Alastair Cook recorded a half-century to help England rebuild after losing three wickets on the opening morning of the NatWest Test series with Pakistan.
Out-of-form opener Mark Stoneman, skipper Joe Root and Dawid Malan all departed for single-figure scores inside the opening 70 minutes of the first Test at Lord’s.
But Cook, who survived a review for lbw on umpire’s call, reached his 56th Test half-century shortly after lunch to take England to 80 for three after they elected to bat first.
Root – having survived a run-out attempt before he had faced a ball – also departed for four, nicking behind when chasing a wide delivery from Hasan Ali in the 14th over, while soon after Malan edged Hasan behind for six.
Cook had reached 50 just twice in his last 11 Tests but on both occasions he scored over 240.
