England first slip Joe Root fielded at an unusual position in the cordon on the first day of the second Test match against Pakistan, at Multan.
Jack Leach’s early double-strike reduced Pakistan to 19-2 on a pitch that threatened to aid spin early on, but as Saim Ayub and debutant Kamran Ghulam settled down, the surface seemed to ease out. Though they played the odd extravagant stroke, Saim and Kamran did not show any urgency, and put on 149 for the third wicket to take Pakistan to relative safety.
England captain Ben Stokes, who missed their last four Tests (including the first game of the ongoing series) due to an injury, came on to bowl. Stokes had bowled only five overs on this year’s five-match Test tour of India, but sent down 49 overs in three Tests in the home series against the West Indies.
Here, on a pitch where Pakistan had stacked their attack with spinners and Joe Root had bowled his off-breaks before lunch, Stokes finally came to bowl in the second half of the second session.
On a surface with low bounce, Stokes did not bowl at a pace quick enough for the ball to carry to the slip cordon, but he kept threatening the outside edge. As a result, first slip Root stood at an unconventional position, ahead of wicketkeeper Jamie Smith. He also donned a helmet.
Root initially did not stand as close to the bat for the quicker Matthew Potts before making the same adjustments (including the helmet) for both ends.
Potts eventually got Saim for 77 an over before tea. At tea, Pakistan were 173-3 with Kamran (75) and Saud Shakeel (4) at the crease.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
