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Ghulam’s debut century carries Pakistan as England stay in touch
There has been precious little for Pakistan cricket to cheer in recent months, but on the opening day of the second Test in Multan, Kamran Ghulam provided a moment of unbridled joy as he brought up a gutsy century in his maiden Test innings, to carry the fight for his embattled team.
Though he fell late in the day for 118, bowled by Shoaib Bashir as he looked to stay proactive with the close of play looming, Ghulam’s debut efforts helped to lift Pakistan to 259 for 5 – scarcely riches by the standards that England were dishing up on this very same surface last week, but the beginnings of a score nonetheless.
Despite Pakistan’s experience in the first Test, when their first-innings 556 ended up on the wrong side of an innings defeat, Ghulam’s resolute efforts – allied to a career-best 77 from Saim Ayub and an atypically entrenched 37 not out from Mohammad Rizwan – kept Pakistan on course for the sort of 300-plus score that could yet be competitive if their spin-heavy attack can take advantage of a pitch that had been heavily watered and dried with industrial fans in the four-day turnaround between Tests.
The danger for Pakistan, however, may yet come from the weapons that they won’t be able to deploy. Despite two early wickets for Jack Leach, who has now claimed nine in three innings on this surface to reassert his status as England’s senior spinner, their most pronounced threat came through a mid-afternoon spell of reverse-swing, excellently harnessed by a three-pronged seam attack. Uniquely, all three hail from Durham, among them Ben Stokes, who was back to lead the team for the first time since his hamstring tear in August. In opting to ditch both Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah for this contest, much will be resting on their lone quick, Aamer Jamal, if Pakistan hope to utilise similar skills.
All such considerations can wait for now, thanks to the efforts of Ghulam, who – at the age of 29 – was the second oldest Pakistani to record a debut century. He achieved the feat with a gleeful swing through the leg-side off Joe Root, after an anxious wait in the 90s that had encompassed the evening drinks break. A few more moments of delay could not perturb him, however, after more than a decade of service in Pakistan’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, in which time he might have assumed that his haul of more than 4500 runs at 49 would forever be overlooked.
His innings had begun at 19 for 2 in the tenth over, after Leach – thrown the ball early after Stokes’ quick assessment of the surface – had become the first England spinner to strike twice so early in a Test match since Johnny Briggs in 1889. His impact threatened another meltdown to match Pakistan’s fourth-evening collapse in the first Test, but Ghulam proved his mettle from the outset, showcasing his familiarity with the arid conditions and his faith in the methods that had finally got him noticed.
His first boundary was a composed launch for six back over Leach’s head, and in easing through to his first half-century from 104 balls, he recorded a milestone that had eluded his more illustrious compatriot, Babar Azam, in the 18 out-of-form innings that had resulted in his omission.
Ghulam had faced just two deliveries of fast bowling in his first 120, however, when Stokes brought himself into the attack midway through the afternoon, and the challenge instantly went up a notch. In his first over, Stokes found a fat edge that flew at a catchable height through the vacant slip cordon, and when a second edge fell short soon afterwards, Root found himself donning a helmet four yards from the bat in a bid to make any further chance count.
The breakthrough, however, arrived at the other end. Ayub’s reputation had suffered in this series, largely as a consequence of his hopelessly misfiring opening partnership with Abdullah Shafique, which at least reached double-figures for the first time in nine innings. It didn’t get much further, however, as Leach bowled Shafique for 7 to reduce Pakistan to 15 for 1, before Shan Masood clipped on the up to Zak Crawley at midwicket for 3.
In isolation, however, Ayub has been a qualified success at the top of Pakistan’s order, and this was his third half-century in four first innings, following his twin fifties against Bangladesh last month. But, with tea approaching, and England beginning to make the ball talk, Matthew Potts threatened his outside edge with a diet of hooping outswingers from over the wicket, before Stokes pouched a firm push through the line at a very straight silly mid-off (168 for 3).
After tea, Brydon Carse, energetic as ever, roughed up Saud Shakeel with an excellent short ball, then found his edge for 4 with an even better 140kph/87mph delivery that fizzed through to Jamie Smith behind the stumps. And England’s position could have been stronger still had Ben Duckett clung on to a loose slap from Ghulam, on 79, as he chose to take the attack to the returning Leach and almost paid the price at mid-on.
