Simon Burnton’s report is in, so it’s time for me to say goodbye. Rob Smyth and Adam Collins will provide you company tomorrow. See ya!
Jeremy Boyce provides his verdict:
I’m thinking Captain Stokes and his merry band will be well happy to have 5 down before the end of the first day, possibly more now with the new ball. They could be batting by lunch tomorrow at which point they’ll be planning for lots of beef from the openers, followed by lots of Yorkshire Pudding and lower order gravy train. Which should help deliver them their just desserts.
Leach has two wickets but Carse gets my nod for the bowler of the day, taking 1-14 from 11 overs. He managed to find control with the reversing ball, nicking off Saud Shakeel. The batting star was Kamran Ghulam, hitting a century in his maiden Test innings. That’s some achievement when you’ve been selected in place of Babar Azam, one of Pakistan’s finest ever.
Stumps
90th over: Pakistan 259-5 (Salman 5, Rizwan 37) Leach is granted the honour of bowling the day’s final over. Rizwan turns a fuller ball into a full toss, getting down the pitch to hit straight for four. Dots follow to close the day, one both sides will be pleased with. Pakistan have a platform but they haven’t run away with it.
Updated
89th over: Pakistan 255-5 (Salman 5, Rizwan 33) Nice bowling from Bashir, who slides through a non-turning delivery past Salman’s outside edge.
88th over: Pakistan 254-5 (Salman 5, Rizwan 32) Leach concedes a couple of singles before very nearly sneaking a low one through Salman. Pakistan’s No 7 does well to get down and stop it from creeping past.
Updated
87th over: Pakistan 252-5 (Salman 4, Rizwan 31) Bashir gives the ball some decent hang-time, trying to invite something silly from the two batters late in the day. They opt for an exchange of singles.
86th over: Pakistan 249-5 (Salman 2, Rizwan 30) Leach is called in to get that new ball to skid on to the stumps. Rizwan cuts off the back foot for a couple; he’s relished spin today, looking uneasy against the quicks.
85th over: Pakistan 245-5 (Salman 1, Rizwan 27) Salman Ali Agha, very much a man in form, partners up with Rizwan.
WICKET! Ghulam b Bashir 118 (Pakistan 243-5)
Bashir gets a go, Stokes backing his off-spinner – and it works! Ghulam, as he’s done all day, skips down the pitch but misses the ball this time round. It clips the bails and the centurion departs. Bashir roars.
84th over: Pakistan 243-4 (Ghulam 118, Rizwan 26) Smith, whose glovework has been solid today, collects down the leg side as England appeal for a tickle from Ghulam. “WAIT ON!” shouts Ghulam, who has a touch of Smith/Labuschagne exuberance about him. He drives Potts through the covers for three.
This was the debutant’s special moment from before, one he would have spent years, decades dreaming of.
Special moment for Kamran Ghulam! 🌟
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 15, 2024
He brings up a stellar 💯 on debut with his family watching 🙌#PAKvENG | #TestAtHome pic.twitter.com/Y1hrau9D7w
83rd over: Pakistan 240-4 (Ghulam 115, Rizwan 26) Carse looks such a threat against Rizwan whenever he angles the ball into the stumps. It’s how he got rid of him in the last Test on that wild fourth day.
82nd over: Pakistan 239-4 (Ghulam 114, Rizwan 26) Potts gets some sharp movement into Rizwan and then away from him, the batter left shotless on both occasions. A wild charge down the pitch follows from Rizwan, an admission that he’s struggling against this fresh cherry – he only makes contact with the air.
81st over: Pakistan 239-4 (Ghulam 114, Rizwan 26) Stokes takes the second new ball and turns to the impressive Carse. But Ghulam opts to immediately punish, driving down the ground for four. The quick recovers to nip a couple away from Ghulam.
80th over: Pakistan 235-4 (Ghulam 110, Rizwan 26) Ghulam sweeps Root away for four and then tries a reverse that doesn’t beat the field. But, hey, he looks as if he’s having a great time.
79th over: Pakistan 228-4 (Ghulam 103, Rizwan 26) England opt for a review after Rizwan tries to swat Bashir through the leg side, the ball instead skipping into Jamie Smith’s gloves. Was there a little tickle? Absolutely not – the bat’s in Multan, the ball’s in Karachi.
78th over: Pakistan 226-4 (Ghulam 102, Rizwan 25) I get the sense England are trying to quickly get to that new ball, with Root running briskly through another set.
77th over: Pakistan 225-4 (Ghulam 102, Rizwan 24) Bashir bowls what he needs: a quiet over. There’s just one off it.
76th over: Pakistan 224-4 (Ghulam 102, Rizwan 23) Root continues from the other end, with Rizwan sweeping for one. The Pakistan keeper has started to find some joy after a tough start against the quicks with the reversing ball.
75th over: Pakistan 223-4 (Ghulam 102, Rizwan 22) Shoaib Bashir re-enters the game and is immediately under the pump, Rizwan discarding him for two boundaries through deep midwicket. Excuse the shameless plug, but this is something I wrote about first Test hundreds a few years ago.
Century for Kamran Ghulam!
Joe Root gets to have a twirl, with Ghulam nicking a single to move to 98. Another single brings Ghulam back for the last two deliveries, and he swings across the line off the final ball, all the way to the ropes to celebrate his maiden Test hundred! Root offered a tempter, and Ghulam, who’s been mighty happy to take some risks, slapped that one hard through midwicket. An emphatic celebration follows. He’s the first Pakistani to hit a hundred on Test debut since Abid Ali in 2019.
