Kamran Ghulam the hero on a dour day 1 in Multan
Pakistan v England, Multan — Day 1
PAKISTAN 259–5
A French novelist was once quoted as saying “the more things change, the more they stay the same” and perhaps my old friend Hunter S Thompson was correct in his acerbic assertion that “Alphonse Karr was right” after all. What does this have to do with cricket or indeed Kamran Ghulam scoring a century on his Test Match debut, joining past luminaries such as Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Azhar Mahmood and Younis Khan, and on the 30th birthday of the man he replaced in the team, Babar Azam? Nothing or it could be argued, everything, but the above quote was forever running around my mind this morning as a steady drizzle accompanied a blanket of grey here in central England as my sleep filled eyes transported me once more to the cloudless cauldron of heat in Multan. For the first time in Test Match history the same wicket was being used for a second successive match and the more things are changed, the more they stayed the same today on a lifeless wicket devoid of any bounce (it will get progressively slower and lower the longer the match continues), a debutant scored a gutsy century, the old guard in England spin bowling Jack Leach took the first two wickets to fall, the bright young thing in Shoaib Bashir grabbed a vital late and last wicket on a rather dour day that sets up the Test Match sure to follow, and an ever quickening sprint to the winning line in three and a half days time.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Changes were the order of the day for both teams with the hosts making at least 5 changes to the team beaten so heavily in Multan last week and including, by general consensus, at least 7 spin bowlers, whilst their visitors welcomed back captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Matthew Potts. Test cricketers may be rested (as in the case of England’s Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson) or dropped on their birthday like Babar Azam, but into their stead are replacements, even those playing their first Test Match, and it’s all change as everything stays the same. The wicket is a dry bone of contention but the only thing it’s changed so far is the reduction in 1st innings runs compared to last week. I see this pattern continuing throughout the match. England will be targeting the final 5 Pakistan wickets and a final all out total of 350. Their hosts will be pushing for 400+ at least and with Mohammad Rizwan (37 not out) and Salman Ali Agha (5 not out) unbeaten and returning in the morning, perhaps 450 and more.
One thing that never changes is when you win the toss and decide to bat, you have to bat big and post a large 1st innings total. Pakistan are well on their way to doing so following Kamran Ghulam’s 118 but Saim Ayub’s 77 should not be forgotten or overlooked as their partnership of 149 stabilised a home team rocking on 19–2 with a recent collapse and innings defeat just days ago hanging heavy as an albatross on their necks, multiple team changes or not.
A dour day of Test Match cricket? Perhaps. Or maybe it was the misty rain falling outside on a miserably cold English morning that clouded my judgement? Days 3 and 4 in this Test Match are going to be crucial.
Just like last week.
"Ashes to Ashes" - link to Amazon
"The Spirit of Cricket" - link to Amazon
"Tea and Biscuits in India" - link to Amazon
Thanks for reading. I hope this message in a bottle in The Matrix finds you well, prospering, and the right way up in an upside down world.