E ngland won and Alex Hales made a fifty on his return but really this match was about so much more than a result or a personal milestone after a 17 year wait for these two teams to play in Pakistan.
The crowd had fallen silent and thinned out as Hales steered England to an easy six wicket win with 53 from 40 balls as two half strength teams felt their way into the series on a slow pitch.
When England last played in Pakistan, international Twenty20 was in its infancy (England had played one, Pakistan were six months away from their first). Australia wore wigs in one of their early matches around then to show how seriously it was all taken at the time, and franchises were corner shops or Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants.
Now T20 is king of the universe – a ginormous KFC bucket sat below the scoreboard, the global brands lapping up the airtime – and this series is the first to be played over seven games. Almost half of the England squad have been here before, picking up decent money playing in the Pakistan Super League.
The list of dignitaries spoke of the symbolism of the game, which took place exactly a year since England aborted their last planned trip to Pakistan. The British High commissioner, who was so critical of the decision to postpone that series, was wearing a shirt stitched together from England and Pakistan colours. Cricket between these two countries has at times strained diplomatic relations, but right now it is an important part of the strengthening of ties as Britain looks to old friends in the post-Brexit world.
B oth sides stood for a minute’s silence to remember Queen Elizabeth II and the victims of Pakistan’s flood disaster; all ticket revenue from a 30,000 sell out was pledged to the appeal fund. The crowd held up the lights on their mobile phones as a rousing rendition of the Pakistan national anthem was belted out.
The ground was about half full for the start, the security restrictions and multiple checkpoints preventing many from reaching their seats in time, but it filled up halfway through the first innings and the atmosphere was boisterous until an England win became obvious. The call to prayer from a nearby mosque just about carried over the DJ’s din.
Snipers were positioned on the pavilion roof and in teams of three on all buildings overlooking the National Stadium. Cricket matches in Pakistan pull in television ratings double any popular drama so those buildings were also decked out in billboards advertising products from stock cubes to strawberryade.
T hat the cricket lacked the drama to match was not a surprise, it was perhaps impossible to expect the two teams to put on a show. England eased to their 159 target with four balls to spare, which sounds much closer than it was in reality.
Pakistan’s 158 for seven was way below the usual standard in Karachi where the average has been towards 200 over the past five years. Perhaps it was nerves or an experimental Pakistan batting line up that was to blame for the lethargy, but England’s bowling deserves credit too as the attack recovered from a wicketless opening eight overs.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan oozed classy strokes and tidy touch in an opening stand of 85 off 57 balls but that was about it for Pakistan, the rest of the innings forgettable - they managed just 38 runs, three sixes and lost four wickets in the final 30 balls.
England picked three left arm seamers, two of them are in their World Cup squad but it was the one who isn’t - Lancashire’s Luke Wood - that was the pick.
He was sharp on debut, bowling at a good pace and with decent variations for three for 24 from four well crafted overs, justifying his call up after a good Hundred for the Trent Rockets. He did not show any nerves, and produced the delivery of the night that hit the seam and bowled Mohammad Nawaz, the stumps flashing bright red.
A dil Rashid was the first to stem the scoring with two for 27 from his four overs, deceiving Babar with a googly, while Moeen Ali picked off Rizwan, stumped smartly by Phil Salt who looked comfortable behind the stumps. England bowled 32 dot balls, Pakistan’s innings coming to a standstill after the opening stand.
Iftikhar Ahmed thrashed three sixes at the end to lift Pakistan over 150 and the only England bowler to struggle was David Willey, who conceded runs at 10 an over. Pakistan gave Shan Masood a debut but batted him at four when he really has to open if he is going to play at all but Babar and Rizwan are the superstars and immovable. The problem is they chew up a lot of balls, leaving too much for the rest who were unable to apply any acceleration.
Hales started with a four, laced through the covers off Naseem Shah. Salt and Hales are in a contest to open with Jos Buttler at the World Cup. At first Salt matched Hales shot for shot but holed out to deep square leg. England had a wobble as Ben Duckett and Dawid Malan struggled with the pace of the pitch and fell just as they started to look good.