74th over: Pakistan 218-4 (Ghulam 102, Rizwan 13)
73rd over: Pakistan 208-4 (Ghulam 97, Rizwan 12) Rizwan tries to channel his inner Ghulam, charging Potts for a wild hack; he doesn’t find the middle. A maiden follows, with Ghulam, on the cusp of a debut hundred, going two overs without the strike. And to test his patience further, it’s drinks.
Updated
72nd over: Pakistan 208-4 (Ghulam 97, Rizwan 12) Rizwan gets the forward defence out, again and again, before punching for a single to end Leach’s over.
71st over: Pakistan 207-4 (Ghulam 97, Rizwan 11) Potts finds some late swing with a yorker to Ghulam, who gets his toes out of the way to find three through the leg side. He moves to 97.
Kim Thonger lays out some bars:
There once was a batter named Ghulam,
Whose bat was as sturdy as glulam.
He swung with great might,
Hit sixes in flight,
Till the crowd broke out into bedlam!
70th over: Pakistan 203-4 (Ghulam 94, Rizwan 10) Leach locates some sharp spin and bounce, getting one to rip past Rizwan’s forward prod.
69th over: Pakistan 200-4 (Ghulam 93, Rizwan 8) Matt Potts replaces Carse, who’s earned a breather. A snorter squares up Rizwan, beating the outside edge. An edge follows, running low to give Rizwan a couple. Ooooh, a replay at the end of the over shows there was a very thin edge on that Potts pearler.
Osman is the man to listen to here:
There are reasonable arguments to have not dropped Babar.
— Osman Samiuddin (@OsmanSamiuddin) October 15, 2024
- Giving him the choice of being dropped is not one.
- Keeping him because he’s a sellable brand is not another. https://t.co/TmwTvpVPvT
Updated
68th over: Pakistan 197-4 (Ghulam 92, Rizwan 6) Ghulam knocks Leach down the ground for one, bringing Rizwan on strike. He finally gets himself off none, driving through cover for a couple. A sweep for four follows. Rizwan’s a wonderful player, a key man in Pakistan’s strong middle to lower order – he averages above 40 in every format of the game.
67th over: Pakistan 190-4 (Ghulam 91, Rizwan 0) Carse is causing Rizwan serious bother, finding the outside edge, but the ball doesn’t carry to slip. A wonderful away swinger follows, with Rizwan still waiting to score his first runs – he got a duck in the first innings of the last Test. This is a spell of tight lines, decent movement and sharp pace from Carse. A maiden keeps Rizwan scoreless after facing 18 balls.
66th over: Pakistan 190-4 (Ghulam 91, Rizwan 0) Better from Ghulam, who runs down to Leach again but gets to the pitch of the ball, swinging safely to nail a straight four. A similar shot is repeated, the ball launched over mid-on for another boundary, moving Ghulam into the 90s.
65th over: Pakistan 182-4 (Ghulam 83, Rizwan 0) Ghulam plays another wild shot, trying to smash Carse over Stokes’ umbrella field – he gets away with it, the ball flying high but safely over the cover region.
64th over: Pakistan 179-4 (Ghulam 80, Rizwan 0) This could be some relief for the hosts, with Leach back on; the quicks were really troubling Pakistan. Don’t mind me: Ghulam is dropped at mid-on. The right-hander shimmies down the pitch to try and hit over mid-on, doesn’t get the required contact, but a leaping Duckett, moving high and to his right, can’t hold on.
63rd over: Pakistan 178-4 (Ghulam 79, Rizwan 0) Carse nips the ball into Mohammad Rizwan’s pads to prompt a hearty lbw appeal … it’s an excellent shout but the finger doesn’t go up. England opt against the review, perhaps thinking it’s going over the stumps. Carse has one keep low to close the over, with Rizwan nearly chopping on to the stumps. Pakistan are in a tricky spot.
62nd over: Pakistan 178-4 (Ghulam 79, Rizwan 0) Stokes has set up one of his intimidating fields, with Ghulam staring at three men hovering in the close cover region. Potts produces a maiden; Ghulam is on 79 but has struggled to score for a while now.
61st over: Pakistan 178-4 (Ghulam 79, Rizwan 0) Carse has figures of 1-6 after six overs. He’s been so impressive over the last week.
WICKET! Shakeel c Smith b Carse 4 (Pakistan 178-4)
Carse tests Shakeel’s ticker, striking the left-hander’s gloves with a bouncer. There’s still reverse swing out there, with Carse moving it into Shakeel. And then the one that moves away to nab Shakeel’s outside edge! It’s a wonderful setup, inviting the prod outside off, and Jamie Smith takes a brilliant catch behind the stumps, a very sharp effort from a rapid Carse delivery.
60th over: Pakistan 177-3 (Ghulam 79, Shakeel 4) Ghulam, having hit just one off his previous 21 deliveries, decides to take a risk, making room for a basebally swing through mid-off for four off Potts.
59th over: Pakistan 173-3 (Ghulam 75, Shakeel 4) It’s Carse, not Stokes, who thunders in from the other end, short mid-on and short-mid-off waiting for a loose drive from Saud Shakeel. Another maiden follows to build further pressure.
58th over: Pakistan 173-3 (Ghulam 75, Shakeel 4) Stokes continues with pace, Potts keeping things tight with a maiden to Ghulam.
