Cricket: Pakistan’s hostility has England reeling in first Test
What a day of Test cricket we had as England wilted initially in the face of passionate intensity from Pakistan’s new-ball bowlers,
Things fell apart in the afternoon. The centre just about held in the evening. What a day of Test cricket we had as England, lacking conviction at times with ball in hand and in the field, wilted initially in the face of some passionate intensity from Pakistan’s new-ball bowlers, losing three wickets to an opening burst, after Shan Masood’s authoritative and third consecutive Test hundred had put his team in a very commanding position.
The cheers from the Pakistan players could be heard ringing loud and true on the dressing-room balcony when Shan went to his hundred shortly after lunch, slamming the door on his previous demons in England.
There was a noticeable uptick in intensity then, as Pakistan’s young and old pace attack, cheered on enthusiastically by their non-playing colleagues from the hotel balcony, created havoc with the new ball.
So used to playing in cavernous, empty stadiums in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan’s players created their own hostile atmosphere at Old Trafford and, as the new-ball bowlers steamed in with constant and vocal encouragement, England’s batsmen knew they were in a dogfight. Under glowering skies and with the floodlights on, Joe Root and Ollie Pope held them at bay for an hour of thrilling cricket — Pope with greater authority, it must be said — until Root edged Yasir Shah to the wicketkeeper.
For a session it was a joy to watch Pakistan’s varied and committed attack. Shaheen Shah Afridi, the beanpole left-armer, caused problems with his late swing, trapping Rory Burns and Root leg-before, the latter surviving a review that the former did not. Mohammad Abbas, with his wily seamers, hunted the stumps and the pads, pinning Dom Sibley to the crease leg-before, and castling Ben Stokes, as the batsman advanced, with the ball of the match. The celebrations told you everything about the value of Stokes’s wicket.
The electric pace of the teenager Naseem Shah was matched only by the enthusiasm of his appealing as he ended each question to the umpire on his haunches in the middle of the pitch. Perhaps the most alarming sight for England was when Yasir’s third ball spun markedly from the pitch, and he will surely enjoy this drying and abrasive surface if he settles better than he was able to in his seven overs so far. Quick and agile of feet and mind, Pope played beautifully to survive to the close.
England’s top-order struggles put Shan’s magnificent effort in context. There has been no more difficult task in world cricket in recent years than opening the batting in England, against England. A combination of helpful pitches, floodlights, a Dukes ball and Stuart Broad and James Anderson on the prowl has produced few Test hundreds from foreign openers. Shan bucked the trend with a performance of intelligence and class that has given his team an excellent chance of winning this opening Test.
In the past five years, the only opposition openers to have managed what Shan achieved here are India’s KL Rahul, West Indian Kraigg Brathwaite, South Africa’s Dean Elgar and Australia’s Chris Rogers. This was Shan’s third consecutive Test hundred, the others coming in Rawalpindi and Karachi, against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka respectively, so it is fair to assume that this one gave him greater pleasure, the more so given his failings here and against Anderson, in particular, last time.
The missed opportunities from the first day, a catch and a stumping that fell to Jos Buttler when Shan had made 45, continued to haunt England, and there was another Buttler blunder to add to the mix when a straightforward chance off Yasir was grassed after a horrible snatch at the ball. Buttler fared confidently when he came to the crease at the end of the day to join Pope, and owes his team some runs.
England’s 109 overs in the field were characterised by extremes, veering between excellent and ordinary. How players can be so good one session and so plain another will remain an enduring mystery. Players are not robots, and no matter how many coaches and backroom staff are there to pander to a player’s every need, it is likely that some variation in performance will remain. Let us hope so; it would be dull and predictable otherwise.
Players have moods, too, and can be fickle, capricious creatures, none more so, perhaps, than opening bowlers; and where Broad and Anderson were so poor after lunch the day before, they were outstanding during the opening hour of the second day. Did a change of ends do it? Who knows? But having binned his own end, Anderson switched around and, in tandem with Broad, duly held Pakistan’s batsmen in a trance before lunch.
Between them, in the opening hour they sent down 12 overs, eight of them maidens, and picked up the key wickets of Babar Azam and Asad Shafiq. Babar failed to add to his overnight score, unable to resist the temptation of an early drive against Anderson, and when Shafiq and Mohammad Rizwan were snared behind the wicket, England had hopes of bowling Pakistan out for under 250. Then, as on the first day, England’s post-lunch efforts plummeted.
It was a puzzle why Root bowled himself immediately afterwards as, even though there were only five overs until the second new ball, he was hardly short of seam-bowling options. In combination with Dom Bess, who bowled poorly, he allowed Pakistan to generate some momentum, 27 runs coming in five overs, so that not even the introduction of Broad and Anderson and the second new ball could turn the tide. Puzzlingly, Jofra Archer was withheld for an hour and 45 minutes, and struck immediately when called upon.
Shadab Khan is a dangerous player, because he runs hard, is a hare between the wickets and looks to score at every opportunity. He and Shan were given initial encouragement by some lax fielding and then they ran England ragged, scoring 77 runs in the hour after lunch. The odd suicidal run notwithstanding, they seized the initiative with some enterprising running and batting, from which England never recovered.
Eventually Shadab’s impetuousness got the better of him when he charged and hoisted Bess to mid-on, and then Shan showed him how to do it when accompanied by the tail, taking Bess for 16 in one over, including thumping sixes over mid-wicket and mid-off. Shan fell eventually to Broad, ninth man out after 470 minutes of studied defence, skill and application that looked beyond him the last time he played here.
Life and sport often offer second chances and the key is to be ready and prepared to seize them. Shan certainly grabbed his chance and Pakistan will be confident of seizing theirs over the next three days.
The Times
Kuhnemann undergoes secret action testing, set to learn fate
Matt Kuhnemann has been put through his paces by the International Cricket Council’s biomechanics team in a secret testing session. Full details on what it means for his future inside.
Your guide to the ICC Champions Trophy
The Australian’s subcontinent cricket expert rates the chances of all eight sides in the ODI showpiece tournament, with Australia to offer a glimpse at the future.