Pakistan vs England: Tourists and Ollie Pope look good on the opening day of the first Test in Multan

According to data analysts at Cricviz, the Multan pitch was the second flattest first day of a test in the world since they started collecting such information in 2007.

Across the three sessions, the swing of 0.47 degrees was the smallest movement in the air on day one in Pakistan since early 2022.

If there was nothing to encourage the sailors, the weirdos got little more. The turning point of 2.64 degrees was the second lowest opening day in the country over the same period. Shoaib Bashir has struggled – only once in his short Test career has he bowled more overs without taking a wicket – but Jack Leach impressed in his first Test since January.

Despite all the disadvantages, England persevered. The fielding was never anything but unreserved, the only mistake being Pope's miss at the stumps, although Shafique should have been out on 34.

That being said, Pope has done a good job of restoring Stokes' creativity, which was crucial to England's victory in 2022.

The bowlers were shuffled, the fields were made. Shafique's eyeline was flooded with catchers in front of the bat and he ended up hitting Atkinson to cover. Left-armer Leach played with his angles to get around the wicket to left-hander Masood and was rewarded with a return catch.

The only mild criticism was the excessive zeal towards bowl bouncers, a favorite tactic of England. Carse, who reached 90 mph, was asked to go to the short ball as early as the 15th over of the game.

Overall, 40% of the deliveries that Carse sent down were bouncers, 61% were not of good length. It's a plan that England often resort to with bowlers who have particularly high pace. Jamie Overton hit 34% bouncers in his only Test against New Zealand in 2022 and Olly Stone hit 33% in his two Tests against Sri Lanka earlier this year. While wood is faster and more skilled than the other three, it is not used as such a blunt instrument.

Perhaps the biggest boost for England was Woakes' late impact. He was quiet for most of the day, but he grabbed the second new ball to produce a quick backer that took out Pakistan's best player, Babar. It will be the fifth time the United Kingdom has had a different prime minister since Woakes' previous Asian Test wicket in 2016.

It was a worthy performance from Anderson, whose absence attracted much attention in the run-up to the Test.

England's bowling consultant played golf at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. If Anderson arrives in time for day two, he will join a team that can be optimistic after their first day performance.

In truth, unless England had asked Anderson to take the new ball, there seems to be little he could have passed on to the bowlers that would have made their job easier.

In the City of Saints, England coped well without Saint Jimmy.