England v Pakistan: first mens cricket Test, day one – live

23rd over: Pakistan 71-2 (Imam 33, Shafique 30) England look a bit flat in the field. This isn't the time for the full short-ball ploy, but Root has tossed a eggs in that basket by placing Emilio Gay at long leg for a top-edged pull. Nothing doing in that over.

22nd over: Pakistan 70-2 (Imam 33, Shafique 30) Tongue, who has a fine record against right-handers, is already causing Shafique problems. He's squared up by an unpleasant delivery that rips from a length to hit him high on the back leg. Too high for an LBW appeal but a fine bit of bowling.

21st over: Pakistan 69-2 (Imam 33, Shafique 29) Shafique takes a quick single off Archer and is comfortbaly home when Lawrence's throw hits the stumps. Lawrence, always entertaining…

“No Courtney, no party, as far as that bowling line-up is concerned,†says Sean Clayton. “I don't remember much Windies cricket before the mid-80s but my gut still wants to go with Walsh, Ambrose and Marshall before even looking at anyone else…â€

I'd have him half a rung – okay, a quarter of a rung – below Ambrose, Marshall, Garner, Holding and probably Roberts. That said, if I was picking only two of those West Indian quicks to shoulder a crap team, Courtney would be first choice. Some of the never-ending spells he bowled at the turn of the century were incredible. My deputy will tell Sylvester Clarke.

20th over: Pakistan 68-2 (Imam 33, Shafique 28) Josh Tongue comes on for Atkinson, who bowled a mixed spell of 7-0-30-0.

There's a nice variety in this England attack, even though they have four right-arm quicks. Tongue is the bovver boy, or maybe the Paulie Walnuts figure, and he almost takes out Shafique with a sizzling second delivery that beats the bat and whistles past the off stump. A good start.

19th over: Pakistan 66-2 (Imam 32, Shafique 27) Archer concedes his first runs when a gorgeous on-drive from Shafique runs away for four. That brings up an increasingly assured fifty partnership with Imam.

After bowling an absolute jaffa from round the wicket to beat Imam, Archer overpitches and is clattered through the covers for four more. Risk y reward.

Imam pushes three more through mid-off to leave Archer with unusual figures of 4-3-12-0.

18th over: Pakistan 54-2 (Imam 25, Shafique 22) Imam cuts Atkinson for four to bring up the Pakistan fifty. They're going well now and I'm surprised Joe Root hasn't turned to Josh Tongue.

17th over: Pakistan 48-2 (Imam 19, Shafique 22) Jofra Archer replaces Robinson and starts with a maiden to Shafique. His radar is still all over the place, certainly by his immaculate standards, and Shafique was able to leave most of the deliveries. Archer's figures of 3-3-0-0 are a bit deceptive.

In other news, the PCB have just announced that Pakistan will host England and Sri Lanka in an ODI tri-series in October. Thanks to Ali for sending over the details of my next holiday. Urgh, I wish.

16th over: Pakistan 48-2 (Imam 19, Shafique 22) A half-volley from Atkinson is driven crisply down the ground for four by Imam, a level-headed player and an excellent judge of which balls to defend and attack.

Atkinson's spell has been a mixed bag – a few jaffas, as always, but no sustained rhythm. That's to be expected given his Hundred campaign only finished on Sunday night.

15th over: Pakistan 43-2 (Imam 15, Shafique 21) A terrific stat on Sky Sports: in Robinson's first seven overs, Pakistan's batters left only 7% of his deliveries. The interrogation continues when Robinson's straight his eighth over with successive nipbackers that Shafique inside-edges onto the body.

Robinson has mixed memories of this ground. He bowled beautifully when England beat India in 2021, taking 7/81 in the match, but a back spasm against Australia two years later ended his Ashes prematurely and put him on the naughty step.

14th over: Pakistan 42-2 (Imam 15, Shafique 20) Imam uses Fairy Liquid hands to ensure a thick edge off Atkinson lands well short of the slips. Better still, the angle of the bat ensures it flies through the gap for four runs.

