I have a huge amount of time for the Ageas Bowl groundstaff, who are laid back on the hover cover, sunglasses and masks on, watching the cricket and having a little nap every now and again. Probably my dream job.

Shaheen Afridi charges in and has to stop as a huge gust of wind smacks into his face and distracts him.

Ebony Rainford-Brent
Ex-England women's batter on Test Match Special

It's already noticeable how much more batter-friendly this wicket is.

Jonathan Agnew
BBC cricket correspondent on Test Match Special

Mohammad Abbas could be a torturer today on this sluggish pitch.

An absolute peach from Mohammad Abbas first up, tickling the outside edge of Dom Sibley's bat, but a stray onto the pads allows Sibley to whip three runs away with ease.

Here comes the indefatigable Mohammad Abbas.

Ebony Rainford-Brent
Ex-England women's batter on Test Match Special

Shaheen Afridi's seam position is looking good. He's getting that shape away to the slips. I think a fraction closer and he'll cause a few problems.

Rory Burns gets himself off the mark in nice fashion, hanging back and guiding Shaheen Afridi through the slip cordon for four.

There's an optimistic half-shout for lbw from Shaheen as he hits Burns in the midriff, before Burns is beaten outside off stump.

Ebony Rainford-Brent
Ex-England women's batter on Test Match Special

It's been 10 years since England have beaten Pakistan in a Test series. England have to stay focused because this Pakistan bowling side is dangerous. They could cause a little bit of an upset.

Hello!

A bit of swing straight away and Rory Burns, wisely, hoicks his bat above his head.

Image source, Reuters

Shaheen Afridi will get us going.

My word it's windy...

Jerusalem is belting out across an empty ground as Rory Burns and Dom Sibley make their way out to the middle.

It's overcast and grey but the sun is peeking through the clouds as the Pakistan fielders converge.

Match referee Chris Broad, speaking to Sky Sports about bad light protocols: "We discussed things ourselves, between the match officials, while the rain was falling last week and we have tried to find ways of maximising play. We're grateful to the ICC for being flexible in this situation.

"If we lose play on any day during this Test, we'll discuss the situation at the end of the day and let people know when we might start play the following day, if it's a good forecast, or whether we'll add play on at the end of the day."

Here's that presentation for Stuart Broad I mentioned earlier, to mark his 500 Test wickets.

Image source, PA Media

Jonny: Difficult to work out how badly the 60mph gusts will affect today's cricket, but one thing that can be guaranteed is that any references to strong winds will ensure a swift and severe outbreak of schoolboy humour in the TMS commentary box...

Mark Ramprakash
Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

This wicket looks drier, whiter and more batting friendly. England have a great opportunity here. You really fancy batting first, particularly with the strong winds.

Pakistan captain Azhar Ali: "We would have batted first too, the track looks good. The first two hours will be important. It's a very important Test match for us. We want to give everything in this game."

Ebony Rainford-Brent
Ex-England women's batter on Test Match Special

I feel that England need some extra pace up their sleeve. Curran bowled well in the last Test but if the wicket isn't lively they might need some extra pace. I do feel it adds to the vulnerability of the batting, but if they think the wicket is going to be more batter friendly then you want someone who has the ability to take a few wickets with pace.

More from Joe Root: "When Sam plays it obviously improves the batting, but we feel we've got the strength. Jofra has had a week off. We want him to operate in short and sharp spells and we want him to bowl fast.

"I've told the team to throw everything into this game, we don't know when our next Test cricket will be so we want to finish on a high."

Image source, PA Media

England captain Joe Root: "It looks more dry than the previous wicket here, we are going to try and make use of it first up and exploit it later in the game.

"These are strange conditions here, it will be quite temperamental all day. Winds are strong which could be tough for the side bowling. Hopefully we can knuckle down and get down to a good start and build a big first-innings score."