Time for the third session, with Pakistan operating responsibly thus far. Which brings me to my commute this morning: on a packed Northern Line, the man stood next to me – his armpit threatening to envelop my face – was watching Luca Guadagnino’s intensely NSFW 2024 release, Challengers. It wasn’t something he was continuing from the night before; no, he was watching it right from the start. Thoroughly maverick behaviour from the gilet-wearing finance bro. Now to see if Pakistan – those well-known agents of chaos – replicate such wild behaviour. They’re capable of it.
They’re running through the replays of Potts’ dismissal of Saim: it’s a fine setup, the seamer sending the ball across the left-hander on a good length before pitching fuller to invite the tentative push forward, Stokes positioned perfectly at short mid-off.
Tea
57th over: Pakistan 173-3 (Ghulam 75, Shakeel 4) Stokes continues, bowling the final over of the session. Ghulam has been happy to just survive against the England captain, and a single brings Saud Shakeel on to strike for the last two balls of the over. Stokes finds the outside edge with the final ball, but Shakeel plays with soft hands, the ball staying low to run away past slip for four. Time for some chai.
WICKET! Saim c Stokes b Potts 77 (Pakistan 168-3)
Matt Potts changes things up, going over the wicket to Saim. The seamer’s third delivery of the over jags away from the left-hander before a wider ball is slashed hard … to point. After five dots … a wicket! Saim drives without conviction, finding Stokes at short mid-off. A productive stand comes to a close, Saim walking off with a Test-best if not a century.
56th over: Pakistan 168-3 (Ghulam 74)
55th over: Pakistan 168-2 (Ghulam 74, Saim 77) Stokes is operating at an average speed of 80mph, still feeling his way back from injury. He continues to look more threatening against Ghulam, who plays out four consecutive dots.
54th over: Pakistan 167-2 (Ghulam 74, Saim 76) Potts continues to skip in from around the wicket to Saim, keeping it stump-to-stump for the first three balls, perhaps setting him up for a wider delivery outside off to invite the edge. No, it’s the bouncer that follows with the fourth, but it flies a touch too high. Saim then delivers a gorgeous straight drive, with Harry Brook leaping spectacularly to stop the boundary.
53rd over: Pakistan 164-2 (Ghulam 74, Saim 73) Stokes finds Ghulam’s outside edge again … but the ball drops short of Joe Root at slip. It’s one thing getting the ball to reverse, but there’s very little carry in this surface. Ghulam’s dealing with cramp again, so there’s a break in play. England use it to get a helmet on Root’s head – he comes in closer to the stumps. I don’t think I’ve ever seen slip wear a helmet before.
52nd over: Pakistan 162-2 (Ghulam 74, Saim 72) Potts looks a threat to Saim Ayub, getting the ball to hoop in and challenge the left-hander’s pads and stumps. He then gets one to move away from Saim, who chases it and edges away to third man for a boundary. A more convincing stroke follows from Saim, who flicks off his pads for four, Potts going a touch too straight from around the wicket. An inside-edge closes the over, Saim nearly chopping on to his stumps.
51st over: Pakistan 152-2 (Ghulam 74, Saim 63) Stokes continues and unfurls a gorgeous outswinger against Ghulam, the ball sneaking past the outside edge. Another edge follows next ball, the ball keeping low to run away to the third-man rope. Ghulam is getting a serious test here, with Stokes deciding to challenge the toes; out comes the yorker, dug out by the right-hander.
They’ve got a proper 2013 playlist going in Multan as John Newman’s Love Me Again rings out.
50th over: Pakistan 145-2 (Ghulam 68, Saim 62) Matt Potts is called in, Stokes recognising that it’s time for the quicks to go to work. Potts brings the ball back into the left-handed Saim Ayub, conceding one from the over.
Showbizguru writes: “The theme tune from the 2012 Bond movie Skyfall seems to be a regular choice for break music at the Multan stadium. What England need now is a Thunderball. I’ll get my coat.”
49th over: Pakistan 144-2 (Ghulam 68, Saim 61) Ben Stokes decides to do it himself, taking off Brydon Carse. There’s a touch of reverse swing in the air and Stokes knows how to harness it. He’s loose to begin with, though; Ghulam punches through the covers for a couple. The next ball is far more threatening, with Stokes getting the ball to move away from the right-hander. Ghulam calls over the Pakistan doc, potentially cramping up as he shakes his right hand; time for the TV cameras to intensely focus on a man eating some ice-cream. As you do.
Dots follow before Stokes squares Ghulam up with the final ball of the over, moving it away again to find the outside edge, the ball running away to the boundary for four. Nevermind the runs, there’s something to play with here for England.
Updated
48th over: Pakistan 138-2 (Ghulam 62, Saim 61) Hello, all, lovely to be here. Jack Leach continues after a few words of wisdom/affirmation/sweet nothings from captain Stokes. Kamran Ghulam skips down the pitch for a rather loose hoick across the line, getting a thick edge to collect three. Saim Ayub adventures down the wicket, too, playing a lovely lofted drive over mid-off for four.
47th over: Pakistan 131-2 (Saim 57, Ghulam 59) Stokes has decided it’s time for Brydon Carse, whose name is crying out for the late Tony Greig to be on commentary. His first ball, bowled from round the wicket to Saim, beats the inside edge and is superbly taken on the bounce by Jamie Smith. There’s nothing he can do later in the over when Carse rams one down the leg side for four byes.
