Pakistan v England: third men’s cricket Test, day one – live | Pakistan v England 2024

46th over: England 158-6 (Smith 31, Atkinson 16) An Atkinson single keeps England ticking in the afternoon session.

“I can happily get involved in Mango Chat” says Robert Corcoran with juice dripping off his chin. “I was living in Delhi a few years ago and one of the things I miss the most is Mango Season. A great few weeks of being able to head out to one of the street vendors and pick up a few mangoes for a pittance. I’ll add dasheri to the varieties that have already been mentioned.”

45th over: England 157-6 (Smith 31, Atkinson 15) Gus Atkinson looking a bit out of his depth against the leg spin of Zahid Mahmood, an inside edge narrowly misses the stumps and trickles away for a couple. Nevertheless, this partnership is ekeing England onwards.

44th over: England 154-6 (Smith 31, Atkinson 12) Atkinson and Smith rotate the strike off Noman Ali. I miss Sajid Khan. Bereft.

43rd over: England 152-6 (Smith 30, Atkinson 11) Zahid Mahmood is clubbed for 36 off his over! Just kidding, he’s worked for two singles. Noman Ali is set to continue though, he laughs in the face of bowling changes.

“We bowled all day and all night with one of Guy Hornsby’s mangoes… and we were glad of it”

42nd over: England 150-6 (Smith 29, Atkinson 10) Noman Ali sends down two beautiful balls to Gus Atkinson, pitching on middle and turning past the off stump, beating the defensive prod in the process. Too good for thee, Gus lad. Three singles worked off the over and England’s 15o is up. OMGEEEEE we are about to have a bowling change. It’s been 89 overs until we last saw Pakistan call on another man that isn’t Noman Ali or Sajid Khan. Here comes the very much lesser spotted… Zahid Mahmood!

41st over: England 147-6 (Smith 28, Atkinson 8) Shot! Smith gets on the front foot and threads through cover for four. He’s had a quiet tour so far but could yet make a telling contribution in the series with a few more added here.

40th over: England 141-6 (Smith 22, Atkinson 8) Noman Ali continues and is worked around for a couple of singles. England digging in and prospering to some degree after Stokes fell immediately post lunch.

39th over: England 139-6 (Smith 21, Atkinson 7) Jamie Smith opens the shoulders! A heave through midwicket brings four before a more sweetly struck effort off the next ball sails away over the sponge in the same area for SIX! Vital runs. Two more to Smith clipped off the last ball of the over make it twelve runs off the over. Are this pair going to force a change of bowling form Shan Masood?

38th over: England 127-6 (Smith 9, Atkinson 7) Gus Atkinson’s eyes light up as offers up a short and wide delivery, Atkinson waits for it well and slaps through cover for a welcome boundary ‘mongst the maidens.

Guy Hornbsy is offering up something different – monkey tennis Mango chat.

“Morning James, morning everyone. I won’t add much to the pitch chat, because we all knew it’ll turn. But you’d think 200 will be a defendable total here.

On TMS there’s some much-need mango chat to break up the talk of a two-man spin attack and shooters. Aggers was surprised there are different types (there are over 250 in Pakistan alone!) He’s clearly not been availed of the beauty of Kesar mangoes: soft, creamy and sweet. Or Alphonso, the connoisseur’s choice. My British-Indian wife opened my eyes to the delights of Mango Season. Now I can’t wait for it to come around already, late spring in the UK. Glorious mangoes.”

37th over: England 121-6 (Smith 8, Atkinson 2) Another over, another maiden. This just made me chuckle:

36th over: England 121-6 (Smith 8, Atkinson 2) Another maiden from Noman Ali as the pressure starts to hiss in Rawalpindi.

Sclyd Berry has chalked up 500 Test matches!

35th over: England 121-6 (Smith 8, Atkinson 2) Just a Gus Atkinson single off Sajid Khan. Here’s the Stokes wicket:

34th over: England 120-6 (Smith 8, Atkinson 1) Lovely bowling from Noman Ali, testing and tempting Smith who refuses to be drawn. If England can somehow get up to 200 then that could be a decent effort, their spinners will have to bowl as well as Noman and Sajid have but all is not lost for the visitors just yet.

33rd over: England 120-6 (Smith 8, Atkinson 1) Gus Atkinson joins his Surrey teammate out in the middle. He pays out three dots before getting off the mark with a nice looking but somewhat perilous back foot drive. Smith rides the turn to flick a single into the leg side.

WICKET! Stokes c Agha Salman b Sajid Khan 12 (England 118-6)

32nd over: England 118-5 (Stokes 12, Smith 7) Noman Ali from t’other end. Of course. Stokes gets out the reverse-sweep and it brings him four.

