England crushed Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs in the first Test at Headingley, giving Joe Root a resounding start to his second official captaincy tenure.
The victory helped England shake off the turmoil that followed their defeat to New Zealand eight weeks ago, when Ben Stokes resigned as captain and head coach Brendon McCullum was sacked in red-ball cricket.
The match ended on Friday afternoon (day three) even after more than half a day was lost to rain. England added 43 runs to their second-day score, finishing their first innings on 409 runs with a lead of 238.
The hosts' attack kept up the pressure, bowling Pakistan out for just 135 runs in 37.3 overs, with Mohammad Rizwan top-scoring on 41.
Josh Tongue, who played the final of The Hundred just three days before the Test began, finished with 3-43, while Ollie Robinson claimed 3-29. Their match figures of 8-89 and 8-80 respectively were the best of their Test careers.
Pakistan lost their first wicket in the second over when Imam-ul-Haq fended a Jofra Archer delivery and was caught behind by wicketkeeper Jamie Smith. In Archer's next over, Azan Awais was caught by Root at leg slip. That catch, Root's 219th in Test cricket, moved him ahead of Australia's Steve Smith as the leading catcher among non-wicketkeepers in the format's history.
The next delivery saw Saud Shakeel edge Tongue to Dan Lawrence, who took a sharp catch. Shan Masood scored just 29 runs before being dismissed by Tongue, who narrowly missed a hat-trick when Salman Ali Agha blocked the following ball.
Pakistan lost another wicket when Ali Usman edged Robinson to Jamie Smith, the ball deflecting to Jamie Cox at slip. Cox then took another excellent catch to remove Khurram Shahzad before Archer wrapped up the match with figures of 3-50.
For Pakistan, their drawn series against the West Indies earlier this month now feels a distant memory. The clear difference between the two sides lay in the potency of the attack, the comfort of the batsmen in English conditions, and the fitness of the bowlers.
The second Test of the three-match series begins at Lord's on Thursday. Pakistan hope captain Babar Azam will return after recovering from a finger injury.
