England smash 506, set a new record for most runs on the first day of a Test in modern cricket
RAWALPINDI: Four England batsmen scored hundreds on Thursday as the visitors piled up a staggering 506/4 on the opening day of the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.
Openers Zak Crawley (122) and Ben Duckett (107) set the tone with quick-fire tons against a hapless Pakistan bowling attack before Ollie Pope (108) and Harry Brook (101 not out) compounded the hosts’ misery.
Ben Stokes was also not out, on 34, when bad light stopped play, having helped England break a 112-year-old record for the most runs on the first day of a Test – beating Australia’s 494-6 against South Africa at Sydney.
The record for most runs scored on a single day of Test in modern cricket is held by Sri Lanka, who smashed 509 runs against Bangladesh in 2002.
The most runs scored on a single day of cricket was achieved when England and India scored a combined total of 588 runs in 1936 – in a completely different era of Test cricket.
To be sure, Thursday’s match was cut short by 15 overs due to bad light, so England were easily on course to break the Lankan record.
It was also the first time four batters scored hundreds on the first day of a Test.