England Struggle on Day 1 in UAE

Adil Rasheed didn’t have the greatest day on his England test debut as he bowled 17 overs and failed to trouble the Pakistani batsmen with his spin, finishing the day on 0-76. After the break Younus Khan joined Malik at the crease needing just 19 runs to become Pakistan’s all time top run scorer in tests and he quickly reached his target. Khan has now scored 8,852 runs in just 102 test matches. Shortly after Malik reached his target of a 3rd test century with a four off Broad. He went on to make an unbeaten 124* and will return to the crease tomorrow to attempt to further extend Pakistan’s lead.

England claimed 2 wickets in the final session to leave the hosts 286-4 at the close of play. First, Pakistan’s new record holder edged Broad to Cook at first slip and was dismissed for 38. Then Anderson claimed his second wicket of the day when new man Misbah edged to Buttler at wicket keeper. The hosts reviewed the decision but the third umpire found there to be clear contact between bat and ball and sent Misbah (3) on his way.

England had a decent last session but It could have been even better were it not for another incident of Bell’s poor fielding. New man Shafiq (11*) edged a ball to Bell at second slip at an easy height, but again the catch went to ground. Pakistan finished the day on 286-4 and are in relative control of the game. A few wickets late in the day meant hope is not all lost for England who will return to the field tomorrow hoping to mop up the Pakistani tail as quickly as possible.

Pakistan batted well in favourable conditions but credit must be given to the England batsmen who kept trying despite the lack of movement and spin provided by the pitch. 4 wickets are not as many as they would have hoped but it could have been as many as 7 were it not for the sloppiness we often associate with this England side.

Check back tomorrow for Review of the second day’s play…

SCORECARD (Close of Play- Day 1)

Pakistan (Batting- First Innings) 286-4

Hafeez                 98 (170)                   lbw Stokes

S. M. Khan         2 (6)                          b Anderson

Malik                   124* (230)

Y. M. Khan         38 (57)                     c Cook b Broad

Niazi (c)              3 (17)                       c Buttler b Anderson

Shafiq                  11*(43)

EXTRAS             10                             1nb, 4b, 5lb

FOW: 5-1, 173-2, 247-3, 251-4

What did you think of the First day’s play? And who will go on to win the test match? If you have any comments, leave them below or tweet me @Omar_Mauri_