The Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq scored a brilliant century on an even opening day’s play in Dubai
Right, that’s it from us for today. Thanks for your company and your emails. Be sure to stick around on site for all the reports and reaction from Dubai. But from me, cheerio!
Pakistan 282-4. A fairly even state of affairs, I’d say. Neither side dominated and both sides have the chance to put themselves in control on day two. Misbah’s crazy final over was an incongruous way to end but thoroughly enjoyable nevertheless.
90th over: Pakistan 282-4 (Asad Shafiq 46, Misbah-ul-Haq 102) In the gloaming, Moeen hops in to bowl the final over of the day. Misbah, contrary mary that he is, hoists a huge slog-sweep high over midwicket for six! And then he unfurls the reverse-sweep! A thick edge prevents him from being trapped plum in front. And from the third ball he skips down the track and lofts Moeen into the stands at long on! To go to 99! Another reverse sweep takes him to three figures. Wonderful batting from the Pakistan captain. It’s taken him 191 to get to his 100. Sixteen – 16! – from the final over of the day. Bonkers.
89th over: Pakistan 266-4 (Asad Shafiq 46, Misbah-ul-Haq 87) Ben Stokes returns for what will in all likelihood be a fairly thankless six balls at Shafiq. In fact, out of nowhere, Shafiq leans into a gorgeous drive – one of the shots of the day – and sends the ball whistling for four.
88th over: Pakistan 261-4 (Asad Shafiq 41, Misbah-ul-Haq 86) It’s pretty dark out there now but we may just squeeze in these final three overs before they go off. This pair have closed up shop for the evening already though. Misbah plays out another maiden.
87th over: Pakistan 261-4 (Asad Shafiq 41, Misbah-ul-Haq 86) Shafiq leaves alone and blocks, blocks and leaves alone as Anderson steams in once more. A maiden.
86th over: Pakistan 261-4 (Asad Shafiq 41, Misbah-ul-Haq 86) Broad returns for a quick blast before the close. Misbah remains unmoved, then flicks the final ball for a couple into the on side.
85th over: Pakistan 259-4 (Asad Shafiq 41, Misbah-ul-Haq 84) Shafiq has a big waft with a cut shot outside off as Anderson offers him room to free his arms. Ball misses edge by a whisker. Shafiq does lay bat on ball later in the over, picking up a couple of runs to midwicket and two more straight down the ground.
84th over: Pakistan 255-4 (Asad Shafiq 37, Misbah-ul-Haq 84) England do in fact take the new ball now. Misbah smacks Wood’s first ball with it through gully for four and hoists the third over the man at square leg for four more.
83rd over: Pakistan 247-4 (Asad Shafiq 37, Misbah-ul-Haq 76) England didn’t actually take the new ball there. Stokes, with the old ball, strays full and wide to Shafiq and the batsman smears the ball away through the gully area for four. He wasn’t in full control of that by any means. He nudges to square leg for two more from the last.
82nd over: Pakistan 241-4 (Asad Shafiq 31, Misbah-ul-Haq 76) England take the new ball now and hand it to Mark Wood, who has bowled superbly today. Misbah stays rock solid in defence – he’s barely played a shot against the seamers but the only time he’s looked in any difficulty has been when tested by a bouncer. He sways out of the way of Wood’s attempted bumper with the last.
81st over: Pakistan 241-4 (Asad Shafiq 31, Misbah-ul-Haq 76) Is that the new ball in your pocket, umpire Reiffel, or are you just pleased to see me? It’s the new ball, but England haven’t taken it yet. Instead they’ve thrown the old one to Ben Stokes, who has probably extracted more reverse swing from the battered old cherry than any other bowler today. There’s not much for him here, though.
80th over: Pakistan 240-4 (Asad Shafiq 31, Misbah-ul-Haq 75) The new ball is available after this over, though there’s no guarantee England will take it immediately. And there’s 10 overs left in the day after this, though we probably have only another half hour of playable light.
There’s a big shout here from Broad as he crashes a ball into Shafiq’s pads. With the reviews being refreshed in two balls’ time England opt to send this to the third umpire, just because they might as well. To the naked eye it looks to have hit Shafiq outside leg stump and be continuing on its merry way down. Hawkeye shows the ball impacting in line but missing leg stump by a good couple of inches.
79th over: Pakistan 240-4 (Asad Shafiq 31, Misbah-ul-Haq 75) Shafiq elegantly guides a wide one from Rashid through backward point for a couple. And then picks up three more in less aesthetically pleasing style to the same region. On both occasions Broad has to wearily chase the ball down. The glare currently being pointed at Rashid could melt steel, you presume. An excellent googly almost slips through Misbah’s defences later in the over.