There was a hint of reverse swing in that over – a mite, a soupçon – so this could be England’s opportunity. Taha Hashim will track every last millimeter of deviation; he’s ready to take over for the rest of the day’s play. Bye!
Updated
46th over: Pakistan 127-2 (Saim 57, Ghulam 59) Ghulam’s fast hands allow him to back cut Leach for two. It’s one thing to come out at 19 for two on debut, quite another when your team are on their knees and you’re replacing their best player. In that context this has been a gem of an innings.
Updated
45th over: Pakistan 125-2 (Saim 57, Ghulam 57) Ghulam reverse sweeps Bashir for for, the first sign of impudence from him. Pakistan are inching towards what might be a very handy position. Let’s be honest, we’re all hedging our bets because we have no idea what this pitch will do. It might crumble completely; it might stay like this.
Ben Stokes has a look at the ball, decides it isn’t reverse-ready and throws it back to Jack Leach.
Updated
44th over: Pakistan 120-2 (Saim 57, Ghulam 52) Not for the first time today, Leach almost skids an arm ball through Ghulam. He’s quick enough on his feet to get out of trouble but that looks a potential mode of dismissal for England.
Saim carts a slog sweep for two to bring up the hundred partnership. It was a slightly loose shot but safe enough with nobody at deep midwicket.
“Picking up on Kim Thonger’s comments on the Elon Morgan robot,” begins Oliver Haill. “It made me think of Dennis Lillee coming out to the middle with an aluminium bat. (The ComBat, it was called, apparently.) As this was not allowed and he was forced to change back to a traditional willow number, I’m thinking the laws of cricket might allow wooden robots...?”
Heh. There was a funny story about that aluminium bat on the recent Cricket Et Al podcast with Greg Chappell. My short-term memory has gone to pot so I can’t remember the detail, only that it made me chuckle. But the whole podcast is great, including a fascinating discussion of the book Psycho-Cybernetics. That it was easier to remember.
43rd over: Pakistan 115-2 (Saim 54, Ghulam 50) Bashir, bowling round the wicket, gets one to bounce awkwardly at Ghulam. He fends that wide of leg slip and turns the next ball for a single to reach fine half-century, full of poise and pride. He’s the first No4 to make a debut fifty for Pakistan since the man he replaced, Babar Azam, against West Indies eight years ago. And he celebrates by blowing a kiss to the Pakistan balcony.
42nd over: Pakistan 114-2 (Saim 54, Ghulam 49) England submit a polite enquiry for LBW when Saim misses a sweep off Leach. Outside the line. Leach is starting to get some quicker turn and beats Ghulam with a classic delivery to the right-hander: drift in, turn away, lots of oohs and aahs.
“Woke up to a horrible thought this morning,” begins Pete Salmon. “Pakistan keep losing, there are no crowds, they don’t even seem to know where the next Test will be, and must be losing money on the series. We’ve seen players decide not to play Test cricket anymore, but might we be getting to a point where teams make that decision? Most teams now get nothing from Y=Test cricket financially, or in terms of crowds or prestige. Our worry with the big three has always been that teams will be squeezed out, but I can see a scenario where one team, Pakistan or otherwise, simply says they are going to stop playing Tests concentrate on T20... Allay my fears!”
Well, the good news is that AI is going to kill us all by the year 2030 so the future of Test cricket shouldn’t impact us.
41st over: Pakistan 112-2 (Saim 54, Ghulam 48)
40th over: Pakistan 110-2 (Saim 54, Ghulam 46) Thwack! Saim launches Leach over midwicket for an eyecatching boundary, his fourth of the innings. It hasn’t been a perfect innings, none are, but for the most part he has defended and attacked with an authority that belies his inexperience.
Updated
39th over: Pakistan 106-2 (Saim 50, Ghulam 46) Kamran Ghulam came into his debut in abysmal form, with no centuries in six innings across formats. Trust me, for him that’s a drought. He looks a good player: organised, assured and fearless, as he shows by slog-sweeping Bashir handsomely for a one-bounce four.
Bashir, whose line to the right-hander has been much more aggressive today, continues to toss the ball up and almost gets one through Ghulam’s attempted drive. Whatever the right and wrongs of the pitch, and we probably have to defer judgement on that until the end of the game, it has produced an engaging contest today.
Updated
38th over: Pakistan 100-2 (Saim 50, Ghulam 40) Ghulam throws his entire being into a slog-sweep at Leach, misses and is lucky that the ball turns past off stump. Had it not turned so extravagantly he would have been cleaned up.
Leach, who has bowled on plenty of helpful pitches at Ciderabad, is getting into a nice rhythm. Later in thbe over he also gets through Ghulam with a quicker arm ball. Almost.
37th over: Pakistan 99-2 (Saim 50, Ghulam 39) Just when you think Pakistan are getting on top, something happens to remind you that a batter is probably never truly ‘in’ on this pitch. Those Leach deliveries have briefly spooked Saim, who trusts nothing but defence in that over from Shoaib.
“Irksome partnership needing breaking?” says Ian Copestake. “You know who to call! Ghostb... er, Stokes.”
Doug Walters was apparently one of the great partnership breakers and ‘Who ya gonna call? DOUG WALTERS’ scans nicely. The fact he took his last wicket in 1977, seven years before Ghostbusters was released, might be considered problematic in some cultures though.
