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To say that Pakistan have one single problem in Test cricket would be fatally generous; there is little pace in the tank, the bowling has tended to be flat and frequently pedestrian, the fielding not particularly inspiring, and the on-field decision-making insipid and often too defensive.
Day 1 of the first Test match of the three scheduled between Pakistan and England validates almost all of these. The day’s play ended with England in a commanding position, trailing by just 59 runs with 8 wickets in hand.
Before proceedings even began, Pakistan lost recently re-appointed captain Babar Azam right when he had found his richest vein of form (in years) to a finger injury, putting the team on the back foot.
And after being put into bat, stand-in captain Salman Ali Agha said Pakistan would have batted first at either outcome of the toss, a statement that aged poorly very quickly as the team found itself at 6-2 within the first five overs.
