Ollie Pope’s captaincy was decent on day one of first Test opener against Pakistan as England settled in for a back-breaking day in searing heat, writes NASSER HUSSAIN
England and Ollie Pope did pretty much as well as they could on the first day of this Test. It was hard toil on a road of a pitch but I could not be too critical of Pope’s captaincy or his team as a unit.
On the last day of the final Test against Sri Lanka, I thought Pope over bowled Gus Atkinson and Josh Hull when they both had niggles. But he looked after his bowlers pretty well in the Multan heat.
The temperature was in the high 30s, it was back-breaking work, and with a bowler like Brydon Carse, who was asked to bang it halfway down, Pope could only afford to bowl him in short bursts. I didn’t mind the short ball ploy. It is something England use a lot under Ben Stokes. It scuffs up the ball and they then went to Chris Woakes to see if it would reverse swing.
Even though it didn’t, it was the right plan and they didn’t let their heads drop. Then when the new ball became available, Pope made the right call to take it, even with tired fast bowlers, to try and stifle Babar Azam. It worked, with Woakes getting a wicket late on.
Pope’s body language was good and he was imaginative with his fields. The only thing I would have done differently is put more fielders slightly deeper for Shoaib Bashir.
England and Ollie Pope (middle) did pretty much as well as they could on the first day of this Test against Pakistan
England are taking on Pakistan across three different Tests with day one starting on Monday
Pope is attempting to guide England to victory and is an important part of their batting lineup
Something Stokes did very well in the last series in Pakistan was knowing when to attack and defend. In this part of the world, you have to get the balance right.
When Bashir came on, Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique realised that if they could take him down, Pope would have to go to his fast bowlers and they were going to get exhausted quickly.
At that stage, Pope could have done what Stokes often does with Jack Leach — put men three quarters of the way back so batters try to hit over the top. That has led to a catch in the deep and happened on the last tour here a few times.
As for Bashir, he still needs to work on his control of length. For a finger spinner, he is not as consistent as he needs to be.
On this sort of pitch, your margin for error is minimal and if you don’t quite get it right, you will get put away. But obviously he is a work in progress.
Pope could have put more fielders slightly deeper for when Shoaib Bashir was bowling
Pope’s body language was good and he was imaginative with fields as England tried to limit runs
Pope could have gone for Leach before Bashir because he has a bit more control and experience. But maybe he felt slightly forced, with Bashir now seen as England’s No 1 spinner.
Overall, the day was a reminder that conditions away from home can be brutal. It is a test of mental and physical strength as much as it is a test of a skill.
In this part of the world, when it is not moving laterally, it’s not swinging, it’s not reversing and it’s not spinning, you have to out-think batters, get into their heads, set unusual fields and set phases where you attack or defend.
It is alien to what you are brought up on but it is the sort of challenge I used to love as a captain because it makes you earn your stripes.