“That is one bloody big bat!” notes Robert Wilson. “It’s adorable and everything but I’m not the first to say that these over-sized bats are just ruining the game as a contest …”
78th over: Pakistan 235-4 (Asad Shafiq 26, Misbah-ul-Haq 75) Stuart Broad, for whom these conditions are anathema and has the air of a man who knows it, replaces James Anderson. He troubles Misbah with a bouncer, although the batsman picks up a couple of runs for his trouble.
77th over: Pakistan 233-4 (Asad Shafiq 26, Misbah-ul-Haq 73) Shafiq works Rashid to leg for a couple, then charges down the the pitch and plays a wild one-legged swipe back over the bowler’s head for four.
76th over: Pakistan 227-4 (Asad Shafiq 20, Misbah-ul-Haq 73) Short and wide from Anderson and Shafiq tucks in with a similar amount of relish as this fruit bat:
75th over: Pakistan 222-4 (Asad Shafiq 15, Misbah-ul-Haq 73) CLONK! Misbah thunks Rashid into the stands at long on for six. And he repeats the trick from the next! He’s just scored more runs in two balls than in the previous nine overs combined.
74th over: Pakistan 210-4 (Asad Shafiq 15, Misbah-ul-Haq 61) Anderson drifts onto Misbah’s pads and is tucked away for a single to leg, the first run conceded by Anderson in this spell.
Pink ball chat in the Sky commentary box. “It’s messing with something that should not be messed with,” says Sir Iron Bottom of the
Ark of the Covenant prospect of day-night Tests.
73rd over: Pakistan 209-4 (Asad Shafiq 15, Misbah-ul-Haq 60) Shafiq breaks run of dots by pushing Rashid down the ground for a single. And the runs are suddenly flowing in a deluge, Misbah making it two in two from the next ball. It’s good stuff again from Rashid though.
72nd over: Pakistan 207-4 (Asad Shafiq 14, Misbah-ul-Haq 59) England are stringing together maidens once more. Anderson sends down the third on the bounce.
71st over: Pakistan 207-4 (Asad Shafiq 14, Misbah-ul-Haq 59) Shafiq struggles to get Rashid away, prodding and poking a little uncertainly and then missing with an attempted sweep. Another maiden.
70th over: Pakistan 207-4 (Asad Shafiq 14, Misbah-ul-Haq 59) With Pakistan beginning to settle down again after that post-tea scare, England turn to Jimmy Anderson once more. He wobbles one back in to Misbah, who just gets his bat down in time. A maiden.
69th over: Pakistan 207-4 (Asad Shafiq 14, Misbah-ul-Haq 59) Rashid returns. Misbah misses out on a full toss so juicy it should have come served with a side salad and choice of potatoes.
68th over: Pakistan 204-4 (Asad Shafiq 13, Misbah-ul-Haq 57) Some fascinating replays of Misbah seemingly snapping the handle of his bat earlier (60th over). But he just twisted it back into place and carried on. Very strange. Still, batting with a handle made of Wham bars doesn’t seem to be hampering him. He casually picks up another single from Stokes’ latest offering.
67th over: Pakistan 203-4 (Asad Shafiq 13, Misbah-ul-Haq 56) Confusion! Shafiq has to dive full length to make his ground after setting off for a single in which Misbah had precisely zero interest. He’s safe, though, and he’s safe after scurrying through for a run from Moeen’s next ball despite a direct hit from Joe Root.
66th over: Pakistan 201-4 (Asad Shafiq 12, Misbah-ul-Haq 55) Stokes sends down a maiden at Misbah.
65th over: Pakistan 201-4 (Asad Shafiq 12, Misbah-ul-Haq 55) Shafiq almost gets a swipe through midwicket horribly wrong, the ball only just flying wide of a diving Bell. He picks up four runs for the shot, though, taking Pakistan past 200.
“Re: orange balls. James Lupton can very happily tell me about it being a bad idea,” writes Ian Palmer. “I have no authority over anything, but I will duly note it for future reference as my brother is colour blind and it might be useful for a competitive advantage next time we play cricket in the garden.”
64th over: Pakistan 196-4 (Asad Shafiq 8, Misbah-ul-Haq 54) Ben Stokes (8-2-25-1) returns. A yorker almost gets through Shafiq’s defences but an edge instead squirts away to third man for four. England are on top here and no mistake.
63rd over: Pakistan 191-4 (Asad Shafiq 4, Misbah-ul-Haq 53) Shot! Misbah goes to his half-century with a reverse-sweep for four. Another tidy enough over from Moeen, though.
62nd over: Pakistan 184-4 (Asad Shafiq 3, Misbah-ul-Haq 47) Misbah again gets himself into a bit of a mess with a short ball, ducking his head down and hoping for the best. The ball cannons away safely off his gloves. From the next, though, he’s on the offensive, pulling firmly away for a single. From the next, Wood tempts a drive from Shafiw and the ball misses the outside edge by a whisker.
