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For all that Joe Root was playing his 167th Test match for England, and had led the side on 65 previous occasions, there will surely have been a few butterflies as he pulled on the blazer and walked out for the toss on his home ground.
Root was resuming what he once described as an “unhealthy relationship” with the captaincy, while a supposedly one-off return to the job earlier this summer ended in a crushing defeat to New Zealand. Aged 35, England’s premier batter could easily have said a polite “no thank you” when the vacancy came around again.
Yet Root appears to be driven by something more than just duty; a sense of unfinished personal business, perhaps. And if there were any nerves or second thoughts, they surely evaporated once Ollie Robinson struck with the first ball of the series to set in motion a one-sided opening day against Pakistan.
By stumps the match had progressed significantly. Robinson went on to claim his fifth five-wicket haul in Test cricket with a masterful display of wobble seam, while Josh Tongue picked up his fourth to share all 10. And in response to Pakistan’s 171 all out in 48.1 overs, England closed on 112 for two from 25, with Root 37 not out.
Plenty went for Root, it must be said, not least the coin falling his way to claim the best of conditions. The last seven Tests here have been won by the side bowling first and, while not as quick as some in recent years, the pitch was offering movement for any seamer who could lock in on the Headingley length.
Doing so is Robinson’s forte, of course. And after trapping Azan Awais lbw from around the wicket with his opening delivery – the first time a Test series in England has started with a wicket – Root’s metronome rarely missed a beat. As a result, the initial rustiness of Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson was scarcely felt.
One of Robinson’s victims here was a touch unfortunate, with Saud Shakeel too late in reviewing an lbw shown to be going over the stumps. But figures of five for 51 from 18 overs were no less deserved, while an afternoon spell of eight overs, two for 17, was also a positive as regards his fitness and old-ball prowess.
That Pakistan did not fold entirely owed much to Abdullah Shafique, who emerged at six for two in the fifth over – Shan Masood plumb lbw to Robinson – and top-scored with 61. But for all that he looked assured, Shafique was eventually made claustrophobic by Jamie Smith’s presence up at the stumps – a notable move by Root – and then powerless as Robinson jagged one through the gate.
Imam-ul-Haq, one of four Pakistan players to have played for Yorkshire, was probably the batter left with the greatest sense of regret on the day. The left-hander had been so diligent during an initial rebuild alongside Shafique that straddled an early lunch triggered by rain and added 91 runs for the third wicket.
But after struggling with an ankle problem that required treatment on the field, Imam drove loosely to slip on 42 to hand Tongue his first wicket. Unlike Archer and Atkinson, Tongue did not look like a bowler coming off a diet of 20 balls per match in the Hundred but rather the Test thoroughbred he is fast becoming.
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So much comes down to Tongue’s natural angle that, allied with nip in either direction, can turn defence into a lottery. Here he snuffed out any chance of a fightback from the lower middle order, his figures of five for 46 seeing both the stand-in skipper, Salman Ali Agha, and Mohammad Rizwan pinned lbw.
Tongue found himself on a hat-trick after a third lbw won against Ali Usman, only for Khurram Shahzad, first-class average of 10, to lace it through the vacant covers for four. But history still came Tongue’s way as he and Robinson mopped up the last two in successive balls. Not since Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar at Old Trafford 20 years ago have an England pair claimed five apiece in a Test innings.
Pakistan (the victims on that occasion also) tried their best to muster a response. Mohammad Abbas trapped Ben Duckett in front on 15 – revenge for an umpire’s call that earlier went the opener’s way – while Mohammad Ali squared up Emilio Gay with a beauty that flew to slip to end a breezy 33 from 31 balls.
But, in a final session that ran to 7.30pm due to the earlier downpour, that was as good as it got for Pakistan. Jordan Cox contributed a confident 23 not out in his first stab at No 3 as he and Root batted through to the close. At times it was tricky to tell the two right-handers apart, which says plenty about how the rookie fared.
As much as you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression and Pakistan are clearly a struggling side, Root’s return to the captaincy full-time began as well as he could have wished for. A first win in the job since 2021 – the one amid the notorious run of one in 17 – already looks like the likeliest outcome.
