Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
FIRST TEST
PAKISTAN battered England onto the ropes with a devastating combination of pace and skill to take firm control of the first Test.
So far they have outplayed England in every department.
And only Ollie Pope, 46 not out, had any answer to the blistering opening burst from Pakistan’s variety-pack bowling attack that reduced them to 12-3 and then 62-4 on a punishing day for Joe Root and his men.
Root’s own wicket was the fourth to fall – a needless gift when his job was simply to ensure that he was still there this morning.
Instead, it is Pope and Jos Buttler who took England to 92-4 at the close, 234 runs adrift of Pakistan’s 326 constructed on the foundations of Shan Masood’s brilliant 156.
Root will be cursing himself for failing the way he did.
He had the right idea to begin with, scoring 14 from 58 balls.
But, after coping with Pakistan’s pace aces, he thought he could take the attack to legspinner Yasir Shah and edged a close cut behind.
Masood should be proud of his efforts, when opening the batting in England is said to be just about as tough as it gets for overseas players.
Mind you, it can be hard for the home team too.
High pace, a left-arm angle and nip off the seam from Shaheen Shah Afridi was more than enough to send Rory Burns on his way lbw from just his fourth ball.
And at the other end Mohammad Abbas’ mastery of the new ball, nibbling it both ways made Dom Sibley look very silly indeed as he was plumb lbw for just eight.
Sibley made himself look even sillier when he asked for a review that skipper Root, at the nonstriker’s end, should have denied him.
The atmosphere was electric with the Pakistan support staff and reserve players making a racket.
So when Abbas slipped a gem of a ball past Ben Stokes’ outside edge and clipped his off stump, the lack of a crowd was hardly noticeable.
The intensity of the cricket was as high as any with tearaway teenage fast bowler
Naseem Shah testing the batsmen with his 90mph rockets.
Pakistan didn’t have to cope with quite the same challenge although both Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad picked up three wickets. Archer