Updated
36th over: Pakistan 98-2 (Saim 50, Ghulam 38) Leach beats Saim with successive deliveries, the second a beauty that somehow misses both the outside edge and the off stump. Leach starts to celebrate, then appeals, then asks Ben Stokes to review it. The response is the same as when he asks to put mid-off or mid-on back.
35th over: Pakistan 97-2 (Saim 50, Ghulam 37) Saim drives Bashir for two to reach an excellent half-century, the third of his fledgling Test career, from 98 balls with three fours. It’s been a mature innings, a fine response to his lamentable dismissal in the second innings of the first Test.
There are oohs and aahs later in the over when he offers no stroke to a ball that doesn’t miss off stump by all that much. It looked a safe leave to me. Bashir’s last four Test wickets have cost over 100 runs apiece but he’s bowled well today. Nothing to worry about yet.
34th over: Pakistan 95-2 (Saim 48, Ghulam 37) Between overs, Joe Root shines the ball on Jack Leach’s head #baldcommunity. England will be looking for reverse swing soon because this partnership is becoming irksome. Saim cuts Leach firmly for four, despite the best efforts of Potts haring back from point, and a sikngle takes him to within two of a fine half-century.
33rd over: Pakistan 90-2 (Saim 43, Ghulam 37) Ghulam gives Bashir the charge and clumps the ball down the ground for couple, with Potts doing well to save the boundary. It was in the air, not off the middle, but it was safely wide of the diving Bashir.
The shot has the desired effect. Bashir pulls his length back ever so slightly and Ghulam heaves two more through midwicket.
32nd over: Pakistan 85-2 (Saim 42, Ghulam 33) Now then. Leach beats Ghulam with a jaffa that turns sharply and quickly. That went through the top of the surface and was nigh-on unplayable.
31st over: Pakistan 84-2 (Saim 41, Ghulam 33) Shoaib Bashir, who arguably outbowled Leach this morning even though Leach took both wickets, returns to the attack and finds Saim’s edge with a good ball that straightens and bounces. For the second time today it goes wide of the diving Stokes at slip and through the vacant gully region.
Bashir tosses one up outside off stump, a much more aggressive line, and Ghulam drives for four with authority. “Risk and reward,” says Nasser on commentary.
30th over: Pakistan 79-2 (Saim 40, Ghulam 24) The morning session hinted that this is might be the rarest of surfaces, a new-ball pitch for the spinners. Or maybe Saim Ayub and Kamran Ghumal made it look that way by batting so well after Pakistan’s poor start.
Leach’s first over is an accurate maiden to Ghulam. He’s still hit just the one boundary, a perky straight six off Leach early in his innings.
Updated
The players are back on the field. Jack Leach is going to replace Brydon Carse, who bowled a solitary over just before lunch.
“There’s been a lot of publicity about Elon Musk’s Optimus humanoid robots since the last Test,” says Kim Thonger, bringing news to me. “As a visionary he’ll very likely already have spotted the success of the IPL and will have told his R&D team to teach a few of the robots how to apply their superhuman skills to the white ball game. Imagine a robot with Shane Warne’s bowling, Ben Stokes batting, and Eoin Morgan’s captaincy skills. Unstoppable. I have a question. Do the laws of cricket permit a robot to be selected and deployed?”
They don’t offer it yet, but Merlin is patiently awaiting the call.
IS NOTHING SACRED
England Women have a huge game later today, an effective quarter-final against West Indies at the T20 World Cup. Here’s what Raf Nicholson has leared from the tournament to date.
Lunch
29th over: Pakistan 79-2 (Saim 40, Ghulam 29) Saim looks a bit skittish as we approach lunch. He tries to pulls Potts, is too early on the shot and bottom-edges the ball short of Jamie Smith behind the stumps.
So ends an intriguing morning session. Jack Leach, brought on inside the first half hour, took two early wickets to reduce Pakistan to 19 for two. But this used Multan pitch, while never entirely trustworthy, started to behave itself as the ball got a bit older and Saim Ayub put together an assured, positive partnership of 6o with the impressive debutant Kamran Ghulam.
So far, so goodish for Pakistan.
28th over: Pakistan 78-2 (Saim 40, Ghulam 28) Brydon Carse also comes back into the attack just before lunch. Ben Stokes is the most accomplished reverse-swing bowler in this team so I’m sure we’ll see him after lunch unless England run through Pakistan like a dose of salts. I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Carse has no slips and is generally attacking the stumps. He tries one bouncer that is ignored by Saim and goes through to Smith almost in slow motion; I wouldn’t bother, Brydon.
Saim looks for a quick single and is loudly sent back by Ghulam, then misses a loose cut stroke at a ball that’s far too close for the shot. He could easily have dragged that back onto the stumps.
27th over: Pakistan 78-2 (Saim 40, Ghulam 28) No reverse swing for Potts, but he threatens the left-handed Saim with low bounce on a couple of occasions. The second was pretty close, a late inside-edge strangling England’s LBW shout.
Potts will always be dangerous on pitches like this because he bowls so straight.
“I’ve just joined the action and am surprised to see England bowling already,” says Jeremy Boyce. “Did I miss some new Stokes mind games? Did he win the toss, elect to bat, declare at 0-0 after one ball, seeing the need to bowl a lot to take the 20 wickets, and backing his batt(er)ers to perform in their only appearance at the crease?”
Indulgent declarations are so Bazball 1.0.
