Eng v Pak, 1st Test, Day 1 Review: Misbah-ul-Haq stands tall

42-year old evergreen skipper Misbah-ul-Haq stood tall among the other batsmen in the Pakistan batting order with a wonderfully compiled century. Apart from breaking a few records at the Home of Cricket, Misbah was well-supported by Asad Shafiq who smashed a stunning 73 before losing his wicket towards the end of the day. For England, it was Chris Woakes who continued his good form apart from the much-anticipated debut of Jake Ball.

The day began with some glorious sunshine in St. Johns Wood, a high-end suburb in London and home to the Lord’s Cricket Ground. Having won the toss, Misbah, perhaps anticipating that the England bowling attack wasn’t as strong without talisman James Anderson and opted to bat first.

Shan Masood walked out for the first time at Lord’s and faced a true baptism of fire. Although he didn’t last as long as he would have liked, it would have been the experience the 28-year old was hoping for. Masood was out to a popular dismissal in England courtesy of a feather nick to Jonny Bairstow off the bowling of Chris Woakes.

Woakes was clearly in full flow on the day courtesy of his second wicket of Mohammad Hafeez. The veteran opener withstood the onslaught from the England pace attack to come out the wiser with a well-made 40. However, some rushed shot-making from Hafeez saw him make the walk back to the pavilion.

Also Watch: Misbah-ul-Haq celebrates his Lord’s ton with pushups

If James Anderson was fit, Jake Ball would have had to wait another series to make his debut. However, with Anderson on the fringes, Ball was clearly fired up and eager to make his claim to fame. He did so by not only trapping Azhar Ali leg-before but also knocking the latter off his feet with a well-directed yorker.

Three wickets down and Pakistan found themselves in a familiar position. Two of their oldest war horses had found themselves batting together at Lord’s. However, the partnership was rather short-lived, when Younis Khan’s flick to square leg picked out Moeen Ali. Enter Asad Shafiq.

Shafiq is usually known for his fantastic timing and ability to play the long innings. Although he began his inning on a rather slow note, Shafiq began to play the intimidating bowling with some confidence. However, all eyes were on Misbah-ul-Haq, who was proving that his body was certainly up for the fight despite his 42-year old aging body.

Misbah soon reached his century, engraving his fantastic credentials on the honors board at Lord’s. Although he would remain unbeaten on 110 at stumps, Shafiq’s composure would get him to within a few deliveries of being unbeaten overnight. It was the brilliance once more of Chris Woakes, who picked up his third and fourth wicket when Shafiq and night-watchman Rahat Ali fell with the latter falling on the last ball of the day.

At the end of Day 1, Chris Woakes and Misbah-ul-Haq had claimed the spoils with 4 wickets and a century.

Brief Scores:

Pakistan – 282/6 (Misbah-ul-Haq 110*; Chris Woakes 4/45)