61st over: Pakistan 183-4 (Asad Shafiq 3, Misbah-ul-Haq 46) “Come on Mo!” chirrups Jos Buttler from behind the stumps, bringing this to mind for some reason:
60th over: Pakistan 182-4 (Asad Shafiq 3, Misbah-ul-Haq 45) Misbah manages to break his bat handle while sliding it into the crease at the end of a quick run, the handle jamming underneath his thigh pad and bending like a Highland Toffee. Very odd. Wood is bowling terrifically here, finding bounce in the pitch and squaring Shafiq up with the last.
“I notice there is a plan for orange balls too,” writes James Lupton. “Who do I need to contact to say THIS IS A VERY BAD IDEA? For colour blind players, orange ball against green grass = invisible ball. Take my word for it.”
59th over: Pakistan 180-4 (Asad Shafiq 1, Misbah-ul-Haq 45) Misbah turns Moeen to leg for the first run since tea, and Shafiq is equally watchful, a thick inside edge off the final ball of the over getting him off the mark.
58th over: Pakistan 178-4 (Asad Shafiq 0, Misbah-ul-Haq 44) A bit of a Brucey bonus there for England. Since tea the collective bowling figures read 3-3-0-1.
Five more dots … and then England have their man! Younis attempts a tickle to fine leg but gets a faint touch on the ball and sends it through to Buttler.
57th over: Pakistan 178-3 (Younis Khan 56, Misbah-ul-Haq 44) Moeen finds a hint of turn with a couple of his off-breaks but Misbah is as solid as a rock in defence. Back-to-back maidens after tea.
56th over: Pakistan 178-3 (Younis Khan 56, Misbah-ul-Haq 44) Mark Wood begins after tea. There’s a huge appeal as he fizzes the first ball of the session onto Younis’s pads. Have England made an immediate post-break breakthrough again? Um, no. And they opt not to review. It’s probably sliding down … and Hawkeye confirms it.
“All this pink ball chat,” writes Steve Hollick. “Am I going daft or is it not really pink at all? It just looks bright red to me.” I don’t know, Steve. They look pretty pink to me.
Hello again. Out come the players once more, with the sun already getting low in the Dubai sky.
That’s all from me. Mr John Ashdown will take you home after tea. Yer emails to John.Ashdown@theGuardian.com, and yer tweets to @John_Ashdown. Enjoy.
A fun game for us all later on, from Tom Bowtell:
“If this last session turns out to be a bit of a slog, OBO-readers are welcome to join me in my new obsession: trying to spot the moment when Anderson and Broad’s test average, strike rate and economy rate become identical.
So a partnership of 93 that has lasted a session minus one ball, and Pakistan are ahead now. Misbah is a weird batsman in that he can look like the wallest of walls, a granitey splicing of Rahul Dravid and Jonathan Trott, but then very occasionally play an absurd attacking shot, which sometimes comes off but also can merrily donate his wicket.
55th over: Pakistan 178-3 (Younis Khan 55, Misbah-ul-Haq 45)
Here comes Adil Rashid, with an over before tea, and it nearly brings some joy as Misbah plays a really, really weird hoik that he only gets a thick toe-end on, it squirts square and drops just in front of Joe Root at mid-wicket.
“I am reminded of a tour match many years ago when South Africa played Gloucester,” writes Andy English on the lack of action a few moments ago. “Jack Russell was padding up and kicking everything away, much to the chagrin of the crowd, who wanted to see the tourists have a bat by then. Jonty Rhodes took it upon himself to lie in the middle of the wicket between overs and do 10 sit ups.
54th over: Pakistan 177-3 (Younis Khan 55, Misbah-ul-Haq 45)
Oooh, something happening! Misbah drives pleasantly through the covers for four. “Missus-bah likes it too,” comments Rameez Raja on commentary as the crowd cuts to the batsman’s wife applauding in the crowd. Doesn’t really work, that, Rammo. Two more singles from the over.
53rd over: Pakistan 171-3 (Younis Khan 54, Misbah-ul-Haq 39)
Couple of chaps in the crowd are asleep. It’s warm, it’s a leisurely sport, but come on boys - you’re not helping with the people who take one look at these grounds and say “But there’s nobody there!”
52nd over: Pakistan 170-3 (Younis Khan 54, Misbah-ul-Haq 38)
Sorry. Another relatively uneventful over. Two runs from it. Maybe someone should do a quick dance or something. Something will happen soon. Promise.
51st over: Pakistan 168-3 (Younis Khan 53, Misbah-ul-Haq 37)
Just a single from that over, a flicked one off Younis’s pads. Not much more to say about that. Sorry.
