Pakistan get off to a good start against England- England vs Pakistan, Test 1, Day 1
Old Trafford was the venue for the beginning of England second Test series of the summer. This time the visitors were Pakistan.
Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat. England were unchanged from their last Test match against the West Indies. The bowling attack of Anderson, Broad, Archer, Woakes and Bess remained the same.
The Pakistan opening batsman made a good start to the first Test. Ali and Masood managed to fight off the new ball and the threat that was posed by Anderson and Broad.
The England bowlers were beating the edge of the bat on a consistent basis but had no luck in catching the edge. Despite the threatening bowling from England, Pakistan’s opening pair managed to get a good start and comfortable at the crease.
A bowling change by England was a successful one for the hosts, the excess pace of Archer put the batsman under more pressure. His bouncers gave the Pakistan batsman a different aspect to think about.
The bouncers from Archer provided the perfect set up for the opening wicket. A quick, full ball followed on from a bouncer. This full ball caught Ali out and he couldn’t get his feet moving. The ball broke through his guard and bowled the opening batsman. Ali departed for 16 with Pakistan on 36.
After a short rain delay, the England bowlers picked up where they left off. Chris Woakes struck the pars of Azar Ali. He was given out by the umpire and immediately reviewed by the Pakistan captain. There was no inside edge and Ali was hit straight in front of the stumps and the decision was upheld.
Ali was a massive wicket for England as he is a dangerous batsman that can bat for a while and take the game away from England. Therefore, getting Ali out for 0 was crucial for England.
Barbar Azam and Shan Masood began to stabilise the Pakistan innings and build a partnership between the two. Azam, who is a very dangerous and potent batsman looked shaky before lunch but nevertheless survived the rest of the session.
The pair then reached a 50-run partnership and began to look very comfortable in the middle and were not threatened by the England bowling attack.
In the hour after lunch, England bowled very poorly. They failed make any in roads into the Pakistan batting line-up and barely threatened the pair. This was worst hour of bowling from this attack in recent memory. This allowed the Pakistan to continue to develop their innings.
Rain soon stopped play, luckily for England. The rain halted play for the majority of the afternoon session with tea being taken early.
Play resumed in the early evening but was soon hampered by bad light, England were forced bowl spinner Dom Bess and captain Joe Root as a part time spinner. The umpires soon called an end to the days play due to bad light. A total of 41 overs lost to the weather.
The day very much belonged to the visitors. Azam and Masood took their partnership to 96 at the close of play, with the visitors finishing the day on 139-2. Azam truly showed his class on the first day of the Test, he attacked the England bowling attack showing poise, control, finesse and power when it was needed. Azam finished the day on 69 and was truly brilliant in the limited play on the first day of the Test.
His partner Masood finished on 46 and whilst slightly in Azam’s shadow, he played well and carefully. He looked solid at the crease and played within himself. The England bowling attack rarely threatened his wicket.
England will have to bowl much better and get off to a good start if they are too real in Pakistan. If Pakistan continue in the same vain, the game will quickly move away from the hosts.
