Record tumble in Rawalpindi as England put Pakistan to the sword
Pakistan v England — Rawalpindi Day 1.
Pakistan v England — Rawalpindi Day 1.
With today’s opening day in doubt due to a virus running through the England camp, it was as late as two and a half hours before the proposed start time before confirmation was received that the tourists could in fact field a full team. Whilst this decision was taken on a cold and early Summer’s morning in Pakistan, it was an even colder winter’s night here in the UK when at 2.30am, and safe in the knowledge that I had Test Match cricket to look forward to, I grabbed a couple of hours sleep before waking 2 hours later, making myself a much needed cup of tea and settled in for the day.
At 5am UK time and a freezing, misty looking morning outside, a heat haze type mist hung high above the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi for England’s first Test Match in Pakistan for over 17 years. A much warmer 23 degrees greeted a visiting team ravaged by the virus and necessitating the inclusion of two debutants and a brand new opening batting partnership. Pakistan, seemingly not affected by the bug running through the England team also fielded a number of debutants skippered by Babar Azam, but it was his opposite number Ben Stokes who won a crucial toss, and decided to bat on a low and slow looking friendly wicket.
Morning Session Drinks Break
6.04am: England 103–0 (Zak Crawley 58 not out)
It’s the tourists who dominate the first hour’s play with Zak Crawley in particular making hay in the early morning Pakistani sunshine as he raced to 58 not out. As is so typical of the tall England opening batsman, it wasn’t without a slice of luck or two, but neither was it for a lack of bludgeoning skill and boundary 4’s aplenty. The Bromley born 24 year old crashed 14 from Naseem Shah’s first over and was 16 not out when he received another partial slice of luck when he may have possibly been out LBW (Leg Before Wicket) but the DRS or “Decision Review System” was unavailable and presumably off sick with the virus too! Crawley epitomises and clearly flourishes within England’s new approach under coach Brendan McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, but still carries the scars of the torturous tours and defeats in Australia and the West Indies. I’ve trumpeted his all out aggressive style and it’s fantastic to see the young man scoring runs again.
Lunch Break
7.03am: England 174–0 (Ben Duckett 77 not out)
Whilst Crawley added a further 33 runs in the hour’s play leading to the lunch break (and scoring a ridiculous 91 runs not out from just 79 balls), his new opening partner Ben Duckett hit a run a ball 50 before taking a well earned lunch break on 77 not out. A six year absence from playing Test Match has clearly not affected the 28 year old from Orpington who has crashed and caressed his way to 77 carefree runs as well as hitting leg spin bowler Zahid Mahmood for back to back boundaries with first a reverse sweep and then an impudent and fine paddle shot.
After watching England at all hours of an early morning and a late night, and constant defeats to the Australian “auld enemy” and a fresh young West Indies team, I could get used to such cold winter’s mornings wrapped in a duvet, drinking tea and watching such vibrant, attacking cricket!
Afternoon Session Drinks Break
8.42am: England 249–2 (Zak Crawley 122, Ben Duckett 107)
Pakistan’s two most impressive and threatening bowlers, Haris Rauf and leg spinner Zahid Mahmood, each grab a deserved a wicket in the hour’s play after the lunch break, but not before both England opening batsmen reach their individual century milestones. Crawley was agonisingly given out LBW on 99 before being reprieved by the now fully working again DRS system and 3 balls later, and only his 86th received, the young England opener reached a quite scintillating hundred. He was finally dismissed by Haris Rauf with his first ever Test Match wicket and it was a sheer beauty. Slightly fuller with a touch of swing, his debut wicket for his country brushed Crawley’s front pad before crashing into the Englishman’s off stump and a growing Rawalpindi crowd finally had something to get excited about.
Duckett joined his partner in the 100 club as they celebrated an unbroken 200 run partnership together from just 30 overs! He was finally dismissed for 107 runs from just 109 balls by the impressive if expensive leg spin of Zahid Mahmood. Although given not out on the field, he was clearly in the beautiful cricketing vernacular “plumb” in front of his stumps to a low grubbing spinner from Mahmood, and although he was hit high in the chest he was trying to sweep the 34 year old Pakistani “leggie” and was obviously “dead” in front and rightly given out on DRS review.