For Hales, his half-century was a landmark moment having waited a long time in exile. “Three years felt like forever. To go out and score 50 in my first game is what dreams are made of,” he said after steering England to victory.
“The guys said it was not down to cricket, the missing three years, but there was always nerves and pressure coming back in. It felt like a debut again, a very special night,” he added.
"To score 50 and steer us in the right direction meant a lot. This is a place where I've spent a lot of time over the last few years, it's a place that means a lot to me. I've played in front of full houses here in Karachi and it's something different. It's one of the best atmospheres in world cricket.
Still, it needed Harry Brook to play a nice cameo to settle the nerves, his 42 off 25 balls made under little pressure but spoke of his promise and why England see this series as a chance to look to the future. There has been much dwelling on the past in recent days as England enjoy the welcome from their hospitable hosts. The cricket is underway now, and they need a series win after a slow summer. They are off to a decent start.
I t was a brilliant performance. We pulled the game back really well. A lot of praise to the bowlers who set it up nicely for our batters.
Those crucial wickets around the 10th over made a difference. It wasn't an easy wicket for the new batters. Luke Wood and Adil Rashid were excellent.
L uke Wood is bowler of the match and player of the match. Harry Brook is 'Master Blaster' of the match, Adil Rashid is 'feel-good' player of the match, Alex Hales is best batter of the match and Mohammed Rizwan is 'complete player' of the match.
M oeen Ali's side demonstrated the nous and skill to fight back from Pakistan's initial onslaught, led by Adil Rashid and later Luke Wood. The chase, though only sealed with four balls to spare, always looked comfortable. Valuable contributions from Alex Hales and Ben Duckett but Harry Brook's assured 25-ball 42 confirms his class and pluck. It was a jewel of a cameo and vital to victory.
T he first ball, a yorker perfectly landed, beats Brook but he slaps the next over extra cover for four.
England win by six wickets.
B rook oozes talent. Rauf cranks it up, the right hander sees the fielder in on the line at fine leg and steers it past him with seeming nonchalance. Brook flicks a single past the square leg umpire. Moeen, trying to finish it with one shot, is beaten swinging at the next two, the slow pitch jumbling his timing. At last he gets off strike by stabbing a single into the ground and into the offside. Brook pushes one to cover to retain the strike. England need three off six balls.
B ut then Moeen after that scratch start plays his millionaire's cover drive, creaming the ball for four as Naseem, whose only thought is 'yorker, yorker, yorker', overpitches. Moeen pushes a single square, Brook is given the wake up call of a bouncer which beats him but doesn't make him flinch and then jabs out a yorker for a single.
H ales makes his half-century off 39 balls but falls next ball when Haris Rauf keeps the pace on. Moeen gets off the mark with a thick edge which scuttles through to the keeper. Didn't look very convincing, that stroke, again troubled by pace and length.
H ales c Babar b Rauf 53 Having brought up his fifty off the previous ball by tickling a legside delivery fine for four, Hales was done for pace, slicing a pull off the face to mid-off. FOW 142/3
B rook reads Naseem's intentions, waits for the slow bouncer and flips it fine for four with a flicky-pull. The next ball is short but at full pace and Brook slices it for a single down to third. Hales has a swing and a miss at a slow bouncer that kept coming at him as he backed away but Naseem serves up the next in the slot and old Papillon, out of exile, creams it through mid-off to move ever closer to a fifty on his international return.
Hales chisels out a yorker for a single and Brook ends the over with the shot of the match, a lofted drive over mid-off for four, elbow high, bat perfectly through the line. Too many slow balls from Naseem. If your stock ball is 90mph, why bother with four at 75?
M agnificent from Brook to walk across, drop to his right knee and scoop the ball over his shoulder for four off Dahani who was bowling at full pace and straining for the yorker. Brook torpedoes a drive off a low full toss which is brilliantly stopped at cover by Iftikhar, saving three. Hales inside edges a drive into the ground and sends Brook back. Dahani hurls a throw at the stumps, foolishly and futilely given he was in his ground and he is given a Paddington stare when the ball shoots away for an overthrow.