50th over: Pakistan 167-3 (Younis Khan 52, Misbah-ul-Haq 37)
Mo Mo Mo, Moeen Ali Moeen Ali replaces Stokes, and immediately gets an inside edge from Misbah that dribbles just wide of short-leg. Then a quite spiffing reverse-sweep from the skipper, a telegraphed effort that all the fielders saw coming from a mile off, but none could stop it going for four. A single brings Younis to strike, and he notches another 50 with a flick into the leg side.
49th over: Pakistan 158-3 (Younis Khan 48, Misbah-ul-Haq 32)
Stokes troops off the field for a well-earned lie down and rub, as Broad continues. Buttler stands up to the stumps, with one slip at about third, and Younis promptly drives airily and edges, which flies through to roughly knee height of where first slip would’ve been. Oy vey. That’s four runs and one pretty cross bowler.
48th over: Pakistan 153-3 (Younis Khan 43, Misbah-ul-Haq 32)
Stokes drops a touch short, and Younis carts him round the corner for a couple down to fine leg, this shortly after upbraiding the latest selection of pillocks wandering around near the sight screen. One more single from the over.
47th over: Pakistan 150-3 (Younis Khan 40, Misbah-ul-Haq 32)
Stuey Stuey Stu Stu Broad is back with the ball with a few cutters, and moving around the crease a bit. A good over that, Younis taking a single but Misbah playing the rest of it away with some caution.
46th over: Pakistan 149-3 (Younis Khan 39, Misbah-ul-Haq 32)
Stokes again, and he aims a hearty left boot at a ball that Younis pats back towards him. He misses, but his mood won’t be helped, firstly after Younis drives him through the covers for three, then Misbah gets a proper edge that drops exactly between first and second slip, and about a foot in front of both. Not a drop/chance by any stretch, but irksome nonetheless, particularly for someone who has reacted to misfortune before by punching a locker.
45th over: Pakistan 140-3 (Younis Khan 34, Misbah-ul-Haq 28)
Misbah’s bat can look like something akin to an oar when he gets down for a lap-sweep, which he does and sweeps a four round the corner off Rashid.
Meanwhile, one from the ‘I’m not racist right, but...’ files here...
Related: Former Derby winger Stefano Eranio sacked over racist comments
44th over: Pakistan 134-3 (Younis Khan 33, Misbah-ul-Haq 23)
The last thing you want when you’ve got a ropey belly (as in Stokes’s illness, rather than a butter-fingered No.3 bat and slip fielder) is a misfield, but Bairstow lets push from Misbah under his hand at mid-wicket, and a dot turns into a single. Well, actually, probably the last thing you need with a ropey belly is prannets on over-by-over blogs going on about it. Stokes beats Younis with a nice away shaper that the whole English team thinks about appealing for, but then collectively realise it didn’t hit the bat.
43rd over: Pakistan 133-3 (Younis Khan 33, Misbah-ul-Haq 22)
Careful defence from Misbah, propping forwards carefully and not taking any ris...oh, he’s hit Rashid back over his head for a straight six. Weird how these things turn out.
An ode to Jimmy, from Christopher Dale: “Never cease to be impressed by Anderson’s craft, guile and skill, particularly on unfriendly wickets. For a bowler who’s neither particularly fast nor short enough to be skiddy or tall enough to generate discomfiting bounce, and who was originally a specialist swing bowler, Anderson has developed into a wonderful player. Strike and stock bowler, decent slip fielder, and seems to be a better influence on the team than Flintoff, Harmison et al. were.
42nd over: Pakistan 126-3 (Younis Khan 33, Misbah-ul-Haq 15) Stokes, finding a bit of reverse swing, troubles Younis a touch and is a little unlucky to see a thick edge zip away to third man for four.
And with that I shall hand you back over to Nick Miller, who will take you through until tea.
41st over: Pakistan 120-3 (Younis Khan 27, Misbah-ul-Haq 15) Sky Sports returns from an ad break to find Sir Iron Bottom in mid-sentence: “… which these days, when you’re travelling around the world, is essential.” I can’t help but feel we’ve missed out on some important travel titbit there. Misbah, crawling along, sweeps Rashid for a couple.
40th over: Pakistan 117-3 (Younis Khan 26, Misbah-ul-Haq 13) Ben Stokes replaces Mark Wood to complete the double change. And with the final ball of the over, he beats the outside edge of Misbah’s bat with one that just seams away a touch.
39th over: Pakistan 116-3 (Younis Khan 26, Misbah-ul-Haq 13) Adil Rashid enters the fray for the first time this afternoon. He offers a bit too much width to both batsmen, and both swipe through the covers for singles. In fact, his radar is all over the shop here. Misbah pounces on a rank half-tracker and clubs in slightly miscued fashion over the top for four. Eight from the over.
38th over: Pakistan 108-3 (Younis Khan 24, Misbah-ul-Haq 7) Misbah again ducks into a Wood bouncer and this time he wears it on his helmet. He’s fine, though, and Younis seems to find it hilarious. A couple of leg byes are added to the total.
