Pakistan vs England 2nd Test

England encouraged by early turn

As double acts go, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar do not appear together very often but they renewed acquaintances in Abu Dhabi today to give England a satisfying first morning against Pakistan at the start of the second Test.

It looked ominous for England when Pakistan, 1-0 up in the three-Test series following their 10-wicket victory in Dubai, won the toss and took first use of a benign surface, but Swann and Panesar both had a wicket to their name by lunch, Swann bowling Taufeeq Umar in his fourth over, Panesar dismissing Mohammad Hafeez in the same fashion in his seventh. Already, the nature of this contest - a large amount of spin bowling on a slow turner - looks set.

Abu Dhabi is the driest Test ground in the world, with less than 100mm of rain a year. What little moisture there was would have come from England's spinners salivating. Both found appreciable, if slow turn from the outset, emphasising that England's selection decision had been correct. Panesar looked slightly tense, pulling the occasional ball down short, but both he and Swann beat the outside edge enough to rally England's spirits.

Many other countries would have opted for two spinners without a second thought. The England management had stroked the pitch at length before play; stroked it, stared at it and finally accepted the inevitable. Fielding only two quick bowlers goes against the grain for England and they agonised until the final minutes but Abu Dhabi demanded it and Panesar made his first Test appearance since he stoutly blocked out for the draw against Australia in Cardiff 18 months ago.

Panesar came on as early as the 10th over; Swann joined him three overs later. The pitch was dry, England had men round the bat and Pakistan's openers defended with deliberation. Both fell to balls that slid on without turning. Taufeeq Umar was guilty of misjudgement as he allowed a ball from Swann to strike his off-stump. Mohammad Hafeez was undone by a quicker one from Panesar. He had been dropped the previous ball, Panesar failing to clutch a firm return catch down by his bootlaces, but if his sad-clown expression had returned it was only momentarily.

The pitch turned as if it was the fourth afternoon, not the first morning, but many judges expect it to flatten out into a sedate batting surface in the second half of the match. The nature of the pitches is likely to bring a call for Jade Dernbach as replacement for Chris Tremlett, who is flying home with a recurrence of back trouble, in the belief that Dernbach's greater variety could be an attractive proposition.

England's pace attack supposedly do not bowl looseners any more - loosening up properly occurring before the first ball is bowled - but James Anderson's first ball had an old-fashioned feel, a slow full toss that virtually announced in one delivery that this was no place for fast bowlers even on the days when the desert was a comparatively cool 18 degrees and there was cloud cover about. England fans instructed to show decorum and keep their shirts on needed little encouragement. Only Newcastle United football fans would have disrobed in such weather.

When Anderson experimented with a leg trap, the ball trundled down the legside for four. Taufeeq had one uncomfortable moment when he deflected a ball into his grille, seeking to turn the ball into the legside, but the pitch was so slow it rested against his face like a disorientated butterfly. Stuart Broad also found minimal encouragement. Time for the spinners, Andrew Strauss concluded, and it was not long before Broad and Anderson began to mentally reduce their likely number of overs in the day.