Brook climbs into another full toss, thick edging it for four with a flick of the wrist, before Hales ends the over with a thumping drive for four more. That's a match-winning over for England.
N awaz bowls out for the price of five singles and ends his contribution with the ball with figures of 4-0-20-0. Hales' two singles come from straight drives; two of Brook's three through cover and the third, their mirror, through midwicket.
Q adir is eased for three singles but then serves up a full toss to Brook who pumps a drive straight back past him for four. His flight is so tempting but when he gets it wrong like that, he gives batsmen a gift. Brook digs out a single down the ground from another full toss, but this one lower. Hales takes two off a misfield at point.
Qadir ends with 4-0-36-2.
N awaz returns and keeps England down to five singles with his left-arm spin. Brook should have been run out for one after attempting a Red Bull single. Nawaz rushed his throw at the stumps when he had time to make a better platform of his feet and take proper aim. Uncharacteristically skittish from Brook.
M asood drops Hales at long on after he swept Qadir low, hard and flat. Should have taken it. Duckett then flat bats a reverse sweep over cover (!) for four but comes unstuck next ball.
D uckett lbw b Qadir 21 Absolutely plumb. FOW 87/3
D uckett lbw b QadirTrying another reverse sweep, the ball skidded on and hit him square in the box.
G ood, tight over from Haris Rauf at blistering pace but with no help from the pitch at all. They take five singles, hurried into edging ... safely ... or pulling off the shoulder. Duckett thinks he has broken the chains with a flicky pull fine but only gleans two because Qadir chases round and slides to make a superb stop. Halfway there in time, balls and runs.
D uckett is a reverse-sweeping fiend, provoking Qadir to pull out in his delivery stride when he shapes to do so too early. But he is pretty good with the orthodox sweep, too, nailing both for a single and a two. Hales smashes a drive straight back at Qadir that almost amputated his leg below the left knee. He did stick out a hand but it didn't stick and he must have been more concerned counting his fingers afterwards than clinging on. All survive. Hales trots a single.
Duckett ends the over reverse-sweeping again and top edges it over Rizwan for four.
D uckett reads Naseem's slower ball, leans forward and laps it round the corner for a single. Hales shows us his power by thumping four in front of point when Naseem pitches up outside off, making it seem to the batsman that it's sitting up and begging to be thumped.
U sman Qadir is renowned, as Adil Rashid used to be, for bowling a heady cocktails of jaffas and pies. And his first two deliveries are his career in microcosm, the first, a full toss, battered back over his head, the second gulling Malan into losing his grip and chipping the ball back. Duckett gets off the mark with a single off a wide on, tapped to cover but is later beaten by the googly and then tickles a reverse sweep for a single
M alan c and b Qadir 20 After lumping the previous ball over the bowler's head for six, he is down in the flight and by a degree of turn and chips a return catch to the bowler in his followthrough when aiming for mid-on. FOW 53/1
H aris Raus replaces Mohammed Nawz and he's not messing about, after an 88mph loosener he quickly breaches 90mph and with his very good line into the body of the left-handed Malan, is taken for only three singles off the bat and a leg-bye.
That's the end of the Powerplay.
T he lively Dahani continues. If you get the chance to watch Shahnawaz Dahani, you'll warm to his exuberance, pace and skill. He starts with a dot ball at full ratpower, around 89mph, which again, unlike all the other quicks, moves off the pitch, searing away from Malan's bat as he poked forward,
After a pair of singles, Dahani drops short and Malan pulls it for four then ends the over with a lovely, soft-handed dab through third man for another.
E xcellent from Hales who is patient enough to know the ball isn't coming on when the spinner fires a dart into the pitch. He waits and screeches a drive through the three-man ring at cover. Next ball, Hales uses his feet, aims for midwicket and slices it through point for three. He's back with the old Hales mix of the sublime and faintly ridiculous.