Pakistan have played nicely since the resumption, and I reckon it's time for the kind of anarchy only Josh Tongue can provide.

13th over: Pakistan 38-2 (Imam 11, Shafique 20) A juicy outswinger from Robinson, his first really poor delivery, is stroked classily to the cover boundary by Shafique. This Headingley pitch looks pretty good, especially now that the sun is out. And Shafique has been impressively positive for a man who walked to the crease with Pakistan 6/2.

Shafique is walking down the pitch to Robinson to negate any movement, so we might see Jamie Smith up to the stumps pretty soon.

12th over: Pakistan 31-2 (Imam 11, Shafique 14) There are a few cries of ‘catch it' when Imam bat-pads Atkinson round the corner. The ball flies well wide of Emilio Gay at leg gully.

Atkinson ends a pretty good over by straightening an excellent delivery to beat Shafique's defensive push.

11th over: Pakistan 28-2 (Imam 8, Shafique 14) Ollie Robinson picks up where he left off, threatening both edges of Imam-ul-Haq's bat.

An outside edge lands short of the slips, then Robinson beat Imam on the inside and outside. Imam responds with a pleasant on-drive for three.

10th over: Pakistan 25-2 (Imam 5, Shafique 14) Shafique guides Atkinson past point for a couple.

Play is about to resume, with two balls of Gus Atkinson's third over remaining. These are the revised session times:

• Afternoon session 1.45-4.40pm

• Evening session 5-7pm (+30 mins)

Five! This is impossible… but I'll have Malcolm Marshall and Curtly Ambrose with the new ball followed by Michael Holding and Joel Garner. And as we have the luxury of a fifth bowler, I'll choose a wildcard: Patrick Patterson, who at his best was the fastest and scariest of the lot.

My deputy will break the news to Sylvester Clarke.

Never mind Headingley 1992, Andy Pechey has a more recent boy-on-the-burning-deck story.

My eldest was playing U15s cricket last Thursday, going well on 16 with the team 102/4 (plus one retired), when his partner ran himself out.

This left Al stranded at the non-striker's end as a Lancs Pathway leg spinner took four wickets in four balls, all clean bowled, to shut down a promising score. Cricket is a frustrating game!

In case you missed it, our cricket correspondent Ali Martin answered your questions last Friday. It's well worth a read.

Ali has been very busy this year: as well as the day job, he's been working on Chris Woakes' autobiography, The Wizard. It will be published in October and is available for pre-order.

I can't wait for this, especially the chapter on the 2023 Ashes. The Bazball era ended shambolically, sure, but that series alone made it all worthwhile.

But more rain is forecast, folks.

More Headingley 92 memories

“I remember Gower going in No 5, being stranded 18 not out and looking gently shellshocked,†writes James Brough. “As he said on another occasion, “The boy stood on the burning deck. Twit.'â€

It's one of the great batting collapses: 270/1, 292/2, 320 all out. Go on, treat yourself.*

* And then subscribe to DM Mordecai's channel, which is possibly the best thing on YouTube.

Conditions aren't quite fit for play just yet, but the covers are coming off and there will be an inspection in about 20 minutes.

“Neil Mallender's debut was indeed a very impressive one (I remember it well),†says Steve Hudson. “Looking at the lower half of England's first innings, though, also made me smile. Waqar was reversing it, clearly!â€

Just a bit. I think Graeme Hick was done by a booming full toss, after which the lower order was detonated. But Mushy played a part too, opening the door by getting Graham Gooch and Mark Ramprakash either side of lunch on day three (I think).

From memory that was the innings in which Ramprakash got out to a premeditated, one of the first signs that international cricket was starting to scramble a brain that had looked so clear during his outstanding debut series against West Indies a year earlier.

That 1992 series against Pakistan is an all-timer. I'd urge anyone unfamiliar with it to seek out the highights on YouTube, especially Lord's, Headingley and The Oval.