37th over: Pakistan 106-3 (Younis Khan 24, Misbah-ul-Haq 7) Anderson, increasingly red-faced with the effort, continues into the fifth over of this spell. Buttler stands up behind the stumps in an attempt to pin down the batsmen. Younis is twice able to work the ball to leg for two. He’s scored the bulk of his runs backward of square of the on side.
36th over: Pakistan 102-3 (Younis Khan 20, Misbah-ul-Haq 7) Misbah ducks into a Wood bouncer and takes a glancing blow on the shoulder blade. And that’s pretty much the only action in another maiden.
35th over: Pakistan 102-3 (Younis Khan 20, Misbah-ul-Haq 7) Younis opens the face and guides Anderson down to third man for a couple. This might well be the final over of Anderson’s post-lunch spell – he’s got a bit of a dab on.
@John_Ashdown Jimmy now 9th in list of test wicket takers. Overtaken harbhajan
34th over: Pakistan 100-3 (Younis Khan 18, Misbah-ul-Haq 7) It’s such a strange atmosphere in Dubai – a bit like playing cricket in a giant empty saucepan. Younis takes Pakistan into three figures with another tickle to leg. From the last there’s the yelp of an appeal as the ball flicks off some part of Misbah’s anatomy on its way through to Buttler, but it’s fairly clear that it’s off the thigh pad.
33rd over: Pakistan 99-3 (Younis Khan 17, Misbah-ul-Haq 7) Anderson strings together four dots at Younis, who is able to work the fifth wide of midwicket for a couple. And he adds a single, flicked off his pads, from the last.
32nd over: Pakistan 96-3 (Younis Khan 14, Misbah-ul-Haq 7) Mark Wood returns, looking to bowl full and straight at Misbah. The Pakistan captain deals with him easily enough, so the bowler sends down a couple of bumpers to mix things up. Rinse and repeat. A maiden.
31st over: Pakistan 96-3 (Younis Khan 14, Misbah-ul-Haq 7) Just a single for Misbah as Anderson bends his back once more.
30th over: Pakistan 95-3 (Younis Khan 14, Misbah-ul-Haq 6) Moeen returns at the other end. Misbah plays a gentle, caressing sweep for a couple, then repeats the shot in rather more clunking fashion to earn three more. And Younis gets in on the act next up, latching onto an overpitched ball from Moeen and driving confidently through the covers for four.
29th over: Pakistan 86-3 (Younis Khan 10, Misbah-ul-Haq 1) That was a cracking delivery from Anderson, slanted across the left-hander – and you didn’t need Snicko or UltraEdge to hear the nick. Misbah gets off the mark with a tickle to leg.
Anderson strikes with the first ball after lunch! Masood is tempted into a rusty grope outside off, and there’s a faint edge thought to Buttler. Masood wastes a review in his befuddlement.
The players are back out. Off we go again …
Hello all. I think that goes down as a pretty good morning for England. But the fact that 85-2 counts as “pretty good” for the bowling team tells you something about this pitch.
And with that, I’ll hand over John Ashdown, who’ll take you through the first hour of the afternoon. Email him at John.Ashdown@theGuardian.com, or tweet @John_Ashdown, ideally about cricket but feel free to take it for a walk.
The question posed earlier on about the most catches taken by a position - rather than an individual fielder - is probably one that can’t be answered, given the fluidity of positions and the lack of reliable records about these things in the past. However, we can say that Ajinkya Rahane has the record for most taken by a fielder with eight, two seemingly at gully and the other six at slip.
So, honours even? Honours to Pakistan? Probably just about the latter, although England will be not despondent with the two wickets so far on a pitch that still looks rather flat, despite promises/suggestions of rather more juice than last time.
28th over: Pakistan 85-2 (Younis Khan 10, Masood 54)
Younis carefully keeps out a few from Rashid, including a very full one that actually nearly yorks him. However, as is often the case with Rashid, he offers a full-toss that Younis whacks through the covers and to the boundary.
27th over: Pakistan 81-2 (Younis Khan 6, Masood 54)
Broad bowls straight and true, one of which Younis drives a little uppishly at, but it falls safe. He then escapes the deadest of lbws by just about getting an inside-edge on a delivery, the ball scooting down to fine leg for a single.
Here’s Robert Wilson on some pretty saucy sounding gnats: “Of course gnats do NOT have toenails (21st over). They are however, admirably enough, amongst the most sexually promiscuous and indefatigable of insects (the large clouds of them you walk through are, in fact, giant orgies called ghosts). They don’t like tomatoes but adore bananas and village cricket grounds are amongst their favourite preying areas - open spaces ringed by trees + sweaty humans = gnat happiness. I once had a pet gnat called Colin. I used to give him tiny saucers of milk. I miss him.”
