Ghulam's debut century steadies Pakistan ship

It remains to be seen whether the Pakistan team selection, which before play had raised more eyebrows than hopes, was inspired rather than desperate but so far only one of their big calls has been tested and Kamran Ghulam was everything they could have hoped.

- Simon Burnton

The debutant enjoyed the dreamiest of introductions to Test cricket despite coming to the crease in a situation closer to a nightmare, his side reeling at 19 for two. The words slowly and surely could have been paired with his innings in mind, and he eventually fell towards the close, having scored 118 and helped his side to end the opening day on 259 for five.

Ghulam's selection came after an outstanding season in domestic first-class cricket, a couple of excellent innings in the recent one-day President's Cup, an English summer partly spent playing for Hoylandswaine in the Huddersfield League (he was dismissed once in six innings and averaged 244) and the complete collapse in the form of the former Pakistan captain and national hero, Babar Azam. The 29-year-old Ghulam has plenty of experience but he also had the largest possible shoes to fill, and the match situation as he strapped on his pads cannot have helped his nerves, but there was no sign of them as he settled into his work. His first 15 balls brought four singles and a lot of neat defensive work; he sent his 16th down the ground for six.

That was an exception in an innings that prioritised safety over ambition. His patience was particularly impressive, and in 224 balls at the crease it let him down only twice: once when, after a dozen dot balls in succession, he rushed at Leach and miscued the ball just beyond the reach of Ben Duckett at mid-wicket, and again when, after a run of 11 dots broken only by a single, he rushed at Bashir - a tired, foolish and instantly regretted decision - and was bowled.