31st over: England 112-5 (Stokes 7, Smith 5) Stokes leans on a full ball and a thick edge squirts past the slips and brings him a single. Jamie Smith uses his feet to get down the track and drive for one more.

“Morning James,

I know some clever readers of the game like the idea that host teams can prepare pitches to favour them, but the depths of gardening done by Pakistan this series would outshine Alan Titchmarsh. If the pearoller that tickled Duckett’s toenails were any lower, it would’ve emerged around the Galápagos Islands.

Surely a good game is a fair game? Although I s’pose, in a masochistic way, Pakistan will reap what they’ve sown. I just hope this decider lasts ‘til tea!”

Plenty of pitch chat in the mailbox and on line. I’m going to keep my powder dry until both teams have batted on it but I will say that only Ben Duckett’s wicket was purely down to the pitch, the rest had some element of batter responsibility, especially Crawley and Brook’s dismissals. Pope too for that matter, sweeping and missing a dead straight ball.

This one will rage scuttle on though…

The players head out for the afternoon session. Sajid Khan is going to start things off.

Learn after Reading:

Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain say “England need to find a way” on this wicket.

Mohammed Yaser ponders whether the rake is going to be the winter’s must have garden accessory. My brother – when he was a child but definitely old enough to know better – once stomped on a garden rake with the pre-emptive statement “this is what they do in cartoons”. The handle duly smashed him in the face and he sported an egg on his for’ead for the next fortnight. He’s never been near a rake since.

All this talk of rakes has sent my algorithm squiffy and this video of Cate Blanchett laying into leaf blowers keeps popping up. She has a point to be fair.

Play that!

Lunch: England 110-5

29th over: England 107-5 (Stokes 4, Smith 4) Stokes takes a single to mid-off. Jamie Smith rocks back and heaves a shorter ball from Sajid through point for four. Welcome runs for England. We’ll have one more over before lunch. Pakistan are buzzing around, they know they’ve got England on the rack in this series decider.

28th over: England 102-5 (Stokes 3, Smith 0) Stokes is swamped by slip, leg slip and short leg. He drives for two to bring up England’s 100. Four dots from Noman are followed by a straight drive down the ground for a single. Smith is sent a tempter by Noman, tossed up outside off, the batter doesn’t take the bait.

27th over: England 98-5 (Stokes 0, Smith 0) You can’t judge a pitch until both sides have batted on it… but we could be in for a two days Test match here. There is spin but the main threat is the real lack of bounce, it’s so low that sooner or later there will be a ball with your name on. How many can England muster with their last five? Jamie Smith joins his captain out in the middle.

WICKET! Harry Brook b Sajid Khan 5 (England 98-5)

26th over: England 98-4 (Brook 5, Stokes 0) The game moves on rapidly in this first morning session. We’ve still got ten minutes to go until lunch. Ben Stokes survives his first ball.

WICKET! Duckett lbw b Noman Ali 52 (England 98-4)

25th over: England 96-3 (Duckett 51, Brook 4) Duckett clips for two to bring up his fifty off 76 balls. Pedestrian by his standards.

Mark Coward wants a turn or he’s taking his ball home…

“Noman Ali and Sajid Khan have now bowled in tandem unchanged for 71.5 overs (and counting) across 3 separate innings in 2 Test matches, taking 17 wickets for 289 runs. Is this a Test record? Is anyone else going to get a chance to bowl?”

23rd over: England 91-3 (Duckett 48, Brook 2) Brook thick edges wide of slip to get off the mark. Duckett hands back the strike with a punch to mid on. He’s playing a lot straighter in this innings, just an observation. More as it happens.

22nd over: England 87-3 (Duckett 46, Brook 0) The bins are collected here in London. Smell the glamour! Sweeter aroma in Rawalpindi as Ben Duckett launches Sajid Khan down the ground for SIX! A lot resting on Duckett now as the set batter and England losing quick wickets. As I type that he is beaten by a ripper that spits past the outside edge. A good time not a long time springs to mind.

21st over: England 81-3 (Duckett 40, Brook 0) The ball is really skidding on low now, Harry Brook is nearly cleaned up playing back and aiming a drive into the off side, showing all his stumps in the process.

“Afternoon James, I’m conflicted. Obviously, I want to keep up to date with all the red hot OBO action, however every time I open it up England lose a wicket.

Should I abandon you and sacrifice my cricketing pleasure for the good of the game? Or do I plough on and hope it was just a two time thing…”

‘Thanks’ for staying with us Phil Withall. We know you did.

WICKET! Joe Root lbw b Sajid Khan 5 (England 80-3)

20th over: England 77-2 (Duckett 37, Root 4) Root is busy, clipping and gliding to get his account ticking. Duckett reverse sweeps for three more as both Noman Ali and Sajid Khan complete ten overs apiece unchanged.