Joe Root’s second spell as England Test captain got off to a strong start as his side bowled Pakistan out for 171 at Headingley, with pace pair Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue each taking five wickets. A lengthy rain interruption and a brief middle-order resistance from the tourists punctuated an otherwise dominant day for the hosts.
Root returned to the role after Ben Stokes’ surprise retirement in June and inherits a side searching for consistency after a difficult run of results. Choosing to bowl on a cloudy morning at his home ground proved an immediate success: Pakistan were dismissed in 48.1 overs and England finished the day 112 for 2 after 25 overs, trailing by 59 with Root unbeaten on 37 and debutant Jordan Cox 23 not out.
Play was stopped by rain from about 11:50am until nearly 1:45pm. Before and after the break Pakistan briefly recovered from 6 for 2 to 97 for 3 thanks to a 91-run stand between Abdullah Shafique (61) and Imam-ul-Haq (42). Once Tongue removed Imam the innings disintegrated; the tourists lost their last eight wickets for 74 runs.
Robinson finished with 5 for 51, Tongue 5 for 46. Robinson struck with the first ball of the match, trapping Azan Awais lbw for a duck — the first time a Test in England has yielded a wicket to the opening delivery in 19 years — and later had Shan Masood leg before. His dismissal of Shafique was particularly fine: the ball jagged in and bowled Pakistan’s top scorer. Robinson also beat Saud Shakeel with an lbw that the batter took too long to review and would have been marginally over leg stump.
Tongue threatened a hat-trick after tea, having earlier removed stand-in Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha (deputising for the injured Babar Azam) and Ali Usman. Khurram Shahzad denied the hat-trick bid with a crisp cover drive, but Tongue returned to claim Rizwan lbw and to bowl Mohammad Abbas, completing his five-wicket haul and ending the innings.
There were nervy moments for England: Ben Duckett was trapped lbw for 15 by Abbas, and Emilio Gay, promoted to open, made a calm 33 before edging to slip. But Cox and Root combined for an unbeaten 64 to see England close the day in control. Cox was brought into the side at No. 3 in place of the injured Jacob Bethell and impressed during his time at the crease.
Jofra Archer, returning to red-ball action, was quieter by contrast. He finished with 0 for 26 from nine overs and looked a touch rusty after recent white-ball focus, bowled for just two overs after sharing the new ball with Robinson.
There were also a couple of dropped opportunities for England: Gus Atkinson spilled a chance off Khurram Shahzad but later took a catch to finish the job. Robinson’s five-for was his first Test since the New Zealand series opener at Lord’s, where he produced a match-winning performance, and he replicated that control and accuracy here.
Tongue reflected positively on the day, saying the bowling unit had been strong and highlighting the importance of the opening session on day two. With poor weather forecast for Thursday, England may have to wait to press home their advantage, but they will resume with momentum and Root looking settled in his renewed leadership role.
Score summary: Pakistan 171 all out (48.1 overs) — Abdullah Shafique 61, Imam-ul-Haq 42; Josh Tongue 5-46, Ollie Robinson 5-51. England 112-2 (25 overs) — Joe Root 37*, Jordan Cox 23*, Emilio Gay 33; Mohammad Abbas 1-34, Mohammad Ali 1-38.
Test series schedule: First Test (Headingley) Aug 19-23; Second Test (Lord’s) Aug 27-31; Third Test (Edgbaston) Sep 9-13. All matches start at 11:00 BST.