who aren’t quite sure why he’s in charge. As he strides out early in Multan, Shan will be hoping to construct an innings that drowns out the critics, one ball at a time. If it goes to plan, that knock might just spell ‘Shan’ and, more importantly, ‘Ssshh’.”
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9th over: Pakistan 36-1 (Shafique 19, Masood 12) Time for the debutant Brydon Carse. His first ball is closked at 87mph, which would be more impressive if we weren’t using to Mark Wood’s flamethrowing, and later in the over he beats Shan Masood’s attempted cut. An excellent start from Carse: a maiden and a top speed of 90mph.
“Talking of dreams,” begins Showbizguru, “if I take my wife’s statin last thing by mistake instead of my own brand I get some bizarre ones. Sometime during the night I was dreaming I was on a film set asking Daniel Craig when he could find time to do some press interviews. As ever he was the perfect gentleman. I have absolutely no idea why I dreamed this but I presume the clue is in my name.”
8th over: Pakistan 36-1 (Shafique 19, Masood 12) Too full from Atkinson and Shafique drives sweetly through mid-off for four. His shot selection so far has been really good. A leading edge from Masood runs away for three, which makes it 19 from the last two overs.
England’s three slips are starting to look redundant; it might be time for the captain Ollie Pope to get gently funky. Carse definitely, perhaps a spinner too.
7th over: Pakistan 27-1 (Shafique 14, Masood 9) A fraction of width from Woakes allows Shafique to play an impressive back-foot drive for three. “Class, proper class,” says David Gower on commentary. The outfield must be slow as that would usually have gone for four.
It’s the first of three consecutive threes, with Masood waving a short ball through the covers and Shafique clipping wristily through midwicket. Woakes looks a bit hot and bothered: the ball is doing nothing and he has figures of 4-0-19-0. Early days, everyone calm down.
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Why’s everyone using capital letters these days?
Gus Atkinson gets the first wicket of the series with the SOFT dismissal of Saim Ayub! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/i9xo64j430
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 7, 2024
6th over: Pakistan 17-1 (Shafique 8, Masood 5) Pakistan have started cautiously, which is no surprise given their recent batting form. Even though they’ve lost an early wicket, the early signs are that there are plenty of runs to be had today. There’s a bit of bounce but almost no sideways movement.
5th over: Pakistan 14-1 (Shafique 8, Masood 2) Woakes has another LBW shout against Shafique turned down, this time on height and line. Good umpiring from Kumar Dharmasena as (almost) always.
There’s been no movement for Woakes apart from a couple of deliveries in the first over, and Shafique is able to collect a pair of twos in that over. Since his double hundred against Sri Lanka year Shafique has been in dreadful form, reaching 5 in only three of his last 10 Test innings, but he looks in decent order.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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This McCullum fella needs to chill out a bit
"I don't have any concerns, it was a combined decision" 🗣️
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 6, 2024
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
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.
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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!
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