26th over: Pakistan 80-2 (Younis Khan 5, Masood 54)
Adil Rashid is on, and gets a bit of turn straight away, turn that Younis feels confident enough to leave outside off. Well, apart from that one he drives out to the cover sweeper for a single. Masood swats a googly out to just wide of fine leg for a couple, before just about keeping out a standard leg spinner from the final ball.
25th over: Pakistan 77-2 (Younis Khan 4, Masood 52)
Couple of overs of Stuart Broad before lunch, and his first ball is an in-ducker that Younis leaves and it flies not a million miles from off stump. Another is worked/squirted past square-leg for a single, before Masood brings up his 50 with a late cut that skips just past point and to the boundary.
24th over: Pakistan 72-2 (Younis Khan 3, Masood 48)
Moeen continues, and Masood fidgets around the crease but can’t get the ball out of the inner ring of fielders, the last ball producing a good bit of fielding at point to stop any sort of runs. A second maiden in a row.
23rd over: Pakistan 72-2 (Younis Khan 3, Masood 48)
A relatively uneventful but good over from Stokes, the final ball causing the most excitement as he gets it to shape away just the right amount to beat Younis’s outside edge by one of those gnat’s toes we were talking about before.
@NickMiller79 Do we need a Stokes-face-shade-o-meter? Pink-Red=Ginger under the sun, Green=Dubai cuisine strikes?
22nd over: Pakistan 72-2 (Younis Khan 3, Masood 48)
Masood jabs at one with little certainty that drops not far short of mid-on, but next up he comes down the track and smacks a delightful inside-out drive wide of mid-off for four. His three partners so far haven’t done a great deal, but Masood looks in smashing touch.
21st over: Pakistan 68-2 (Younis Khan 3, Masood 44)
Younis is away, driving through the covers and they take three. It has to be said, Stokes doesn’t exactly look delighted to be out there, but that might well be just a man of fair complexion not enjoying this heat. Anyway, he cuts Masood in half, missing both inside edge and off stump by a gnat’s toenail width. Do gnats have toenails? Do they have toes? Probably not. In less important news, Masood flicks a single down to fine leg.
20th over: Pakistan 64-2 (Younis Khan 0, Masood 43)
Woof. Masood’s been eyeing up a big shot for a while, and he gets one at last after skipping down the pitch and launching Ali way over the straight boundary for six. He carries on quite nicely.
So two catches at short-leg - do we know what the most number of catches taken by one position - that’s position, rather than player - apart from wicketkeeper in a Test match is?
19th over: Pakistan 58-2 (Younis Khan 0, Masood 37)
Brilliant reactions in that catch from Bairstow. Younis ducks under a short one, and that’s an outstanding start from Stokes, who was apparently not ‘100%’ before this one.
Ben Stokes is on for Wood, so now we’ll discover just how iffy that stomach of his is. And it’s very good indeed! Malik swipes at one from middle stump, looking to turn it into mid-wicket but the ball thuds into Bairstow at short-leg, the ball loops up and he takes a sharp catch.
18th over: Pakistan 58-1 (Malik 2, Masood 37)
Masood comes down the pitch and nearly gets himself into a very unpleasant difficulty, before just sorting his feet out in time. However, he then waits on a shortish ball from Moeen that he cuts with some confidence through an empty point region for four.
17th over: Pakistan 54-1 (Malik 2, Masood 33)
Wood carries on around the wicket, with short-leg buzzing about looking for any catch that might come his way. Masood then pushes a fuller one for a quick single, which they dash through for but Shoaib did shilly-shally a little, meaning a bullet throw might have troubled him, but the effort from the fielder coming round from mid-on hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end, with Masood well in his ground.
16th over: Pakistan 53-1 (Malik 2, Masood 32)
Shoaib Malik is the new bat, and he gets off the mark straight away with a push through the covers. But England are away, and one can only assume a clatter of wickets will follow...
After drinks, the breakthrough. Hafeez cuts a short one through point for four, then props forward rather casually, gets a big inside edge onto his pads and offers a looping catch to Bairstow at short-leg, who turns around and pouches the thing.
15th over: Pakistan 47-0 (Hafeez 15, Masood 32)
Wood continues with the short balls, the first of which Masood ducks under but does leave his front arm out a little, rather closer to the ball that might be advisable. Of course, the problem with this approach on a pitch that ain’t exactly Perth in the 1970s is that when you don’t quite get enough pace on the ball, you’re serving up long-hops, which Wood does and Masood pulls him carefully for four. Wood goes fuller, on Masood’s pads, and he clips a couple in front of mid-wicket, before one ball from around the wicket that Masood again evades.
14th over: Pakistan 41-0 (Hafeez 15, Masood 26)
Masood advances to Ali, smearing one with no huge amount of conviction into the covers, getting a single for his troubles when more than that looked to be the plan. That’s yer lot from the over.
