Pak vs Eng Test Series: England’s Brydon Carse wrapped up the second day in Multan both knackered and elated for having survived the heat to take his first Test wickets. On debut, Carse had to wait for his first scalp till the 19th over, first seeing an LBW decision that went against Shan Masood overturned. He finally sent back Naseem Shah and Aamer Jamal, showing resilience in trying conditions.

“It has been toil and sweat over the last two days but I’ve loved the battle,” he said at the end of the day’s play to Sky Sports. “The boys said that these were some of the hardest conditions he was to face in his career. The heat presented a great challenge, besides the challenging wicket.

All this notched up a daunting total of 556 for Pakistan, and Carse felt that England’s disciplined bowling prevented the innings from going out of control completely. He said a few missed opportunities towards the latter end were taxing but only cost them a few runs. “There will be ice baths tonight,” said Carse, as he emphasized the focus on hydration and recovery after such an exhausting two days.

Carse was surprised at the lack of reverse swing during England’s long fielding stint. “We expected more from the ball, but it did not behave as we had hoped,” he said, hoping that the conditions would be better in the second innings. Looking back at his debut he admitted, “I thought my first-day lbw appeal was stone-dead,” but acknowledged the crucial moments that shaped Pakistan’s innings.

But Carse is an optimist, or at least he was after the brisk 64-not-out Zack Crawley’s robust start to the team’s innings left most of the visitors still within easy reach of their target. “We can put pressure on their attack and see where we stand by the end of the day,” he said, pointing towards a possible great turnaround.

As the day approaches for Day 3, Carse’s spirit will hopefully shine out, as he has so far shown to overcome the barriers of Test cricket.