Both openers provided a quick fire platform on which to build, leaving Ollie Pope (13 not out) and Joe Root (1 not out) to make the most of the best batting conditions this wicket will provide in the entire 4 days to come. Pope was given a cricketing “life” when on 0, surviving a strong LBW appeal. It was never out but it did show the difficulty awaiting future batsmen on this wicket when facing a spin bowler such as Mahmood or perhaps England’s Jack Leach later tomorrow?
Tea Break
9.42am: England 332–3 (Ollie Pope 48 not out)
Another remarkable session of run scoring from a dominant England ends with a further 158 runs scored in the middle session, and for the additional loss of ex captain Joe Root for a quick and carefree 23. He was trapped LBW by the ever expensive Zahid Mahmood, but the leg spinner has now scalped two of the three wickets to fall and is by far Pakistan’s most threatening bowler. His two wickets have cost a staggering 127 runs (in just two sessions of play!) but without his wickets I dare not think where Pakistan would be without them.
With a session to play, England have already scored way above average for a day’s play and so they’re playing with the house’s money until stumps. Certainly Ollie Pope is playing in such a fashion with 48 from just 51 balls and his junior partner, 23 year old Harry Brook, has already clubbed two mighty 6’s on his way to a carefree 22 from 23 balls.
Evening Session Drinks Break
11.04am: England 451–3 (Ollie Pope 104 not out)
Pakistan continue to use (in the main) the duo of the youthfully impressive Naseem Shah and leg spinner Zahid Mahmood, but all to no avail as England continue to pile on huge runs toward a dominating 1st innings total. Both Pope and Brook reach their individual milestones with Pope reaching his century in just 90 balls and quixotically, just 1 ball after his partner Brook reached his half century from just 52 balls received. Records are tumbling everywhere and with Pope (104) and Brook (85), England have already scored a mammoth 451 runs with still well over an hour left to play!
Harry Brook summarised the day so far perfectly as he dispatched the unfortunate Saud Shakeel for 6 consecutive boundary 4’s in the penultimate over before the drinks break, racing from 61 to 85 not out, and from just 65 balls received and whisper it, he could break an all time Test Match cricket record on a day of redefining records and monumental run scoring feats.
Day 1 Stumps
11.38am: England 506–4 (Harry Brook 101 not out)
With the light fading in Rawalpindi, the umpires brought play to a close with a handful of overs still to bowl and perhaps saving a further 45 minutes or so of torture for a bedraggled and poor Pakistan to endure. Harry Brook didn’t quite achieve an all time record, but he and his team did as his century from just 80 balls was the fourth century in a day, and the first time that’s ever happened on day 1 of a Test Match in the entire history of the game. Captain Ben Stokes came out swinging against the dying light, smashing quick boundaries in a smash and grab 34 runs from just 15 balls to ensure his team reached the historic milestone of 500 runs in a day but just agonisingly short of the all time record.
But records tumbled everywhere you looked and sadly for Pakistan, their heavily outgunned team of four debutants will have a debut to remember as well as some unwanted chilling reminders of records firmly unwanted.
Records. Records, everywhere. But I have sleep to catch up on as well as two games in the World Cup before I start all over again at 5am.
See you tomorrow!
Thanks for reading. I’m presuming you’re here for the cricket and if so, can I please direct you to my archives where you’ll find a day by day breakdown of England’s recent Ashes tour of Australia as well as their trip to the Caribbean to face the West Indies. Alternatively, three of my latest publications, that can also be found within the cave of wonders that is my archives, are linked below:
Magnificent Mac Allister steers Argentina into the Last 16
World Cup Diaries: Day 11medium.com
Conversations with “The Father”
Part Imedium.com
Whatever happened to Gauchito?
Whatever happened to Gauchito?medium.com