Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature 23rd over: England 138-2 ( Pope 46, Riza 7) Abrar again, a few more starting to fill the stands now. Pope, busy, busy, looks a little out of breath. I wonder if this is the air quality? 22nd over: England 133-2 ( Pope 43, Riza 5) Mahmood, tall, with a high arm. Root hits two to get off the mark. A boundary by Pope stopped with some clever legwork on the boundary. 21st over: England 126-2 (Popes 40, Riza 1) Abrar runs through his variations and England get four more. “Two wrist rotators?” writes John Starbuck. “The convention is that a leggie/wrist spinner will go for a lot of runs but will also get you wickets. It’s very good for Brighter Cricket though.” Correct! They are terrific entertainment, even if they go through their overs too quickly for me. 20th over: England 122-2 ( Pope 37, Riza 0) Olly Pope hits Zahid Mahmood through the covers for four – no wicket is going to slow this crazy train. 19th over: England 117-2 (Pope 32, Root 0) Abrar with two in the pocket on his debut!
WIRELESS! Duckett lbw Abrar 63 (England 117-2)
This time it wasn’t fielded…Pakistan opt for a review after Duckett is hit on the board sweeping…he’s clipped on the board and DRS sends him on his way. He leaves, helmet half-raised, as usual. An extremely smart innings, but a second wicket for Abrar.
REVIEW: Duckett lbw Abrar 61 – NOT OUT!
Ooof – Duckett survives! He flips and misses, he’s fielded, he’s criticized and, after an age, the TV umpire gives him the benefit of the doubt after he appears to have been hit in the glove.
Fifty for Ben Duckett!
18th over: England 115-1 (Duckett 61, Pope 32) The drinks instructions from the England dressing room seem to have been FORWARD. Pope immediately back-sweeps for four, and then Duckett reaches his fifty with a jiggle, past a diving Babar. He celebrates by hitting Mahmood for six next balls and going through cover for another four. Mahmud furrows his brows as Babar swings his field somewhat ineffectually. 17th over: England 97-1 (Duckett 48, Pope 27) Abrar chews thoughtfully on his (extraordinarily long) right thumb as Duckett reverse-sweeps him twice for four in the over. As Vic Marks says, he hasn’t bowled badly, it’s just that England want to rouse him. They get DRINKS! England continue to pile on at a blisteringly fast pace, against two rotating wickets. 16th over: England 86-1 (Duckett 39, Pope 25) Tip and run for England, who sweep for fun. 15th over: England 79-1 (Duckett 38, Pope 19) Abrar goes through another over, which England have gone into, picking up ten, though not without danger. An impressive four by Pope, who is very busy this morning. 14th over: England 69-1 (Duckett 34, Pope 13) Imam ul Haq is cracked on the shin by a sweep by Duckett and the magic spray is applied liberally. A super first over to Zahid Mahmood, who finds the fizz immediately. Pope whispers a couple and is then given a fat one that looks way out but on review it turns out to have hit his glove. The Pope immediately flips the next ball, the cocky young pup. 13th over: England 66-1 (Duckett 33, Pope 11) A good response from Abrar, who holds England to just one run. Updated at 06.02 GMT 12th over: England 65-1 (Duckett 32, Pope 11) Mohammad Ali is, under a dirty sky, almost lit by a winter sun. Duckett, who has a touch of Mike Gattings about him, albeit in a 21st century way, pulls with authority for four. Pope gets a handy punch of singles. “Good morning Tanya (and John Starbuck!)” Hi Brian Withington. “Looks like the fog is slowly burning off in Multan, while here in Dorridge, ‘is it bloody freezing’?”, as Cery Matthews might put it. I can admit to being quietly relieved that the England players have avoided too many fireworks so far, as some of us more mature OBOers are still recovering from the sheer glorious madness of the first test.” Updated at 06:00 GMT 11th over: England 55-1 (Duckett 27, Pope 6) OK, England are obviously trying to slap Abrar out of the attack. Oh tough Duckett, sweeping two repeated deliveries for two consecutive fours. 10th over: England 44-1 (Duckett 18, Pope 4) Just wide from Mohammad Ali, who continues to move away. Ben Barclay asks: “In the picture, the stands are empty. Can you please give more details?’ Hi Ben, there seem to be only a few, although they are quite lively – some Barmy Army singing Jersualem and some Pakistani musicians. Commentators said they expected more to come as the day wore on. The game started at 10 am. Multan time. 9th over: England 42-1 (Duckett 16, Pope 4) Aha! The newcomer sports rollers, a touch of sun cream and a pair of glasses. Bowls his first ball, Crowley collects two. He keeps bowling it and what a way to start Test cricket! Crawley did one that puts him away. Pope, in a power Bazz move, reverse sweeps him for four first balls. Updated at 05:46 GMT