Edit: It looks like Ben Stokes will not wait until after lunch to see if there’s any reverse swing. Matthew Potts is coming back into the attack.
26th over: Pakistan 75-2 (Saim 37, Ghulam 28) It looks like Ben Stokes will wait until after lunch to see if there’s any reverse swing. Leach continues and bowls another grubber that is well defened by Saim. When I say ‘grubber’ I mean it bounced around shin height, not the full Nasser. We need a different word for that, or maybe an abjective such as ‘vile’.
25th over: Pakistan 73-2 (Saim 36, Ghulam 27) Ah, Bashir has switched back to his original end. Saim almost runs himself out by trying to take a single to cover. He’s rightly sent back and has to scramble to make his ground. The umpires go upstairs to check whether his bat bounced up, but he’s okay.
Later in the over Ghulam reaches outside off stump and edges wide of slip for three. Bashir has bowled nicely this morning and probably deserves a wicket. But then Saim and Ghulam have batted nicely and probably don’t deserve to get out, so now what?
24th over: Pakistan 69-2 (Saim 35, Ghulam 24) Root replaces Bashir, who bowled a threatening spell of 8-1-17-0, althoguh technically they were two spells as he changed ends at one point. Saim drives a single to bring up a positive, clear-headed fifty partnership from 85 balls.
“Pity that you have to get up so early for your duty,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “But the vicarious summer must feel good in this gloomy weather. Pakistan’s strategy, should one call it that, appears like the last desperate lunge of blind man’s bluff when jeering pirates have already slashed the man to a state of profuse bleeding.”
I’d say the dastardly plan is working pretty well so far.
23rd over: Pakistan 67-2 (Saim 34, Ghulam 23) Not even CricViz’s finest algorithm knows what would be a par score is on this pitch, but you suspect Pakistan would be happy with 250, thrilled with 300 and rhapsodic with 400.
Saim Ayub smiles after repelling a grubber from Leach, then plonks his front foot down and hammers a slog-sweep for four. That’s a terrific shot.
“Wasn’t there a to-do last winter that the pitch in Dharamsala was a used one?” asks John W.
Ah yes, I’d forgotten that – it was used for a Ranji Trophy game, although from memory that was three weeks before the Test rather than three days.
22nd over: Pakistan 61-2 (Saim 28, Ghulam 23) Bashir has also changed ends. “Very slow, very slow off the surface,” says Aamir Sohail when Ghulam has time to defend a nice off-break. Bashir decides to change the angle by going round the wicket to the right-handed Ghulam, but his first ball is down the leg side. He can have another go next over.
21st over: Pakistan 59-2 (Saim 28, Ghulam 21) As expected Leach has changed ends. Ghulam rocks back to force him square on the off side for three runs, which takes him into the twenties. Whisper it but batting looks almost comfortable.
20th over: Pakistan 55-2 (Saim 27, Ghulam 18) Root replaces Leach, who might be about to change ends. England will be wary of bowling Root too much, even on this pitch, because his run-scoring drops off considerably when he bowls a lot of overs, particularly in Asia.
Ghulam, who has started with impressive intent on debut, clatters three runs through the covers to bring up the Pakistan fifty. Saim drives two to deep extra cover and keeps the strike with a single off the last ball. He’s also played well, especially as he was under pressure after that wretched dismissal in the first Test.
19th over: Pakistan 48-2 (Saim 23, Ghulam 15) Saying which, Bashir gets some sharp spin to Ghulam, who inside-edges onto his stomach. He sweeps the next ball in the air for two, a premeditated and risky shot.
18th over: Pakistan 46-2 (Saim 23, Ghulam 13) Leach almost skids one through Ghulam, who defends across his front pad at the last possible moment. James Walsh (14th over) was right – though the pitch is turning more than you’d expect before lunch on day one, it’s far from a minefield.
17th over: Pakistan 45-2 (Saim 23, Ghulam 12)
16th over: Pakistan 44-2 (Saim 23, Ghulam 11) Leach continues with a very funky field for Ghulam: slip, leg slip, short leg and two short extra covers. Two singles from the over.
15th over: Pakistan 42-2 (Saim 22, Ghulam 10) Saim edges Bashir wide of Stokes at slip for a couple. I think it would have carried to gully. Leach has taken the two wickets but Bashir is probably getting more out of the pitch, particularly to the left-handed Saim. But Pakistan are starting to counter-punch and Saim back cuts a short delivery for three more. That makes it 19 runs from the last three overs, a big improvement on 23 from the first 12. Time for drinks.
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14th over: Pakistan 37-2 (Saim 17, Ghulam 10) Saim flashes Leach wristily through the covers for three, then Ghulam bashed his down the ground for six! That’s a brilliant and brave shot; he’d have received all sorts of abuse had he run past the ball and been stumped.
One consequence of this pitch is that England are in serious danger of keeping up with the over rate; we’re still inside the first hour and Shoaib Bashir is about to bowl the 15th.
“Speaking as an under-the-duvet pre-dawn punter,” flutters James Walsh, “I’m enjoying this a lot more than the start of the first Test. And I don’t think there’s masses of turn…”
No you’re right; it’s hardly a bunsen. I’m probably guilty of putting two and two together to make a two-day Test.
