If only England’s trio of spinners had been able to make more of a sharply turning pitch, it could have been even better for Alastair Cook’s side after the dismay of losing the toss for a third consecutive time.
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“He’s itching to play and you don’t average 47-48 in first-class cricket without being a fine player”, said Cook of Taylor whose only two Test were in 2012.
“Obviously you have to think positively and we will do our best not leave any stone unturned and play well and win”, said Misbah, who deferred a decision to retire from Test cricket.
Yes, this match will hinge on the strength of England’s reply. On the penultimate ball Moeen Ali came close to bludgeoning a six.
However, the bigger worry for England with a long-term view was that their third seamer and all-rounder, Ben Stokes, suffered a awful looking fall while attempting an athletic jump, and has sustained a suspected dislocated shoulder.
But the spirit of the team should not be questioned – as Broad explained.
“We all thought this pitch would turn, but we didn’t really expect the seamers to dominate as they did, so to take those wickets on day one was magnificent”.
Ideally, though, they will want to build an advantage that puts Pakistan under serious pressure when they come out to bat again, whenever that may be.
Azhar, back for his first match of the series, went for a duck when Anderson got one to bounce a little and hold its line for an edge behind on the back foot. In contrast, he scored 62 from 92 when facing the spin trio of Moeen Ali, Patel and Adil Rashid. Neither was afraid to hit the ball in the air but nothing went to hand until Sarfraz hit Moeen straight to deep midwicket just as England were beginning to feel frustrated.
Trailing 1-0 in the collection, England additionally effected two modifications, bringing in Samit Patel and James Taylor. But because of the slowness of the wicket, with the batsmen not having enough pace to manoeuvre the ball, it is hard to place the ball in gaps.
Shoaib Malik (38) and Younis Khan (31) were the two batsmen to be dismissed during the post-lunch session, the former caught behind off the bowling of Stuart Broad while the latter was lbw off James Anderson.
Stokes hurled himself to his left to try to catch Sarfraz Ahmed during an evening session in which the sixth-wicket stand of 80 with captain Misbah-ul-Haq (71) was soon broken anyway – and Pakistan then lasted only another eight overs.
He was escorted from the field with his arm in a makeshift sling made from his shirt and the England medical staff are uncertain of the severity of the injury until the initial swelling subsides overnight.
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His figures made remarkable reading: 15-7-17-4.