D ahan replaces Naseem. Another right-arm quick but the new ball is flying off the bat. Salt smites his 88mph slot ball down the ground for four but, despite middling a pull, has to depart next ball, looking totally bemused. Dahani then swings one away from Malan who fiddles after it. Dahani appeals for a catch by the keeper but his captain gives him the signal that, from mid-on, he couldn't hear anything. When asked whether he was sure, Dahani waves the chance to review.
Malan whisks a single off his pads and Hales, given one on a fourth stump line but full, swings through the arc, his feet planted, and smears it for four bisecting the two covers.
Salt is out! 🧂❌ What a catch by Haider Ali on the ropes! 🪢#PAKvENG pic.twitter.com/IJvz9d7zOJ
S alt c Haider b Dahani 10 Took on the short ball, hit it well but caught six inches in from the longest boundary at backward square by virtue of Haider's sound hands and dainty footwork to stop him trespassing too close to the rope. FOW 19/1
E arly spin from Pakistan, the slow left-armer Mohammad Nawaz. He starts round the wicket with a well-staffed cover region, three men in a ring at cover point, orthodox cover and extra. Salt finds one of them with his first three balls. The fourth is a dot ball, too, as Nawaz runs round to field at mid-on.
Salt backs away and clubs the fifth ball wide of mid-on for a single.
Nawaz, fast and flat, slams on the brakes.
N aseem starts fast but too wide and Salt creams a square drive for four. The next ball is a beauty, lifting off a good length, squaring Salt up and the ball kisses the edge. But there's no slip, for whom it would have been a regulation catch. The ball races down to third man and they run a single. Naseen fires the next ball down the legside and Rizwan shakes his head after his desperate, scrambling drive fails to prevent five wides.
Naseem gives Hales, on his return, one in the slot outside off and he flays it in front of point for four.
H ales and Salt take guard. Naseem Shah has the new ball.
G iven the average score at Karachi over the past five years is 192, Pakistan are miles short of where they should be. Adil Rashid wrestled back control with a fine spell and the left-armers chipped in with slower balls that brought dots before England's quickest bowler, Luke Wood, chipped in on debut.
M ark Butcher says there is no dew which ought to make bowling easier for Pakistan ... and they do have Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf who bowl 90mph and Usman Qadir, son of the great Abdul, to give it a twirl.
L uke Wood is given the final over ahead of his Lancashire team-mate Richard Gleeson and picks up two wickets. No wobble after being walloped for six off the first ball. He ratcheted back pace and length and winkled out Iftikhar and Naseem on the pull to end with 4-0-24-3 on debut.
England took six for 71 off the last 60 balls.
N aseem c Curran b Wood 0 Out first ball after the batsmen crossed, carting a slower ball bouncer down square leg's throat. FOW 157/7
I ftikhar c Duckett b Wood 28 Six and out. He pulverised the previous ball but then swished the low full toss into the breeze and Duckett took a good catch a yard in from the rope at deep backward square. FOW 156/6
S am Curran strains for the yorker, the ball slips out and Iftikhar pumps the full toss over deep backward square for an enormous six. Curran responds by taking the pace off, which proves an effective tactic, earning him two dot balls off the next four and only two singles are conceded off the other two.
Curran digs the last one in, pace off, and Iftikhar can only cloth it for a single. Good comeback from Curran after that loose opener.
I n fact it knocked off stump out of the ground, only mildly disturbing middle as Nawaz tried to cart it over midwicket. Khushdil is greeted with a slower ball that he jabs out for a single. Iftikhar bunts a single into the offside, Khushdil steers one to third man. A fine yorker is chiselled out by Iftikhar who takes the strike off the final ball, slapping a full toss down the ground.
