Four British tennis players scored hundreds of points on Thursday as the visitors set a record of 506-4 on the opening day of the First Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. Openers Zak Crawley (122) and Ben Duckett (107) set the tone with lightning strikes before a surprise Pakistani bowling attack before Ollie Pope (108) and Harry Brook ( 101 doesn’t go out) adds to their misery. Ben Stokes wasn’t out either, on day 34, when the bad light stopped playing, he helped England break the 112-year-old record for most runs on the first day of the Test – beating Australia by 494- 6 ahead of South Africa in Sydney .
After winning the pitch, England went straight into “Bazball” mode, the aggressive, free-kick brand taken from head coach Brendon McCullum’s nickname.
England’s fiery batting – with 73 touchlines and three sixs – dispelled the early gloom, which was balanced on Wednesday after several tourists contracted a mysterious virus.
As if the punishment from the top three wasn’t enough, Brook — just playing his second Test — broke six boundaries in a row when he overcame an opponent from debutant Saud. Shakeel.
He is only the fourth pitcher to score six consecutive touchdowns in a Test, after West India’s Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan and Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya.
Brook reached his first century with just 80 balls, ending a day of high entertainment for a crowd of 6,000, including about 150 “Barmy Army” fans.
Brook added 176 for his fourth bout with Pope, who fell to driver Mohammad Ali.
Pakistan had a short fight back in the second session as they eliminated Duckett, Crawley and Joe Root (23) in a span of 53 runs, but that was short-lived.
Debuting swinger Zahid Mahmood is Pakistan’s most successful pitcher with a score of 2–160 on a surface similar to that used in the match against Australia earlier this year.
That shot was declared “below average” by the match referee after it made 1,187 runs as it had only taken 14 hits in five days.
Duckett, who hit his first hundred points after being summoned back to the Test side after a six-year absence, was the first to leave as he missed a Mahmood back sweep and got stuck in front there.
West India referee Joel Wilson didn’t rule it out at first, only to change his mind about Pakistan’s review.
Duckett, who crossed 15 boundaries, scored 233 in his first game against Crawley – a British record for first game against Pakistan.
It beat 198th place in 1962 between openers Geoff Pullar and Bob Barber in Dhaka, then East Pakistan.
Crawley was defeated by Haris Rauf in the next match, the Test debutant’s first racket.
Tall Crawley hit 21 boundaries in his lightning 111-ball inning, his third Test percentile.
The former captain Root also fell to Mahmood, protesting the unsuccessful decision.
Crawley showed his intentions from the start, hitting Pakistani fast pitcher Naseem Shah’s three touchlines in his first game, and ending his half-century with just 38 balls.
He may have become the first English player to score in a century before lunch on the first day of the Test but is nine points short.
Britain is on its first test trip to Pakistan in 17 years.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the aggregate feed.)
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