England vs Pakistan report: Alastair Cook and Joe Root lay strong foundations on day one of second Test

The captain and vice-captain combined to lift spirits after defeat at Lord's

Cook and Root celebrate the former's century on the first day of the second Test (Getty)

At a time when England badly needed leadership, captain Alastair Cook and Joe Root, his deputy, provided it with composed hundreds that manoeuvred their side into a dominant position on the first day of this second Test against Pakistan.

England’s confidence had been knocked by their 75-run defeat in the opening match of this series at Lord’s last week.

But they will hope by the end of this contest in Manchester they can level up the series ledger at 1-1 after closing the opening day on 314 for four.

Root, after scoring his 10th Test hundred and first since moving up to No3 at the start of this series, may prove key to those ambitions after he reached stumps unbeaten on 141.

England have not lost any of the previous nine Tests in which the Yorkshireman has scored a century and it will take some doing for them to throw away this match from here.

The omens had been good for the hosts in the morning when Cook chose to bat first on a flat Old Trafford pitch after winning his first toss in five against Misbah-ul-Haq, his opposite number, stretching back to last winter’s tour of the UAE.

Cook then went on to score his 29th Test hundred, equalling Australian great Don Bradman in the process, before eventually being bowled for 105 by Mohammad Amir on the stroke of tea.

Root celebrates reaching his century as Gary Ballance watches on (Getty)

That wicket broke a 185-run partnership with Root, the highest for England’s second wicket at this ground.

Yet Root ensured the runs kept flowing in the evening session, even after yet another cheap dismissal for James Vince that will put the Hampshire batsman’s Test future under even more scrutiny.

Root had not passed three figures in Tests since England’s series-sealing victory against South Africa at The Wanderers back in January.

Indeed, his highest score this summer had been the 80 he made against Sri Lanka at Durham in May.

But after two loose shots that had cost him at Lord’s, he returned here with a far more circumspect approach to Pakistan’s attack – especially leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who had dismissed him twice in the first Test.

It was fitting then that it was Shah whom he steered down to third man for four in the evening session to bring up his first hundred against Pakistan, reaching the landmark in 157 balls.

Cook had spoken on the eve of this Test about how the key to countering Yasir was successfully negotiating the first 30 to 40 balls you faced from him.

England had brought in Saqlain Mushtaq, the former Pakistan spinner, to work with them for this match as they sought a way to combat a leg-spinner who took 10 wickets at Lord’s.

Patience and restraint appear to be the key, and both Cook and Root put those lessons into practice as Yasir ended the day wicketless and with 111 runs conceded from his 31 overs.

Both Cook and Root offer contrasting styles at the crease, the more prosaic captain complemented by his deputy, who even when playing within himself as he did here can still produce shots, especially his cover drive, that are capable of making grown men cry with joy.

What both possess, though, is substance, something that Vince sadly appears to lack.

His dismissal in this match for 18, when the platform was laid for him to produce a career-defining score, was typical of a batsman who appears all style and no substance whatsoever.

Ballance was bowled with the second new ball by Rahat (Getty)

Vince is fond of a cover drive, too, and when he executes it properly it is a thing of beauty. However, his temptation to unfurl it at every opportunity is his downfall and it was again here as he wafted at Rahat Ali and only succeeded in edging behind to wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed.

Players must be given time to adjust to Test cricket but Vince, who was also dropped at second slip on six in what is his fifth Test, might find himself out of the team if he produces another failure in the second innings of this match.

Vince’s departure left England on 238 for three but a 73-run stand between Root and Gary Ballance, who looked good for his 23 before he was bowled with the second new ball by Rahat, helped them end the day in a position of strength.

England had reached lunch on 95 for one after losing Alex Hales early on, the opener falling for 10 to a brilliant inswinger from Amir.

The Pakistan fast bowler, in his first series after a five-year spot-fixing ban for conspiring to bowl deliberate no balls in the 2010 Lord’s Test against England, had received a generous reception from the crowd in the opening Test.

Not so here, as a lively Old Trafford greeted his every delivery with loud shouts of “no-ball”. However, while that pantomime routine was classless, Root’s innings was anything but.