N awaz b Wood 4 Quick! Full, 87mph and a good length, it whistles through the gate, knocks back off and middle and silences the crowd again. Maiden wicket for Wood. FOW 137/5
E ngland need to play a third spinner in the next game on this pitch. Willey returns and Iftikhar takes the second ball to the cleaners, smacking a good length ball over wide mid-on for six but the very experienced left-armer reverts to pace off, racking up a dot balls and three milked singles. Two successive wides mean he can't get out of the over as he wished but he finally delivers a legit sixth delivery and Nawaz bunts it down the ground for a single.
R ashid scrambles minds, drawing mistakes form Masood and then Iftikhar with the googly but the latter's drive turns into a Harrow special, inside-edging it for two down to fine leg.
Rashid ends with 4-0-27-2.
M asood c Gleeson b Rashid 7 Top edges his reverse sweep to short fine leg. FOW 120/4
S han Masood, moving from Derbyshire to Yorkshire next year, plays an elegant inside-out cover drive to launch Moeen for four then drags a drive, as ugly as its predecessor was handsome , for a single. After Rizwan is stumped, Salt whips off the bails when Iftikhar has a swing and a miss at a wide. The umpire had already called wide so it was a bit of sharp practice for Salt tow ait and wait before returning the ball to the bowler and when he saw the new batsman raise his foot, he flicked off the off bail. The umpires say the ball was dead and in any case the foot was grounded but Salt has probably inserted himself up Pakistan's noses with that act.
R izwan st Salt b Moeen 68 Brilliant. Rizwan on the charge so Moeen darts it in much quicker, beating the opener through the gate and Salt whips off the bails with him stranded by a good yard. FOW 117/3
T he new ball flies off the bat bit after a few overs, taking the pace off makes the batsmen do all the work and that is something Pakistan have been unable to do. Shan Masood, on his T20 debut for Pakistan, can't get the first two balls off the square but he manages to pierce the gap at cover to get off the mark and steal the strike.
O nly six runs have come off the last two overs.
H aider c Willey b Curran 11 Pick up shot, off the top edge, caught at deep backward square. FOW 109/2
W illey goes for slower balls at the start of his over and Haider has to wait for it before tapping it for a single through mid on. Two yorkers earn Willey dot balls – as does his fine fielding off his won bowling. Another yorker is hit along the ground to extra-cover, allowing no chance of a run. Rizwan walks down, Willey bangs it in, sliding it across him and he can only cuff it for a single to midwicket. Excellent comeback from Willey, just three singles off the over, the last off a slow low full toss mistimed to the long on sweeper.
R izwan brought up his fifty with his first six and Pakistan's hundred with his second, swiping a sweep into the long pasture at cow corner. Rashid shakes his head but smiles, knowing it was premeditated and all bottom hand. Could have gone anywhere as he had to stretch to fetch it but he middled it.
Willey is coming back on.
G leeson is back on after the drinks break. David Gower is on the world feed alongside Wasim and Waqar and Mark Butcher. He is currently asking KFC to be more generous in their offer to the flood relief charities.
Rizwan shovels a single down to fine leg, Rashid, who is called into action twice more as Gleeson takes the pace off and bangs it into the pitch. All hoicks and controlled pulls into the legside. Six singles off the over, which counts as a triumph.
This is a very high scoring ground. There were five scores above 200 in the recent PSL, so 10 an over may well be within reach. The pitch is flat, not a blade of grass and the outfield quick. During training the dew started to settle around 9pm, so half an hour into play tonight. Bowling second with a wet ball will be difficult.
H ow to silence a packed house? Bamboozle and castle the captain and hometown hero. Haider Ali pushes two through cover but well-placed fielders at extra and short fine leg thwart his other two strokes. Three dot balls and a wicket for Rashid, as England, collectively, dare to exhale ... momentarily at least.
B abar b Rashid 31 That's why Adil is the best white-ball spinner in the game. He lowered his arm, skidded a googly through and Babar played down Piccadilly as the ball went down Bakerloo. FOW 85/1
S pin from both ends: Moeen brings himself on, bowling round the wicket with his right-arm off-breaks to the two right-handers. Babar uses the angle to poke a single square, Rizwan sweeps, not altogether convincingly, for two and then flicks a single through midwicket.