WIRELESS! Crawley b Abrar 19 (England 38-1)
A wicket off his fifth ball in Test cricket! Crawley made like a keeper playing around a highfalutin googly. Bat underhand, leaves as Abrar gets hit. 8th over: England 36-0 (Crawley 16, Duckett 16) Two sweet boundaries for England, another commanding drive from Crawley and a flurry in the middle from Duckett. Updated at 05:46 GMT 7th over: England 27-0 (Crawley 12, Duckett 12) Duckett hits Faheem for four behind and three more through mid off. England are upping the ante here. Updated at 05:46 GMT 6th over: England 18-0 (Crawley 5, Duckett 7) A maiden for Mohammad Ali, who is off to a much better start in this Test than the last. “Any news about the stadium?” asks Andrew Miles. “Dusty road again or any signs of something different? “I only wake up because I thought I heard an intruder, but I’m pretty sure there’s nobody there. I’d get up and check, but it’s cold.” I don’t have data on this, but I believe burglars are less common when it’s below freezing. He was going to push me away anyway. Maybe turn up the volume on TMS, I’m sure that will scare him. Either way, the pitch looks a little less like a road and is likely to break and spin. 5th over: England 18-0 (Crawley 11, Duckett 5) Ooof, a touch of spin from Faheem as he sends a cutter. Another smart car for four from Crawley. Updated at 05:24 GMT 4th over: England 14-0 (Crawley 11, Duckett 5) The drums beat a beat in the stands. A good spread for now, but expect more later. Lots of excitement for the 24-year-old with mystery glasses, Abrar Ahmed. Just three from Ali over. The toughest Pakistan has gone for a spin in a long time. Not even in the Misbah era that I can remember. Only one specialist pacer (love Faheem but he’s versatile) – last time seems to have been Karachi 1980, 42 years ago!https://t.co/442b7aRdpN — Osman Samiuddin (@OsmanSamiuddin) December 9, 2022 The toughest Pakistan has gone for a spin in a long time. Not even in the Misbah era that I can remember. Only one specialist pacer (love Faheem but he’s versatile) – last time seems to have been Karachi 1980, 42 years ago!https://t.co/442b7aRdpN — Osman Samiuddin (@OsmanSamiuddin) December 9, 2022 Updated at 05:24 GMT 3rd over: England 11-0 (Crawley 4, Duckett 5) This is the first time Faheem Ashraf has taken the new ball in 15 Tests. Crawley off the mark with a square move with long legs in hat and tails. “Good morning, Tanya”, hello John Starbuck! “For once, I’m ahead of the larks (in both senses). I guess one could say “before the bats go to bed”, except at that time they should all be hibernating. Before the owls come in?’ Too-whit, Too-who. 2nd over: England 6-0 (Crawley 0, Duckett 5) Duckett tickles Mohammad Ali back and pushes for a boundary. Some smart fielding in the ring cuts another over and overall a much better start for Pakistan.
Morning session
1st over: England 0-0 (Crawley 0, Duckett) Faheem Ashraf has the ball on a pitch cracking like a hard-boiled egg with a medium crack. And, against all odds, he lands a girl. There is a touch of fog in the air, but they start on time!
Pakistan XI
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (captcha), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Zahid Mahmood, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Ali Three changes are confirmed: the injured Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf plus Azhar Ali miss out, mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed makes his Test debut, along with slow left-armer Mohammad Nawaz and seam bowling allrounder Faheem Ashraf. Updated at 05.19 GMT
England XI
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Will Jacks, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, Mark Wood, James Anderson. Only one change, Wood for the injured Livingstone.
England will win the toss and bat
Buckle!
Air pollution
One clear issue is the current air quality in Multan, which is classified as unhealthy. Polluted air is particularly harmful to people who exercise, as well as children, pregnant women and the elderly. Where is the ICC? Air quality in Multan on Friday is classified as unhealthy. The PM2.5 concentration is 13.6 times the annual WHO air quality guideline value, with recommendations to wear a mask outdoors and avoid outdoor exercise. Pretty tough on the first day of a @ECB_cricket @TheRealPCB @ICC test — TheNextTest (@TheNextTest) December 8, 2022 Greetings from a cold and frozen UK. The carols are playing and from here things are looking bright in Multan, one of the least high-profile cricket stadiums in the world. The ground only made its Test debut in 2001, today’s second Test between England and Pakistan will be the fifth Test cap bells and whistles. What have we learned in the, uh, three days since the absolutely amazing balls in the last Test ended with all those men walking close enough to pull the…
