Test no. 2030: first day

When I read 192 all out this morning I thought that Pakistan had folded on the first day. Upon reading carefully, I realized that England -- the #1 Test team in the world -- had crashed for that low score.

Pakistan at 42/0. Effectively making England 150 all out. It's surprising to see the Pakistani openers survive for that long. Usually they crack under pressure and the middle order has to save the day but not today.

On a pitch that, initially at least, offered little assistance to bowlers of any type, England's top order folded as meekly as a shy kitten in a room full of alligators. All the brave talk about their new-found confidence against spin bowling was shown to be mere bluster. Whatever their success elsewhere, they have acres of room for improvement on Asian pitches.