Alex Hartley
Former England bowler on BBC Test Match Special

Image source, Reuters

Encouraging over with the ball, it is turning away from the batter.

Jack Leach has got a bit more out of the surface and he has bowled a better length than Shoaib Bashir.

England have probably had a chat at lunch on where to bowl and how to bowl.

I love how we spend so much time analysing the pitch, clouds, humidity et al in cricket. In that spirit, here's a close up of some cracks.

Image source, Getty Images

Kamran Gulam is as a compact right-hander. There doesn't look to be lot that could go wrong.

He has played nicely on debut here.

Shoaib Bashir's hand goes up onto his head after finding some turn and bounce. The ball skews away off the edge of Saim Ayub's bat but wide of captain Ben Stokes at slip.

Bashir pushes one wider later in the over but Kamran Ghulam climbs in to drive for four.

Stokes isn't bothered. He applauds Bashir's effort.

Alex Hartley
Former England bowler on BBC Test Match Special

Not as much spin for Jack Leach as we saw earlier on in the day. The spinners are going to bowl a lot in this Test.

It'll be Shoaib Bashir from the other end.

There's no real drama in the first over. We have said there has been more turn today. At no point has it been vicious.

Jack Leach is back into the attack after the break.

Alex Hartley
Former England bowler on BBC Test Match Special

I have enjoyed this first couple of hours, there's not been as many runs scored, but it's been a good contest with bat and ball.

Rachel T, always stealing the limelight...

The players are just heading back out after lunch.

I once lost a junior tennis match on my birthday, despite leading 4-0 3-0 40-0. The cake did little to improve my mood afterwards.

Ramiz Raja
Former Pakistan captain & ex-PCB chair on Test Match Special on BBC Sounds

Pitches and squares need time to prepare. The disappointing thing is it has been two and a half years and we are still getting the same [flat] pitches.

What is our strength? I have no idea. Who are the match-winners? We have taken out Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi.

It's Babar Azam's birthday today and he has been dropped for the team he used to captain.

Have you had a worse birthday?

Ramiz Raja
Former Pakistan captain & ex-PCB chair on Test Match Special on BBC Sounds

It is so easy to administer Pakistan cricket. The fundamentals have not changed for 100 years.

You have to have an eye for talent. You have to back talent.

What is happening now is there are so many power bases that you don't know who is controlling it.

Is the captain in charge? What about the coach? You give a team a strong leadership and stability, let them operate and then ask for accountability after the series.

You can't alter the DNA of the set-up by first opting for a pitch and attack based one pace and then switch completely to spinners.

Pakistan have used about 40 ex-cricketers' brains and you get this. It doesn't speak well of the intellect of some of these ex-cricketers.

Image source, Getty Images

We've seen more from the spinners than seamers today but the one England quick to keep his place from the first Test has been Brydon Carse.

He has bowled three pacy overs for just five runs this morning, on the back of four wickets during an impressive debut last week.

Jimmy Anderson had plenty of praise for the Durham quick on the latest Tailenders podcast, which you can listen to here.

“I just really like him," Anderson said.

"He bowls quick. He can move the ball and he's got that sort of action where he almost pauses in his delivery stride and then really snaps at the crease.

"It makes it feel even quicker for the batters when they're facing it.”

Srinivas Vijaykumar
Cricviz analyst

Image source, Getty Images

21 overs of spin in that session for England.

Since the start of 2006, they've bowled more spin overs in the first session on day one of Test on only one occasion (23 in the second Test against India in Visakhapatnam earlier this year)

Image source, Getty Images

Just joining us? It has been intriguing.

We are playing on the same pitch as last week, effectively making this a slightly re-energised day six surface.

The result has been trickier conditions than the first Test road.

The ball has been turning for the spinners and occasional balls are keeping low.

Jack Leach took two wickets, bowling opener Abdulluah Shafique with a beauty and having captain Shan Masood caught mid-wicket.

Since then Saim Ayub and debutant Kamran Ghulam, picked in the place of Babar Azam, have rebuilt nicely.

The score is 79-2 at lunch.

Thanks Sam. It has been good stuff, hasn't it?

On TMS during the interval you can listen to a dive into the troubles impacting Pakistan cricket on and off the field.

Ramiz Raja is ready to charge off his long run.

Worth a listen, I reckon.

An interesting first session, in which this used pitch has been under plenty of scrutiny.

There are signs it could get a little spicy later in the match but since the ball has softened, it has not looked hugely challenging for the batters.

For further pitch chat (it feels inevitable this week) and plenty more, it's time for me to hand over to Matthew Henry.