That goes all the way for six by Kamran Ghulam 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hHuChrIpNb
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 15, 2024
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13th over: Pakistan 27-2 (Saim 14, Ghulam 3) Saim tries to sweep Bashir and is beaten by a mile. That ball turned grotesquely. The only good thing for the batters is that, one delivery from Leach aside, the turn has been fairly slow and low.
12th over: Pakistan 23-2 (Saim 11, Ghulam 2) Forty-nine minutes into the Test match, a delivery from Leach bursts nastily at Saim, who gloves it wide of the diving short leg for a single. This is entertaining cricket but I’m not sure it passes the smell test. I guess we should reserve judgement for now.
In other news I forgot the Test Match Special overseas link, again, sorry. Here it is.
11th over: Pakistan 22-2 (Saim 10, Ghulam 2) I’m not 100 per cent sure but I think this is the first time since Melbourne 1901-02 that England have had two spinners bowling inside the first half hour of a Test match.
In the first Test there was a lot of talk of Bashir’s defensive line to the right-handers. His first ball to Ghulam is more attacking, outside off, and Ghulam pushes it for a single. Saim drives another down the ground.
10th over: Pakistan 20-2 (Saim 8, Ghulam 1) Welcome to Test cricket, Kamran Ghulam. He’s a 29-year-old right-hander with an excellent record in first-class cricket, and he gets off the mark with a slightly nervous thick edge.
WICKET! Pakistan 19-2 (Shan c Crawley b Leach 3)
Leach strikes again. Shan flicks with hard hands at a delivery that turns just enough to induce a false stroke, and Crawley – such a reliable fielder – takes a superb low catch at short midwicket.
I’m not sure whether this is a burgeoning farce or merely a reflection of Pakistan’s subterranean confidence.
Jack Leach and England have their second wicket 🏴
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 15, 2024
Pakistan captain Shan Masood departs for three after a smart catch from Zak Crawley 🙌 pic.twitter.com/WlxtVur3aR
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9th over: Pakistan 17-1 (Saim 8, Shan 2) The arrival of Shan Masood means Bashir has two left-handers to play with. Saim is focussing entirely on defence against Bashir for now and there’s just a single to Shan in that over.
“With Leach getting that amount of movement after 30 mins, this match will be done in two days,” says Gareth Wilson. “England likely to be all out 220 off 40 overs.”
Surely they won’t try to dig in on this pitch?
8th over: Pakistan 16-1 (Saim 8, Shan 1) England appeal unsuccessfully for LBW when the captain Shan Masood tries to sweep his first ball and misses. He was outside the line. England have four catchers on the leg side for Shan: leg slip, short leg, short midwicket and short mid-on.
“What’s the story with the music between overs at Multan this morning?” asks Julian. “I’m sure I’ve already heard AC/DC and Aerosmith, which all seems a somewhat incongruous in a practically empty stadium. Are the new selectors responsible for this as well?”
Haha. Each selector gets to pick one player and two bangers for the playlist.
WICKET! Pakistan 15-1 (Shafique b Leach 7)
Tihngs are starting to happen on day six. Shafique has been bowled by a beauty from Leach, which curved onto off stump and then turned sharply to beat his defensive lunge.
"Absolute beauty" 🤩
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 15, 2024
Jack Leach bowls Abdullah Shafique and England have their first wicket 💪 pic.twitter.com/mWaNO1nWSH
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7th over: Pakistan 15-0 (Shafique 7, Saim 8) Shoaib Bashir is coming as well. I wonder when England last used two spinners inside the first half hour of a Test match; not sure it has ever happened.
On Sky, Mike Atherton makes the point that Stokes is probably keeping his seamers fresh for when/if the ball reverse swings. The expectation is that it will reverse in this game because the square is much drier.
It will certainly turn, and Bashir serves notice of that by getting one to grip and beat Saim. Nicely bowled.
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6th over: Pakistan 15-0 (Shafique 7, Saim 8) Jack Leach comes into the attack inside the first half hour of the game. He has a slip, short leg and short mid-on for Saim, who tries to drive the first ball and is beaten. Not a great shot. After he takes a single, Shafique clips a leg-stump full toss through midwicket for his first boundary.
Leach has a similar field for the right-handed Shafique, but with short mid-on moved to short mid-off. No sign of extravagant turn in his first over.
5th over: Pakistan 10-0 (Shafique 3, Saim 7) Potts must be a pain in the arse to face. He’s always making the batsmen play, usually from a length that brings both the edge and the front pad into play. Nag nag nag nag nag.
His third over is a maiden to Shafique, and I’m pretty sure all 18 deliveries so far have hit the bat. Jack Leach is already warming up.
“Pakistan cricket is the nation’s perfect metaphor for overnight chaos managed by a carousel of committees,” says Zain Malik. “They’ve turned up for this game like philosophers with a sledgehammer, smashing the idols of their biggest stars and conjuring a regiment of spinners on a pitch that’s been through some sort of voodoo ritual. But don’t write Pakistan off just yet. It’s out of these absurd shake-ups that their most outlandish victories often emerge.”
Quite. But can we still call them cornered tigers if they beat England with spin rather than stumpbusting pace and reverse swing?
4th over: Pakistan 10-0 (Shafique 3, Saim 7) Shafique ducks under a bouncer, the first leave of the morning session from the 23rd delivery. That tells you how straight England are bowling in an attempt to maximise the uneven bounce. How weird it is to be talking about uneven bounce in the fourth over of a Test match.
Carse puts his hands on his head when Shafique, who has started quite tentatively, inside-edges past leg stump for a single.
