Test matches are now played at 100mph. Runs and wickets were aplenty on the first morning in Multan, as England reached the break at 180-5. Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope each registered half-centuries, but the star of the show was Pakistan’s debutant Abrar Ahmed, who claimed all five wickets in a riveting session of cricket.
Any fears of a delayed start due to smog were immediately allayed as a bright morning with only a touch of haze greeted the players in central Punjab. Ben Stokes won the toss and having joked yesterday that he hoped to lose it, opted for a bat.