Babar plays an off-break on the back foot and edges it ... just wide of Salt and they run a single. Rizwan gets back on to the dance floor, striding down and dumping a drive into the crowd at long on for the first six of the match. That's his 50, off 32 balls.
I t might look leaky on paper but it's a matter of degree. Pakistan take Rashid for four singles (and he adds a wide with one speared into leg stump) but none of them from the middle of the bat and then Rizwan top edges a sweep and hares two as the ball loops over the keeper's head.
C urran comes back, sees Rizwan chassé-ing towards him, drags his length back and tries to tie him up on his hip but the right-hander has all the time in the world to adjust and flip it off his thighpad for four from three yards down.
They exchange singles, Curran comes round the wicket and Rizwan uses his feet again to crunch a drive past mid-off for four.
Time for Rashid. Can he apply the brakes?
R izwan uses his feet to climb into Wood, creaming a straightish drive for four. Some hope for England in that Rameez Raja says the pitch is so slow, in a couple of overs the batsmen will find it harder work to manipulate the ball once it goes a bit softer.
Rizwan works a single off middle, Babar plays tip and run to mid-off who is as deep as he possibly can be in the circle and they turn one into two with speed and a dive after Rizwan flicks two more to the midwicket sweeper.
A nd Gleeson is quicker still, hitting high eighties and skidding it on. A dot ball and two singles are gleaned as they try to calibrate their timing and then Rizwan plays a gorgeous stroke, flicking a fast, straight, full one through midwicket, rifling it to the boundary for four.
Pakistan are motoring! 🇵🇰 Back-to-back fours for Rizwan 🤤#PAKvENG pic.twitter.com/6OvU9GmKWA
L uke Wood comes on for his first over in international cricket. Fine stop by Brook at cover saves a single. Wood dares to bowl fuller than Curran and Willey and gets his reward with a dot ball and three singles before rapping Rizwan on the knee. Big appeal but it pitched outside leg. He's by far the quickest of the three left-armers which probably explains why they can take him only for four singles. Good start. Fast bowlers on this ground have a T20 economy rate greater than nine.
S erious tap for Willey: Babar drives him for three off the back foot through extra cover, Hales saving the boundary; Rizwan scythes the shorter one for four behind point then shovels the next ball off his hip for four more as Willey gropes for the right line, having wisely given up on a good length. He isn't bowling badly. He has nothing to work with against two of the top 10 white-ball batsmen in world cricket on a road.
Babar smacks four more off the back foot through mid-off with an impeccably timed punch drive then flaps a single through midwicket but the fielder is back on the fence and unable to take advantage of the uppish flick.
S am Curran takes the other new ball. No swing from this end either but he pushes it wider and Rizwan meets it with the inner half of his bat, fencing it back to the bowler. Point cuts off a single to make it two dot balls in a row. England now have a short backward point and a gully to cut off the dab and steer down to third man. Fourth time lucky for Rizwan who buys the time to run by knocking the next delivery from up on his toes into the ground and makes point cover 10 yards to get it, by which time he's almost home for his single.
After a fair start, Curran gives Babar a pie, a legside long hop on his hip that he tucks away for four followed by a clip down to point for one.
This pitch is a belter for batting.
W illey starts full, hardly any shape and Rizwan whips it throughs square leg for a single. The next ball is a replica, Babar walks across and whisks it for four through midwicket. My word this pitch is slow. Willey brings his length back and Rizwan jabs it down into the pitch and pinches a single.
Babar slices a push, deliberately to point for a single and they take him on again successfully next ball for another. Larcenous but very good running by these two who seem to be able to take a single at least off every ball.
Rizwan milks the last ball for a single, too, working it off middle and leg past the square leg umpire.
W ill open the bowling.
J ust the three left-arm quicks in England's side today – Wood, Willey and Curran – but the best of them, Reece Topley, is with the squad but still resting.
England are wearing black armbands.
Big crowd making a very pleasing racket as the openers walk out.