13th over: Pakistan 40-0 (Hafeez 15, Masood 25)
Wood serves up a bit of a long hop that Masood cuts towards the cover ropes, but Bairstow dashes out from the infield to keep them to three. It must be vaguely demoralising to sprint after a ball, dive headlong after it, drag it in from before the boundary then throw it in, only to save a single run. Hafeez clips a single off his shins, then Wood continues the short stuff at Masood, the last ball nudged off his hip for a single.
12th over: Pakistan 35-0 (Hafeez 14, Masood 21)
Hafeez tries a sweep on which he’s later than the White Rabbit, missing by some distance, one of those hoiks that you just close your eyes and thank the deity of your choice when the ball thuds into wicketkeeper gloves rather than stumps. Otherwise, a maiden.
11th over: Pakistan 35-0 (Hafeez 14, Masood 21)
Mark Wood, imaginary horse hopefully tethered somewhere safe, is into the attack, and ponders his field at some length with Cook, and it looks like there might be a few short ones coming. Although not immediately, as Masood flicks a full ball off his toes for a couple, one of those fielders in the deep collecting the ball near the ropes. Smashing bouncer though from Wood next, which Masood dodges but it just brushes his sleeve on its way to whistling past his ears.
“Poor Stokes,” writes Robert Wilson, and you should probably nudge the porridge to one side before reading on. “I’ll never forget watching Phil De Freitas stop his run up to projectile vomit before blithely resuming his delivery stride. It had been a pretty pukey tour of I can’t remember where but going all Exorcist while running into bowl was a whole new level. I’d always liked Daffy but that put him in the Pantheon for me.”
10th over: Pakistan 33-0 (Hafeez 14, Masood 19)
Ali in again, and Masood advances and punches one to a deepish mid-off, taking a single. There are at least three England players out there in long sleeves, which even from an office in London looks like a very bold choice in the heat. What’s the theory there, then? Protection from the sun? Masochism? Covering of a large anchor tattoo on the forearm?
9th over: Pakistan 32-0 (Hafeez 14, Masood 18)
Anderson continues, trying one from a bit wider on the crease but Hafeez watches it go past with mild interest and little else. Those predictions of a pitch with more juice than before look more than a little optimistic at the moment.
8th over: Pakistan 32-0 (Hafeez 14, Masood 18)
Early bowling change, as Moeen Ali comes on for Broad. He starts with a full-toss that Masood clips off his ankles for a couple before, emboldened, he attempts a skip down the track and gets halfway through perhaps the least convincing hoik over cow corner you’ve ever seen, thinking better of it before it’s too late.
Ali Martin has word from elsewhere:
Meanwhile the Bangladesh Premier League auction is underway ... Chris Jordan is now a Sylhet Superstar, Darren Stevens is a Comilla Victorian ... names like Sam Billings, Ravi Bopara, James Tredwell, Jade Dernbach and Paul Collingwood yet to go under the hammer.
7th over: Pakistan 30-0 (Hafeez 14, Masood 16)
More patience from Hafeez, before playing an absolutely delicious drive through mid-off and to the boundary. Broad then chases a jab through mid-wicket into the shade of the stands, and the batsmen return for a couple. A very good start from these two, with Masood already quintupling his aggregate score from the last Test, plus one.
6th over: Pakistan 24-0 (Hafeez 8, Masood 16)
Another four, this time a lot less convincingly, for Masood, driving at Broad without much conviction outside off and the edge goes past gully and to the third man fence, but he follows up with a much better shot, middling an admittedly inviting leg-stump half-volley through wide mid-wicket and to the boundary. The rest of the over is a little better directed from Broad, and no more runs come.
5th over: Pakistan 16-0 (Hafeez 8, Masood 8)
Hafeez is playing at Anderson’s off stump probers extremely carefully, like an Aardman animator delicately moving the arms of a clay character. He gets four in roughly that manner, dabbing with soft hands at one that sort of squirts off the outside edge along the ground, and through the slips to the boundary.
4th over: Pakistan 11-0 (Hafeez 4, Masood 7)
First boundary of the day, Masood clipping one off his pads down to fine leg and the boundary, before a push in front of mid-wicket gets a single. And then another four, this time from Hafeez, with a pleasant push through the covers and to the ropes.
3rd over: Pakistan 2-0 (Hafeez 0, Masood 2)
Two men on white plastic chairs sit too close to the sight screen, and are asked to move. Perhaps this is their first Test match, but if not they both need a good slapping with a wet slipper. Masood pushes Anderson into the covers for a single, before Hafeez gets a thick inside edge that loops up to where short-leg would’ve been, but was not. That whiff of away movement gets Hafeez prodding at the last ball of the over, missing the outside edge. Promising start from Anderson.
Tom Gucht has some admiration for Ben Stokes: “Stokes clearly is a hero amongst men; there’s not a chance I’d appear in front of TV cameras in white strides if I had the trots, there’s no hiding any sticky situations...”
