Dream debut: Spinner Rehan Ahmed had two wickets on his England Test bow in Karachi
(Picture: AP)Four wickets from Jack Leach and an excellent performance from debutant Rehan Ahmed saw England bowl out Pakistan for 304 on day one of the third Test, before stumps came with England on seven for one.
It was an emotional start to the day in Karachi as Ahmed, who became the youngest man ever to play Test cricket for England, was presented with his cap by former England captain Nasser Hussain in a pre-game ceremony where Ahmed’s dad, Naeem, was also present.
Ahmed has played just three first-class games in his career for his county Leicestershire, but Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum believed they had seen enough and wanted to give the 18-year-old a taste of the big time as soon as possible.
But Ahmed’s start to life in England whites would, at first, be a challenging one. His first five overs went for 35 runs as Azhar Ali and Babar Azam punished any waverings of length from the teenager. That made his comeback after lunch all the more impressive. In his following 17 overs, he conceded just 54 runs as he exhibited great control and a lethal googly that proved the potential that England have seen in the young all-rounder.
His first wicket was that of Saud Shakeel, who having played and missed at one of Ahmed’s already signature googlies, was then undone by the traditional leg break that shot on and took the inside edge of his bat before looping up off his pad. The ball looked to be falling painfully out of the reach of fielder Harry Brook, but stationed at short leg he dived forward one-handed and plucked the ball off the turf before all 10 of the England team swarmed Ahmed in celebration.
Ahmed would repeat his googly special after tea as he trapped Faheem Ashraf LBW with a borderline unplayable delivery. As far as debuts go, you could have hoped for little more.
The day had started with Pakistan winning the toss and electing to bat. With James Anderson rested and a wicket offering spin from ball one, England chose to open the bowling with Ollie Robinson and Leach. It was the first time since 1921 that England had opened with a spinner in the first innings of a Test match.
And despite conceding a few early boundaries, the move would work as Leach trapped Abdullah Shafique LBW for 8. Not long after, Leach would be in the thick of the action again. This time as a fielder as Shan Masood, who will captain Yorkshire next season, got a top edge off Mark Wood that flew to Leach at fine leg. Pakistan were 46 for 2.
From that point, however, the home side were in the trusted hands of Azhar Ali, who had announced ahead of the game that he would be retiring from Test cricket at the end of this game, and Babar. The pair took Pakistan to the cusp of lunch before Azhar gloved a leg-side delivery from Robinson through to Ben Foakes to leave the score at 117 for three.
After the break, Babar completed a third score of 50 or more in this series off 74 balls in a patient innings that saw him score freely whilst not playing any real shots in anger.
But, from a point of relative security at 196 for four, two moments of terrible batting from the home team would see the innings turn in England’s favour.
First, Mohammad Rizwan advanced at Joe Root and turned a lengthy delivery into a low full toss, which he somehow managed to scoop to Stokes at cow corner, the England captain lurking three-quarters of the way to the boundary. A wicket out of nothing.
Then Agha Salman would run-out his captain Babar for 78 after a fantastic one-handed pick up from Foakes where in one motion he claimed Brook’s throw on the bounce and then removed the bails. Salman would at least make up for his error with a half-century of his own, but his popularity within Karachi was at an all-time low.
Ahmed would claim the wicket of Ashraf before Leach took the final three as Pakistan aimed for the hills but managed only England’s scarecrows in the field. First Stokes took a skier to dismiss Nauman Ali for a brisk 20, before Salman was comprehensively stumped and No11 Abrar Ahmed clean bowled as Pakistan finished on 304 all out.
In reply, England had three overs to bat but would lose Zak Crawley in the first over as Abrar, the bane of England’s lives in the previous Test, trapped him LBW.
