Abrar Ahmed stars as second Test gets off to action-packed start

Abrar, a 24-year-old spinner, took the first seven English wickets to fall at Multan on his first day as an international cricketer

Multan (day one of five): England 281, Pakistan 107-2 - Pakistan trail by 174 runs with eight first-innings wickets remaining

Scorecard

Pakistan debutant Abrar Ahmed starred on the first day of his international career, dismissing all of England's top seven on a pulsating day at Multan.

Abrar had been left out for the first Test, when England made hay on a flat surface at Rawalpindi. That decision came as some surprise in the context of an excellent season at domestic level, and he made that move look more foolish as he bamboozled Ben Stokes' side who didn't take a backward step in response.

In a display typical of English Test cricket's new era, Stokes' men scored at almost six runs per over despite regular wickets falling.

Ben Duckett (63) once again showed his quality against spin, sweeping and reverse-sweeping at will, while Ollie Pope (60) did much the same. He reverse-swept his first ball for four and was eventually caught at backward point to the same shot, having successfully overturned an lbw while playing the same shot. The pair added 79 runs in just 10.1 overs – the best partnership of the day.

By then, Abrar had spun his fifth ball in Test cricket – a googly – through Zak Crawley's defences for 19.

^{Abrar Ahmed finished with figures of 7 for 114 in his first innings as an international cricketer (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)}

Between the dismissals of Duckett and Pope, Joe Root was undone by a beauty that drifted, pitched on leg-stump and hit him on the back pad as it turned towards off-stump. Six overs later, still in an extended morning session, Harry Brook holed out to mid-off.

The afternoon session began with a stand between Ben Stokes and Will Jacks, both of whom traded straight sixes, but Stokes was bowled by perhaps the ball of the day, a googly that took his off-bail.

Jacks was trapped in front shortly afterwards – a rare on-field call upheld on a difficult day for experienced umpires Aleem Dar and Marais Erasmus – at which point Abrar was on all for all ten English wickets.

But Ollie Robinson spooned a catch to Mohammad Nawaz off Zahid Mahmood to end that dream, with Mahmood bowling both Jack Leach and James Anderson as they attempted reverse-sweeps of their own.

Abrar finished with figures of 7 for 114 in 22 overs as Pakistan – missing Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah to injuries picked up at Rawalpindi – fought back on a surface that spun throughout.

^{Ben Duckett top-scored for England (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)}

So much so that Stokes handed the new ball to Leach alongside Anderson. It was Anderson who struck first, finding Imam-ul-Haq's outside edge to send the left-handed opener on his way for a two-ball duck, before a fine delivery from Leach did for Abdullah Shafique.

But Babar Azam, batting at No.3 after Azhar Ali was left out, played classily to end unbeaten on 61, with Saud Shakeel (32*) alongside him heading into Saturday's second day.