2nd over: Pakistan 1-0 (Hafeez 0, Masood 1)
Stuart Broad tumbles in from the other end, round the wicket to Masood, who pokes at one on his hips that drops just short of the Ginger Brian Close (Jonny Bairstow to his mam) at short-leg. He gets off the mark with a fairly unconvincing hook (he wasn’t looking when ball met bat) that causes brief excitement in the field, but dropped well short of fine leg.
1st over: Pakistan 0-0 (Hafeez 0, Masood 0)
Bit of carry early on for Anderson, everything on or around off stump and with a whiff of away swing, all of which bodes rather well. For England, and everyone else’s boredom threshold. The final ball of the over is a shade shorter and Hafeez nearly chops on, the ball dropping at his feet, one of which he uses just to nudge the thing away from the stumps, just in case.
Meanwhile, a report from Ali Martin in Dubai on the weather, and other conditions: ‘Slightly cooler than last week but temperatures forecast to reach 38c during the day. One advantage in this ground is that crescent shadow created by the stands means there is more shade on the outfield and it will move around the ground as the day goes on. One disadvantage is that without the open sides of Abu Dhabi, the light tends to get quite dim earlier (left training at 4.45pm yesterday and it was very dark out there). Bumped into the umpire Bruce Oxenford outside afterwards and asked if it would be a problem and he said the “ring of fire” floodlights that circle the top of the ground are better than the pylons at Abu Dhabi at enhancing the light.’
The players are out. James Anderson has the ball. Cricket. CRICKET.
@NickMiller79 Is it as hot as the last match? What are the odds Stokes ends up retired hurt with dehydration?
Apparently it’s about as hot, but not quite as humid. Not sure if that will make a difference to a man with a dicky tummy.
Ah...
Cook on Stokes, yesterday: "Five days in this heat, you have to be 100% before you start" Today: "He's not 100% but he's pretty close"
And Alastair Cook reckons Jos Buttler will score some runs soon. Although admittedly it would be a rather bigger story if he’d said the wicketkeeper was a grasping buffoon and he’ll struggle to get the thing of the cut strip:
Jos has had a tough six or seven games with the bat,” conceded Cook, who pushed Buttler up to open in their second innings run chase. “The shots are there but people find out more about you as a Test player and do more research.
“He’s had to go away and think about his game a bit more.
Just time for some pre-match reading. Here’s Mike Selvey’s preview, hoping for some better balance between bat and ball:
The final day of the first Test in Abu Dhabi was a crackerjack but the preceding four days, even containing as they did some remarkable feats of endurance, did few favours. As someone rightly pointed out, it was not a bad advertisement for Test cricket, simply because it was actually the real thing.
How that pitch was marked by the match referee, Andy Pycroft, has not been disclosed, but it would be a surprise if the International Cricket Council, whose headquarters are no more than a decent par four from the Dubai InternationalCricket Stadium where the second Test starts on Thursday, has not let it be known that more of the same is simply unacceptable. If the first Test was one of sheer drudgery for the bowlers, then the second is likely to offer some respite in the form of a pacier surface: seamers and spinners alike would be grateful for that.
Related: England upbeat for second Pakistan Test but Dubai pitch offers new challenge | Mike Selvey
So no changes for England, with Ben Stokes “not 100%” following stomach problems but he’s in the team and ready to go, according to Alastair Cook, while as expected Yasir Shah returns for Pakistan, replacing Rahat Ali.
Mohammad Hafeez, Shan Masood, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Imran Khan
...and they will have a bat.
So then. That last one was unexpectedly rather good, wasn’t it? Or, at least, the last bit of it was rather good. Once again cricket provided a fine opportunity for non-fans to ask ‘Why aren’t they playing if they’ve got floodlights on?’ and for us to sort of shrug, mumbling something about light meters on earlier days. But still, a fine finish after four days of endless batting.
This Test promises to be a little more day five than days one to four, not least because Pakistan have their proper spinner fit and ready, Yasir Shah set to give it a solid rip and trouble the English batsmen who, historically, have a similar relationship to leg spin as a young boy does to soap and water; that is to say they don’t like it and panic whenever it comes near them.
Nick will be along shortly. In the meantime, here is Mike Selvey on how the universal use of DRS is getting closer, but is still not close enough:
The objections by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to the universal adoption of the decision review system are twofold: firstly the general principle of using technology and secondly the accuracy of the equipment in any case. To a degree they must be contingent, and it has been the task of the International Cricket Council, which decides on the protocols for international cricket, to attempt to get all the equipment available tested independently and hopefully verified and in that way convince the BCCI, and indeed sceptics everywhere, of the value that technology can bring to the game without taking it over.
Related: Why universal use of DRS is getting closer, but still not close enough | Mike Selvey
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