Rousing rendition of the Pakistan national anthem with fans holding up their phones for added light show pic.twitter.com/TKEDtnr4nv
T he silence is for the victims of Pakistan's floods and the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Pakistan are wearing shirts that will be auctioned to raise funds for the victims of the floods.
B y Nick Hoult in Karachi
Ahsan Raza was the umpire shot and badly hurt in the terrorist attack ont he Sri Lanka team in Lahore in 2009. He is the third umpire for tonight’s game and will be in the middle later in the series. He proudly showed me his scars earlier, one in his midriff, the other his calf. He says he can stand now without pain, handy when umpiring. He needed 20 pints of blood and 80 stitches to save his life.
P akistan Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Haider Ali, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Khushdil Shah, Usman Qadir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani.
Umpires Aleem Dar and Asif Yaqoob
E nglandAlex Hales, Phil Salt (wk), Dawid Malan, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali (capt), Sam Curran, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood, Richard Gleeson.
A nd Moeen has put Pakistan in to bat.
T here is a temporary press box on the roof of the stand for the English press corps (all four of us) which gives a birdseye view of the action – reminds me of the MCG, it is that high.
From here though you can see the ferris wheel on Clifton Beach and snipers – in teams of three – stood on the top of buildings that overlook the National Stadium.
N ick Houltreports from Karachi:
Spidercam was due to be a broadcaster’s tool in this series but it has been removed at the National Stadium in karachi so the police helicopter can land in case of an incident. The wires that hold spidercam attach to the floodlights and stretch across the playing area when in use. But in case of an emergency a police helicopter needs to be able to land on the outfield and take players and officials away.
L uke Wood, the 27-year-old left-arm quick who plays for Lancs and Trent Rockets after spells at Notts, Worcs and Northants, has been awarded his first cap by Jos Buttler, the white-ball captain who will miss the first four matches of he series:
P articularly through his binoculars:
Bird’s eye view of the National Stadium. Press box overflow on the roof pic.twitter.com/f1GpwMnQbW
W elcome to live coverage of the first Twenty 20 between Pakistan and England, the first match England have played in Pakistan since winning the fifth ODI in December 2005 by virtue of James Anderson's four for 48. Today, they will be led by Moeen Ali in his fifth match in charge of the side and it is the first of 11 games England will play before their opening T20 World Cup fixture against Afghanistan at Perth's Optus Stadium on Oct 22.
Harry Brook, Phil Salt and Alex Hales, who are all in the World Cup squad, will be given the opportunity to press their claims for selection for that opening fixture while Olly Stone and Ben Duckett will be given the chance to lay down markers for the future even though they will be going home when Jos Buttler regains his fitness and Ben Stokes and Liam Livingstone take their places.
Hales, returning for the first time since his official ban and unofficial exile were imposed in the spring of 2019, will play in his 61st international T20. It's more than eight years since he made that 64-ball 116 in the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh but he made the fifth most runs in the Hundred and in 26 Pakistan Super League innings since 2018, he has 895 runs at an average of 37.29 with a strike rate of 145.05. England will feel Jonny Bairstow's absence keenly but if Hales can get those long levers in sync on familiar pitches both here and in Australia (following his Big Bash accomplishments), they will have someone who has an even broader range of power-hitting strokes.
Pakistan have won all six T20s played at the National Stadium since the resumption of overseas tours but although the best all-round batsman in world cricket, Babar Azam, plays his domestic home matches in Karachi, there has been mounting criticism following poor returns in the Asia Cup about his strike rate. Indeed Aaqib Javed, head coach of Lahore Qalanders, has been bold enough to publicise that his team's tactics when playing Karachi Kings is to keep him on strike and try not to dismiss him, "because he plays at his own pace and the required rate keeps increasing".
Babar gave that short shrift yesterday but it is the first time he has been the butt of something so seemingly disrespectful even if it comes from his franchise's most ardent rivals. "The main thing is to keep believing in yourself," he said. "People will talk regardless of how well you do, but it's best to ignore all that."
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