The value of Stokes’ economy with his seamers throughout a morning session was brought to bear in the evening, with Carse helping to keep Rizwan under the cosh for 19 deliveries without scoring before Potts took over and so nearly landed an innings-altering blow. His first delivery to Rizwan, on 6 at the time, zipped past the outside edge and into Smith’s gloves, but England declined to use a review – even though replays showed that the ball had grazed the splice of his bat.
England’s endeavours were worthy of another breakthrough before the close, and though he had once again been the weaker link in the attack, Bashir obliged with a critical strike late in the day. Armed with the second new ball, he skidded a good-length delivery past Ghulam’s tired charge, and clipped the top of leg to prise a critical opening that could yet make the difference in Pakistan’s quest for a serviceable first innings.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 259 for 5 in overs (Kamran Ghulam 118, Saim Ayub 77, Mohammad Rizwan 37; Jack Leach 2-92 ) vs England
[Cricinfo]
European leaders, including in France and Germany, have announced they are working on a plan in the event the United States follows through on its threat to take over Greenland as tensions soar.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio on Wednesday that while nations want to act if the US moves to seize Greenland from an ally, Denmark, they want to do so “together with our European partners”.
“I myself was on the phone with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday. He discarded the idea that what just happened in Venezuela could happen in Greenland,” Barrot said.
On Saturday, the United States – using fighter jets, attack helicopters, and special forces – abducted Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, bringing him to New York City to be tried for alleged drug trafficking.
US President Donald Trump’s decision to greenlight the abduction of Maduro led to widespread condemnation and fear that Greenland, which the president has previously said should be part of Washington’s security apparatus, could be forcibly taken.
But since then, European allies have rallied behind Greenland’s sovereignty, saying the country belongs to its people.
Johannes Koskinen, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Finland’s parliament, called for the issue to be raised within NATO.
“[Allies should] address whether something needs to be done and whether the United States should be brought into line in the sense that it cannot disregard jointly agreed plans in order to pursue its own power ambitions,” he said.
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, requested an urgent meeting with Rubio to discuss the situation.
“We would like to add some nuance to the conversation,” Rasmussen wrote in a social media post. “The shouting match must be replaced by a more sensible dialogue. Now.”
Denmark has warned that any move to take Greenland by force would mean “everything would stop”, including NATO and 80 years of close security links.
Greenland’s government will join a meeting between Rubio and Danish officials next week following renewed US claims on the Arctic island, its foreign minister said on Wednesday.
The European Union will support Greenland and Denmark when needed and will not accept violations of international law no matter where they occur, European Council President Antonio Costa said.
“On Greenland, allow me to be clear: Greenland belongs to its people. Nothing can be decided about Denmark and about Greenland without Denmark or without Greenland,” Costa said in a speech.
“The European Union cannot accept violations of international law – whether in Cyprus, Latin America, Greenland, Ukraine, or Gaza. Europe will remain a firm and unwavering champion of international law and multilateralism.”
Greenland – the world’s largest island, with a population of 57,000 people – is located between Europe and North America. Since 2019, during Trump’s first term, the president has raised the idea of controlling Greenland, saying it would benifit US security.
So far, Trump has not ruled out using force to take the island.
Rubio told reporters on Wednesday that Trump’s intention is to buy Greenland. “That’s always been the president’s intent from the very beginning.”
House US House Speaker Mike Johnson said he hasn’t heard talk of sending the military into Greenland and the US is “looking at diplomatic channels”.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and his national security team have “actively discussed” the option of buying Greenland.
“He views it in the best interest of the United States to deter Russian and Chinese aggression in the Arctic region. And so that’s why his team is currently talking about what a potential purchase would look like,” Leavitt told reporters.
Neither Leavitt nor Rubio ruled out the use of force. But Leavitt said, “The president’s first option, always, has been diplomacy.”
[Aljazeera]
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Landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Badulla, Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya
The Landslide Early Warning Center of the National Building Research Organisation [NBRO] has issued landslide early warnings to the districts of Badulla, Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya for the next 24 hours commencing at 1200hrs today [08]
Accordingly
LEVEL II AMBER landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Ududumbara in the Kandy District, Wilgamuwa in the Matale District, and Nildandahinna and Walapane in the Nuwara Eliya District.
LEVEL I YELLOW landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Meegahakiwula, Welimada, Kandaketiya, Lunugala, Badulla, Passara, Uva Paranagama and Hali_Ela in the Badulla District, Ambanganga Korale in the Matale District, and Mathurata and Hanguranketha in the Nuwara Eliya District.
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