3rd over: Pakistan 9-0 (Shafique 2, Saim 7) Saim forces Potts crisply past point for four, making this the highest opening partnership he and Shafique have managed in nine attempts.
Potts continues to make the batters play at pretty much every delivery. The last ball of the over keeps very low; thankfully for Pakistan it wasn’t gunbarrel straight and Saim edges it well short of Smith.
“You don’t often see a sixth-day field,” says Gary Naylor, “but we have one now.”
I’d love to see some of the fields in this game. Day nine, and Alan Melville has tried literally every field known to mankind, yet Bill Edrich is still batting.
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2nd over: Pakistan 5-0 (Shafique 2, Saim 3) Brydon Carse’s optimum role is as first-change enforcer, but the balance of England’s side means he’ll take the new ball in this game. Shafique is beaten by a heavy ball outside off stump and then works a single off the hip.
Saim Ayub, who played a hideous shot off Carse in the second innings last week, pulls confidently for three to get off the mark. And then there’s the first sign of uneven bounce: a shortish delivery that keeps low and is inside-edged onto the pad by Shafique.
1st over: Pakistan 1-0 (Shafique 1, Saim 0) With Woakes and Atkinson rested, Matthew Potts takes the first over for the first time in his Test career. He starts with two slips and a leg slip for Shafique, although Ben Stokes takes out the second slip after three balls.
Potts starts well, making the batters play at all six deliveries. That’s one of his great strengths: tight line, good-to-full length, always at the batter.
Here come the Pakistan openers, Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique. The first target is to reach 10. Their eight opening partnership in Tests have all ended in single figures, with a miserable average of 2.87. Yep.
“Pakistan, it seems, have taken the phrase ‘lucky number seven’ quite literally, winning the toss and tossing in not one, but s-e-v-e-n spinners,” writes Zain Malik. “Desperation? Maybe. Innovation? Definitely. The pitch? Rumored to turn faster than a drift car on a tight corner. But let’s hope we don’t get a repeat of the Pindi fiasco, where Shan and the boys brought four pacers expecting Headingley, only to find themselves bowling on something closer to a runway at Jinnah International.”
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Does this constitute pitch doctoring?
Bash is ready to go 🙂 pic.twitter.com/930b5fW0wR
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 15, 2024
“The last Test was quite the thing, huh?” says Felix Wood. “Pakistan have thrown aside all the best practice guides of how Test cricket should be done ahead of this match... is this their tribute to Bazball?”
Ha, I hadn’t thought of it like that. The trouble is we can’t give it a name as nobody knows which of the 427-man selection committee has driven this change.
Rameez Raja, talking on Sky Sports, doesn’t think much of Pakistan’s volte farce
They’re trying to change the DNA of Pakistan cricket… it’s a cocktail of confusion… this is a leap of faith… they’re trying to win at any cost… it’s a rudderless ship, I don’t know who’s in charge… there’s no consistency… this is a desperate move… I just hope for Pakistan’s sake that somehow it works.
Pakistan win the toss and bat
After picking three new spinners and a used pitch, it’s fair to say that’s an important toss for Pakistan to win.
“Yeah,” smiles Ben Stokes, “we would have batted as well.”
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Team news
Kamran Ghulam, a 29-year-old with a first-class average of 49, replaces Babar Azam and will make his Test debut. The three recalled spinners are Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mehmood; they come in for Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and the unwell Abrar Ahmed. Including occasional bowlers like Salman Agha, Pakistan have seven spinners in the team.
England make two changes from the first Test. Ben Stokes and Matthew Potts are in; Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson are putting their feet up.
Pakistan Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Sajid Khan, Noman Ali, Zahid Mehmood.
England Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (c), Smith (wk), Carse, Potts, Leach, Bashir.
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Read Simon Burnton’s preview
In using the same pitch Pakistan are, counterintuitively, breaking new ground. “We can discuss what we think it’s going to do, but we won’t really know until a day or a session has been played on it,” said Ben Stokes, who has never seen the like and no idea what to expect. “You’d like to think it will offer spinners more than it did last game. I’m not sure the bowlers will like it, but you can still see the footmarks from the last Test. Who knows what’s going to happen?”
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Preamble
The more things stay the same, the more they change. Pakistan and England are back at the Multan Cricket Stadium for the second Test, playing on the same surface as last week, but Pakistan are hoping for a completely different ball game. They have recalled three spinners with a combined age of 105 and are gambling that the dead pitch of the first Test will come dramatically to life like a slasher movie villain.
It’s quite a gamble, but maybe Pakistan don’t have much left to lose. They’ve been beaten in their last six Tests, equalling their worst-ever run, and responded to defeat in the first Test by leaving out arguably their three best players: Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. If they’re not at rock bottom, they’re certainly in the same postcode.
Pakistan are in such a mess, in fact, that it feels inevitable they will rout England to square the series. There’s are few teams in world sport who are more dangerous when they are in complete disarray, and Pakistan will aim to play with the freedom of the cornered tiger.
England have also made changes, with the fit-again Ben Stokes and Matthew Potts replacing Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson. Stokes will bowl a bit in an all-Durham pace attack that also includes Brydon Carse, the man who drew the short straw and will have to go again on that thing, in that heat.
It’s common for white-ball games to be played on used pitches. But nobody can remember it happening in a Test and anything is possible over the next few days. For all we know, by days nine and ten the ball might be turning backwards. Mind the cracks.
