Summary

  • Pakistan rack up 328-4 after winning toss

  • England battle hard on flat pitch, with Gus Atkinson taking two wickets, including centurion Abdullah Shafique

  • Jack Leach removes Shan Masood (151) on return to side

  • Chris Woakes pins Babar Azam lbw with second new ball to give England renewed hope

  • First Test, day one, Multan

Live Reporting

Sam Drury

  1. Aatif Nawaz
    BBC Test Match Special commentator on BBC Sounds

    That is the shot of the day, absolutely superb.

  2. 50 runs

    50 for Shan Masood

    And there is Shan Masood's fifty. He's got there in just 43 deliveries.

    His shirt looks to be drenched with sweat as he waves his bat towards the dressing room.

    The left-hander drives gloriously for four at the end of the over too. Top stuff from a captain who came into this match under pressure.

  3. Steven Finn
    Former England fast bowler on BBC Test Match Special

    There are no demons in this pitch whatsoever. You can see why both captains wanted to bat first. There is no assistance for the bowlers.

  4. What you've missed in Multan

    Shan MasoodGetty Images
    • Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat in Multan
    • England struck early as Gus Atkinson had Saim Ayub caught behind down the leg side
    • The home side have looked in control since then on a flat pitch with Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood's partnership extending beyond 50
    • Skipper Masood, who did have to overturn an lbw dismissal to Brydon Carse on review, has raced to the brink of an 11th Test fifty

  5. Pak 89-1

    Shafique 35, Masood 48

    Shoaib Bashir will be relieved to get five balls in a row to Abdullah Shafique here. Pakistan's right-handed opener does not look quite as keen to attack the spin.

  6. How's stat?!

    Soham Sarkhel
    CricViz analyst

    Since the start of 2023 in Tests, Shan Masood has been striking at 81 in the first 40 balls of his innings while averaging 46.5. He has faltered after getting set though, averaging just 14.7 in the next 40 balls of his innings.

  7. Pak 86-1

    Ever the team man, Ben Stokes is running drinks around the boundary edge as he sits out this match with injury.

    A few people have been asking why the lbw law prevents dismissals that pitch outside leg stump. That's to discourage negative bowling.

    It's thought if the rule wasn't there bowlers would bowl at the pads from round the wicket all day, which would be hard to hard to hit and score anywhere but the leg side.

  8. Aatif Nawaz
    BBC Test Match Special commentator on BBC Sounds

    It already feels like it could be a very long day for England.

  9. Alex Hartley
    Former England bowler on BBC Test Match Special

    Shan Masood has taken a liking to Bashir.

    The England bowler has got to get him on the front foot because anything back of a length, even slightly, you know he is going to go back.

    There were a couple of shots where you take encouragement as a bowler but there were a couple where Masood used his feet nicely.

  10. Pak 86-1

    Shafique 35, Masood 45

    Shoaib Bashir bowlsReuters

    Shan Masood has clearly decided to his going to attack Shoaib Bashir.

    First England's spinner drops too short and he is cracked over the leg side. Then, when he goes too full, Masood skips down and nails a drive in the air over extra cover.

    Bashir stands with his hands on his head but the batter has won that battle.

  11. How's stat?!

    Soham Sarkhel
    CricViz analyst

    There has only been 0.55 degrees of swing today, which is the fourth-lowest in the first session of day one for a Test in Pakistan since the start of 2021.

    Three of the bottom four for swing movement are Tests involving England with the 2022 Test in Multan also being a part of it.

  12. Pak 78-1

    Ollie Pope is annoyed at himself. He jabbed the stumps with his fist after missing that chance.

    Brydon Carse, meanwhile, slams the ball down at 90mph again but on this pitch Abdullah Shafique seems to still have time. Carse must surely be close to the end of his first spell now after five overs of hard work in the heat.

  13. Alex Hartley
    Former England bowler on BBC Test Match Special

    That was very strange. It wasn't far away at all and he would have been out by a country mile.

    He wasn't even on the TV screen. Ollie Pope could have picked the ball up and taken the bails.

  14. Pak 77-1

    Chance!

    Abdullah Shafique misjudges a run horribly and would have been a mile out had Ollie Pope's throw hit.

    Pope is not far away from the stumps but had to dive forward and aim at one stump. Not easy but a definite chance.

  15. Alex Hartley
    Former England bowler on BBC Test Match Special

    Really encouraging for Bashir. As a bowler, that's what you want to see the batter doing.

  16. Jonathan Agnew
    BBC cricket correspondent

    A bit of a slog. He's going to get four but that is not a pretty shot.

    If I was Bashir, I wouldn't be too worried about that.

  17. Pak 76-1

    Shafique 34, Masood 36

    Shoaib Bashir continues and sneaks the ball onto Shan Masood's front pad. England go up for an appeal and when it's turned down attention switches to stand-in skipper Ollie Pope.

    You may remember he failed with all 10 of his reviews when deputising for Ben Stokes against Sri Lanka but he's got this one right. It would have missed leg stump.

    Masood responds by biffing the next two for four.

  18. Alex Hartley
    Former England bowler on BBC Test Match Special

    It'll be interesting to see how many overs Carse bowls doing that. Will it be two or three and then they get someone else to bowl bouncers?

  19. Jonathan Agnew
    BBC cricket correspondent

    England are going short very early. We've had barely an hour's play.

  20. Pak 67-1

    We don't get many Reverend's messaging in. Now I'm wondering if Andy Zaltzman had a sneaky try of Jamie Smith's pads after taking delivery.

    On the field, England have already decided there's little else happening so it's time to bang in bouncers. One from Brydon Carse thuds into Shan Masood's arm.