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

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

Anderson has retired, Wood is out with an elbow injury while Robinson has been dropped leaving Woakes to lead a pace attack also including Gus Atkinson, who has played six tests, and debutant Brydon Carse.

“He’s still got that real hunger and desire to play a lot more test cricket, which is brilliant for us,” Pope said of Woakes on Sunday.

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 conclustions. 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.

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.

“Chris Woakes, the skills that he’s got probably operating at a fairly similar pace, he’s been working hard on his skills so he can step up and be that real leader.