Well, I didn't see that coming! After England flattened Sri Lanka more effectively than the Lord's roller, the long-awaited return of Pakistan was meant to cement England's growing reputation in all forms of cricket. After the football team's humiliation against Iceland, surely there would be no embarrassment at the hands of a side captained by a 42 year-old yet at risk of being cleaved apart by the inclusion of a convicted cheat.
In the end, the return from the six-year wilderness of Mohammad Amir was a mere sideshow. Had his close-catching colleagues been less prone to fumbles, Amir would have had more wickets and the doubters - me included - would have had something to complain about. In the end, it was a cracking Test match. There were no five-an-over innings full of Twenty20 cameos. There were some entertaining innings, but for once the mix of spin and reverse swing tipped the balance away from the batsmen.
Yasir Shah is 30, playing only his second first-class match of the year. Yet his exuberant ten-wicket performance lit up not only Pakistan but the whole of Lord's. And he wasn't even the top wicket-taker! That claim belongs to Chris Woakes. I've long been a fan of Woakesy. He's been taking wickets and clouting runs for Warwickshire for several seasons yet seems to be written off by many. He's too slow, too predictable, not aggressive enough. Rubbish! I thnk what such critics mean is that he isn't a bristling, snarling sledger like Anderson, Broad and Stokes.
Test match figures of 11-102, including two five-fors, show that Woakes is no domestic trundle, even though he struggled in his prevous outings. He wouldn't even have played had Stokes' fitness been in doubt. England selectors now have a problem given that Stokes is back in the squad for Old Trafford, as is Adil Rashid and the recovered Anderson. Surely they can't omit Woakes? By keeping faith with Finn, does that mean he must play?
As for the batters, they had their moments. Vince played a decent second innings, as did Balance. However, it was the old guard who shone brightest. Alastair Cook became the most prolific Test opener in history in scoring 82, Younis Khan added to his considerable middle-order tally but the main plaudits went to Misbah-ul-Haq.
The captain has done so much to bring Pakistan back into the international fold, on and off the pitch, following the spot-fixing scandal six years ago. His unflappable temperament has helped no end, and he can still bat better than anyone. His first Lord's century on day one deserved the warm applause, and his amusing celebration of salute and press-ups endeared him to spectators even more.
The joyous reaction of the whole team, with the display of (almost) synchronised saluting and press-ups before their fans was a welcome sight, but not for England. They now have to regroup and hope that Anderson can reproduce the form he showed against Sri Lanka, and Root can deliver centuries again.
