The wizardry of Mohammad Abbas, England sloppiness and the excellence of Shan Masood... ENGLAND V PAKISTAN TALKING POINTS

NICK FRIEND looks back on a thrilling day of Test cricket at Emirates Old Trafford as Pakistan took control on the second day in Manchester

• Scorecard: England v Pakistan

England's tale of two sessions

Up until lunch, England went a long way to correcting the frustrations of the first day’s play; just 48 runs were scored in a morning dominated by the old guard. Stuart Broad and James Anderson, not at their best on Wednesday, were back on the money. Babar Azam and Asad Shafiq both fell in similar fashion, pushing forward to balls that nibbled away from them and edging to slip.

Chris Woakes, still by far and away the pick of England’s seamers on display in Manchester, picked up Mohammad Rizwan, who looked all at sea. Having been squared up almost at will whenever the ball shaped away from him, he was finally put out of his misery.

And with that, the interval arrived and all was good once more in England’s world. What followed, however, was an aberration – a completely unrecognisable afternoon effort that lacked any of the discipline and sharpness that had preceded it.

Make no mistake, Shan Masood and Shadab Khan took advantage, but England were awry in both strategy and execution. It has happened twice now in two days that the hosts have offered an almost reckless charity to their tourists after lunch.

While Broad and Anderson gave away just 11 runs in 11 overs during the first session of the day, they waved away 42 in their next eight. Even that, however, could not be considered to be the most puzzling aspect of the episode. With foot on throat and a new ball for the visitors to contend with in five overs’ time, Joe Root opted to begin proceedings after lunch with his part-time off-spin, with Dom Bess operating from the other end.

The five-over hunch brought 27 carefree runs, most helped on their way into the legside with little in the way of alarm. Add that baffling passage to a similar spell yesterday when England were forced into bowling their spinners in fading light, and the tally sits at 45 runs in two ill-conceived spells.

For some context, Pakistan’s fourth fifty had taken 137 balls to arrive, with their fifth coming up in just 10.3 overs. Should England find themselves on the wrong end of a tight scoreline, how they will regret their generosity.

^{Masood went to his first Test century against England}

An exhibition in batsmanship

Make that three centuries in succession for Shan Masood – against three different countries as well, a left-hander at the top of his game and a far cry from his former self who prodded and poked when Pakistan toured these shores in 2016, treating Anderson with a hapless bemusement. Then, he looked a man without a clear idea of where he was looking to score and how he might possibly survive. He was a fisherman without a rod. Coming into this summer, he averaged just 16 against England and 2.5 against Anderson, his nemesis in times gone by.

But now, only eight times has a Pakistani batsman faced more balls in a Test innings in England: Hanif Mohammad, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Mohsin Khan, Mudassar Nazar, Mohammad Yousuf and now Masood.

He is the same man but different: established in his side now as a senior player and talked up ass a future leader; captain already at Multan Sultans, his Pakistan Super League franchise. This time around, he left balls that he hadn’t previously left. According to CricViz, he let 20 per cent of deliveries go by rather than three per cent four years ago.

Barring two opportunities missed by Jos Buttler off Bess, it was hard to recall a single genuine error Masood made against England’s feted battery of seamers. But even against spin, he looked far more comfortable than in times gone by – his options were greater and his range of stroke-play more ambitious. Faced with one of the more limited tail-ends in Test history and having reached three figures himself, he twice belted Bess into the stands as he dragged his side past 300.

In November, he spoke to The Cricketer about the change in mindset that has facilitated his improvements.

“I reckon Steve Smith is one of the greatest players to play this game,” Masood said. “I don’t usually watch cricket on the telly, but I followed the whole Ashes 2019 just to watch Steve Smith bat. I almost watched each and every single ball played by him.”

^{Mohammad Abbas showed the full range of his skills, cleaning up Ben Stokes for good measure...}

And then Pakistan bowled…

You can’t say you weren’t warned. Pakistan are here on a mission: a high-class top five and a bowling attack for the ages.

If Shaheen Shah Afridi doesn’t get you, then you can be sure that Mohammad Abbas just might. Get through the opening pair and Naseem Shah – all 17 years of him – will be waiting at the door. Survive the threat of the quickest teenager on earth, and Azhar Ali has two leg-spinners to turn to.

But let’s talk about Abbas for a moment: an absolutely mesmerising exhibition in simplicity, a masterclass that just oozed with utter perfection.

Dom Sibley was his first victim, having already watched from the other end as Afridi pinned Rory Burns in front. Abbas set him up with five deliveries that just nibbled away from him. Sibley played each well enough, but all surrounded by an ominous inevitability. When the in-swinger was called upon, it scuttled past the hanging bat of a dumfounded opener and thumped into his pad. Sibley won’t be the last – he is certainly not the first. The only surprise was that he felt the need to use up a review; perhaps he simply wanted to watch it again, so great was its artistry.

But that was little compared to what was being saved up for Ben Stokes, England’s form player – according to several judges, the world’s best cricketer. He was left fending at thin air: a ball that angled in and nipped away, shaving only the top of the bails on their way through. Stokes was on his way without scoring and England were not only struggling at 12 for 3, but also left wondering quite how they might negotiate a bowling attack so deep in variation and skill.

At the same time, it didn't feel as though England had batted poorly, per se. Even Joe Root, caught behind as he looked to cut Yasir Shah, hadn't thrown his wicket away. Quite simply, a high-class attack was cornering them from all angles, and the hosts had little answer.

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