Former England captain Nasser Hussain commended Ollie Pope and his team’s performance on Day 1 of the first Test against Pakistan in Multan, despite conceding 328 runs for 4 wickets in 86 overs. The English bowlers struggled on a flat pitch as Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood both scored centuries.
Pope stepped into the captaincy role again after Ben Stokes was unable to recover in time for the series opener. Leading the team away from home for the first time was challenging, especially as the hosts dominated the first two sessions, scoring 233 runs for 1 wicket in 52 overs.
However, England mounted a comeback in the final session, with both centurions falling quickly. Chris Woakes also made an impact, taking the important wicket of Babar Azam just before the end of the day.
“Walking off at 328-4, usually, you are thinking that the game has gone away from us. Actually here, they must be thinking, ‘we did quite well there lads.’ That is the difference between playing at home and playing away from home.”
“If you walk off in England, and the opposition have got 328-4 on the first day, a lot of the time you are out of the game. Here, you are still in the game, and that is a credit,” Hussain said on Sky Sports at the end of the day’s play.
Nasser Hussain praised England’s fighting spirit after they struggled in the first couple of sessions while bowling first.
“We were looking for body language, fitness, speeds, coming back with the new ball, and they did all of that. They should be pretty proud of what they achieved. People at home might be thinking Pakistan are in the ascendancy, but you could only do today what they did.”
“You cannot criticize either Pope or the bowlers, they stuck to their task, they gave it everything, that was as tough as it gets for a bowling unit,” Hussain concluded.
Pakistan’s run rate exceeded four runs per over in the first two sessions. However, England’s comeback restricted the hosts to just 95 runs in the final session at a run rate of 2.79 while losing three wickets.
England is quite accustomed to Pakistan’s flat pitches
England is well-acquainted with Pakistan’s flat pitches, having encountered similar conditions during their last tour in 2022. Under Ben Stokes, they achieved a 3-0 whitewash and scored over 500 runs on the first day in Rawalpindi.
This time, a high-scoring match is expected, with the outcome likely hinging on the clash between England’s strong batting lineup and Pakistan’s still-developing bowling attack.
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