Jeetan Patel: England’s ‘high-end toil’ keeps them in contention in first Test

England’s final-session fightback on the first day of back-to-back Tests in Multan was “a hell of an effort” which owed to their “high-end toil”. That was according to Jeetan Patel, one of their assistant coaches, who said that England were “pretty happy” with their position as Pakistan reached 328 for 4 at the close of play.

Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood added 253 for the second wicket after Saim Ayub’s cheap dismissal, and Pakistan had reached 261 for 1 early in the final session. But after the set batters – who both made hundreds – fell softly to Gus Atkinson and Jack Leach, Chris Woakes had Babar Azam lbw late in the day to give England a foothold on a flat surface.

“I couldn’t commend them any more,” Patel said. “I think the toil they put in today was high-end: the way they tried different things to take wickets, the different fields they had, the way they fielded. To take those three wickets tonight was testament to the work they’d done in the first two sessions. We’re pretty happy with how it’s ended up, with them four down.”

There was no shade from the sun at any stage in the day, and Patel praised England’s efforts in the field. “The guys were fizzing all day,” he said. “Back in the day, it would have got a lot of people down. But we talk about the positive moments … The guys went out in that third session knowing what they had to do, but also with enough energy to be able to effect it.

“I’m just really proud of [them] going through that. It’s pretty hot out there. It was pretty docile at times. We probably expected [the ball] to do a little bit more this morning. It didn’t, but that’s okay. We’ll figure it out, find out if it does the same tomorrow or not. But it was a pretty strong day for the lads.”

Patel suggested that a strong start to Tuesday’s play would leave England on top. “We always talk about putting two [wickets] on it: how does the game change?” he said. “Now you’ve got a nightwatchman in, so maybe we could put three on it… 350 for 7? We’ll just see what happens when we bat because we don’t really know.”

With James Anderson missing the start of the tour to participate in a pro-am golf tournament in Scotland, Patel found himself working with England’s fast bowlers in training ahead of the first Test. Anderson is due to arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday, after Brendon McCullum played down the disruption of his absence on Sunday.

“Two months ago, you guys were saying that he didn’t deserve to be a coach just yet,” McCullum told Sky Sports. “Now, it’s like, ‘We’re missing him’ – and I think that’s a great affirmation of how good an impact Jimmy Anderson has made in a short period of time. He’s got [WhatsApp] groups set up with the bowlers and is always feeding information through Jeetan Patel.

“We live in a world where you can still communicate without being face-to-face… I don’t have any qualms whatsoever. I’m absolutely delighted for him that he gets the opportunity to do something he loves doing and when he gets here, he’ll be right in the thick of it as he has done as bowling coach since he came in.”