England take charge early against Pakistan

England have already played themselves into a strong position. Given the opportunity to run from the front for the first time in seven Tests against Pakistan, Old Trafford – basking for a change – was treated to centuries from Alastair Cook and Joe Root, both innings of the highest technical quality.

Cook had reached his 29th Test match century shortly before tea, only to be torpedoed by something from Mohammad Amir that would have sunk the Bismarck, never mind the England captain. Their second wicket stand was worth 185 runs and not a sniff of a chance had been offered between them. Root reached his own hundred after the interval, the tenth of his career, and by the close England’s latest No3 had made an unbeaten 141 as England reached 314 for four.

Cook and Root are two of the finest batsmen England have ever possessed though: if they succeed, the team generally flourishes. But there is an urgent need for someone else from the top order to share the load. Instead, Alex Hales failed, bowled early on by Amir, a deathly combination of excellent delivery and poor response: the team bus would have got through the gap between bat and pad without the wing mirrors touching the sides; while James Vince, once more, showed that he has exquisite timing, the level of which appears to be in inverse proportion to his batting nous. There was an unfortunate predictability in his demise. Later Gary Ballance batted untroubled for an hour and a half but then chopped the second new ball onto his stumps.

This was almost certainly a very good toss for England to win, the luck of Misbah-ul-Haq finally running out. There was new ball swing, particularly for Amir, but the pitch itself looked a good one and, with the exception of a couple of renegade scuttlers to Cook, and some postprandial turn for Yasir Shah, albeit from too short to be especially troublesome, it played very well. The outfield too, barely recovered from the pasting it received from the recent concerts by Rihanna and Beyoncé, was deceptively fast. In all this, there was little margin for error on the part of the bowlers and, after Hales had turned to see his off-stump flattened before trudging off, Root and Cook took full advantage.

Much of England’s chances would rest on how they managed to cope with the leg-spin of Yasir, whose 10 wickets had won the first Test for Pakistan. Pre-Test practice was deliberate and focussed, with the young Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson drafted in, and the Merlin bowling machine, that reproduces spin, playing a full part. Yasir tends to bowl wicket-to-wicket, looking for a little sideways movement either way but also to hurry the ball on, more in the manner of Anil Kumble than Shane Warne. Batsmen who play across the line are meat and drink for him, as, for example, were Vince and Bairstow at Lord’s. Both Cook and Root played immaculately straight and waited until the bowler strayed off line or length and put the ball away. Yasir finished the day with 0 for 111.

Writing about Cook and Root might just as well involve cut and paste. Cook has been allowed the luxury of his cut shot more this summer, which helps him tick along. But there were some punchy check-drives too, down the ground and through the covers, batting of complete efficiency, culminating in the clip for two off Amir that took him to three figures. By Cook’s standards his celebration – a whirl of the bat, punch of the air and a bear hug from Root – was extravagant, a reflection of his frustration at other good opportunities slipping away in the 20 innings since his monumental 13-hour 263 in the UAE before Christmas. At 157 balls, with 14 fours, this was the fifth fastest of his Test career.

If a batsman can be said to have a signature shot, then that which saw Root on his way- standing tall and, with vertical bat, easing the ball away through extra cover – might stand the test of time. His all-round play was exemplary, but the manner in which he can force the ball so well off the back foot means that bowlers have to be willing to pitch further up. Then he pounces off the front foot. He really is an exceptional batsman. His hundred, reached by easing Yasir teasingly through midwicket, was, at 167 balls, slower than Cook’s, and how often will one be able to say that?

Earlier in the year, Hales appeared to have come to terms with the patient demands of opening but this was a frenetic effort in which he played and missed, was dropped in the gully and was then castled. Batsmen do get dismissed by good balls but he should have had some pad somewhere near as a second line of defence: when he watches it again, he might want to put an 18 certificate on it.

It is tempting to say that Vince failed to defy expectation, for Pakistan have his number. With some batsmen, the strategy might be to probe their weakness, cut off their lifeblood strokes (Cook’s cut shot for example) and put the pressure on the batsman to come out of a comfort zone. Pakistan do not bother with Vince, simply playing to his offside penchant by hanging the ball across him, wearing a couple of punches in the knowledge that sooner rather than later the fish will bite. He duly edged Amir to second slip where Younis Khan grassed a straightforward chance. The next edge found the keeper and he wasn’t so fortunate. Sadly it was all too easy. Test cricket should not be like that.

(Guardian service)