I'm off for a quick lunch break before the (potential) restart at 1.10pm. I'll leave you with Geoff Lemon's post-mortem on one of Test cricket's greatest upsets.

“You can gauge the age of a cricket fan by asking them which players they think of when they hear the phrase ‘horses-for-courses selection',†writes Darrieni Bold. “For me it's Martin Bicknell and Neil Mallender.

Who were both picked for the first time at Headingley! Mine would also be Mallender, who had a storming debut in his penultimate Test.

Tim de Lisle points out that Ollie Robinson has a peerless strike rate of 19.2 this summer. A wicket every 3.1 overs! It makes George Lohmann and Jasprit Bumrah look like a pair of impotent duffers.

It's a very small sample size, of course. And conditions at Lord's and Headingley have, like Mark Renton's opium suppositories, been custom-designed for his needs. But it's a pleasure to watch Robinson at work on the field – and to see him so at peace off it.

Sign up for the Spin!

On Thursday, the County Championship resumes for its final six-week run, charging towards 27 September with barely a pause for breath. It's tight at the top of Division One, with only 11 points between first placed Nottinghamshire and sixth placed Essex, while Kent and Northants prepare to elbow it out for the second Division Two promotion place alongside almost-inked-in Durham.

The players, on the treadmill since 3 April, and switching between competitions, are run ragged. But no one is as wrung out as the groundstaff, dealing with a summer of fiery extremes, five heatwaves, excruciating temperatures and barely a drop of rain across most of England. In the words of the Met Office scientist Mike Kendon, “the climate of the 20th century has now gone†but the cricket season is expecting to roll on by as if nothing is happening. The Spin asked three head groundsmen how they are coping.

The scene is much brighter at Headingley, it says here, although I've just noticed there's also a yellow warning for thunderstorms. Who ya gonna believe?

Lunch will be taken at 12.30pm, as predicted by Quasimodo over here. If the weather improves, Gus Atkinson and Ollie Robinson will start bowling again at 1.10pm.

“Test cricket is BACK, Rob (it's barely been away),†writes Guy Hornsby. “And I'm really happy for Robinson getting the two early wickets.

“I know Test cricket is eternally dying, but the run through to the WTC next year is mouthwatering. Stacked series across South Africa, England and Australia, and the likes of Zimbabwe playing more than they have for 25+ years.

“I know it's easy to get gloomy (rightly so), but I feel grateful for what we have right now. It may be the last era of it all.â€

“Eng looking for a new slogan?†says Eamonn Maloney. “For now, what about Tresco – every little helps? Perhaps the new era will herald the coming of a new style of cricketing communication, ‘The Flemish dialect' in which poor performances are explained away via unintelligible guttural sounds. Speaking of Flemish, Benedict Bermange sounds like a Belgian espionage operative.â€

“On John Snow's 7/40,†writes Krishnamoorhy V. “Any statement that starts with 7-for… instantly takes me to those 32 balls in which Curtly Ambrose took 7/1 against Australia at Perth,†writes Krishnamoorthy V. “Years later, when I saw Curtly Ambrose smiling and joking in a BBC documentary, I was like ‘this guy can smile…?'â€

If anyone fancies a lunchtime longread, I wrote a piece on that Ambrose spell for the book Supreme Bowling.

It's hooning down at Headingley, so don't be surprised if the umpires take an early lunch at 12.30pm.

It's been a mixed start for England. Ollie Robinson bowled a majestic spell of 5-1-12-2, but Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson had radar issues and Joe Root was talked into burning two reviews. They weren't howlers, far from it, but they did induce a slight feeling of deja vu.

9.4 overs: Pakistan 23-2 (Imam 5, Shafique 12) The heavens opened during that review and the players are running off the field.

That was an extremely good not-out decision from Allahuddien Paleker, because there was a noise and it was a very persuasive appeal from England.

Shafique is not out!

It missed the bat by a fair way. The noise England heard was the ball brushing the hip, but it was too high for an LBW. England have lost their second review of the morning.