England v Pakistan in a nutshell: All you need to know from day one at Headingley
All Stars - and Shadab - shine in Participation Test; Curran claims first scalp
Saturday 2 June 2018 11:20, UK
Buoyant Pakistan were brought back down to earth on day one of the second Test as England's bowlers cranked it up a notch or two...
SCORECARD | COMMENTARY | HIGHLIGHTS
The Report
England are in control of the second Test against Pakistan after dominating day one in Leeds, writes Sam Drury. Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Chris Woakes took three wickets apiece as Pakistan were bowled out for 174, although it could have been worse for the tourists as they found themselves 79-7 soon after lunch. Alastair Cook's dismissal late in the day gave Pakistan some encouragement but England are well placed to build a sizeable first-innings lead, closing on 106-2, just 68 behind, with Joe Root (29no) and night-watchman Dom Bess (0no) at the crease.
Moment of the Day
Shadab Khan reaching his third fifty in four innings, off 48 balls, and raising his arm aloft, the widest of beaming grins on his face. It might not turn out to be a match-saving knock but it certainly saved face, Shadab impressing after walking to the wicket with Pakistan 78-5.
Live Test Cricket
The manner of his downfall - caught heaving to deep midwicket - was incompatible with the rest of a well-constructed knock but did create another memorable highlight, that of Sam Curran's maiden Test wicket. His sheepish grin acknowledged it wasn't the best ball he'll have ever bowled, but it's one he'll never forget.
Stats of the day
- Alastair Cook has now played a record 154 Tests in a row, surpassing Allan Border's previous best mark of 153 (1979-94)
- When Stuart Broad claimed his 414th wicket, he moved level with Wasim Akram's Test tally - the Pakistan legend getting there in 104 Tests with an average of 23.62, in comparison to Broad's 118 matches and average of 29.
- At 19 years and 363 days old, Sam Curran is the seventh youngest player to represent England. Of those still playing, only Haseeb Hameed (19 years, 297 days) has been younger.
- England have a slip catch success of 71 per cent, putting them ninth in the list of Test-playing nations above only Ireland and Bangladesh. Talking of which...
Talking point
Why do England's slip fielders stand so close to each other? The issue cropped up at Lord's where, at one point, Cook and Malan were shuffling around for position when Mark Wood was running in and Stokes then dove across Malan, putting him off. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't the best catching display. It came back to haunt the home side again as Root, at third, dived across in front of second slip Malan - gifting Faheem a life.
"England's slip cordon just don't know where to go," says Hussain. "They look too narrow too often - get third slip away from second!" Over to Botham: "The 'keeper should set the tone with first slip, who does so with second, and so on. Just get yourself sorted and don't creep in on each other!"
Participation Test - day one
We started our feature compilation on the ECB's grassroots initiatives with a look at the hugely successful All Stars Cricket programme, as well as the great strides being made in Women's Soft Ball festivals...
In addition, some very special All Stars joined Ian Ward and Nasser Hussain in the Zone for a fun, inventive skills session before Matt Dwyer, Director of Growth and Participation at the ECB, dropped in to chat to Isa Guha and Nasser Hussain about the progress being made.
What they said
NASSER HUSSAIN: "It was a complete role reversal from Lord's. The bowling unit pitched it up and used the conditions, as Pakistan did in the first Test. England were excellent today, in particular the senior players. I think they had almost the perfect day."
STUART BROAD: "We're delighted with our position. I don't think any of us expected it to nip or swing as it did. I understand criticism - I like listening to pundits speak. A lot of it is justified; some of it is not overly justified. I didn't feel that some of the flak that came at me was overly logical. I think there was an angle of promoting own shows and own columns in that, but it's part of the world. It doesn't motivate me more to get wickets."
Tweets of the day
Watch day two of the second Test between England and Pakistan, live from 10am on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event on Saturday.
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