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Tim Murtagh looked every inch the experienced pro at the top of his mark. Fit and trim, it was clear that this was a man who had delivered tens of thousands of balls in first-class cricket. His robot run-up is that of a man who had been coached to be the most efficient bowler he can be. And then at the crease he delivered medium-fast pace, the first ball, floated away from the bat on a yorker length. Azhar Ali seemed shocked by the full length and just clamped down on it, getting enough to squirt it to the onside.

Then madness. Imam-ul-Haq, who was yet to face a ball in Test cricket, took off on a run that never seemed necessary, or safe. It was the wild panic run of a debutant. And against one of the best-drilled fielding teams in world cricket. Two Irish players - Niall O'Brien from behind the stumps and Tyrone Kane from square leg - flew in with intent for the run-out. And somehow, because of the ball placement and Imam's running, all three found themselves occupying the same space. Imam's head and neck became the sandwich between Kane's torso and O'Brien's hip.

It was a crazy run; it ended up with a near-loss of consciousness for the man who called it. And yet by the end of it, Ireland were the composed ones, and Pakistan looked like the team of debutants.

For the best part of the next eight overs, nothing happened other than Pakistani batsmen trying to run themselves - or knock themselves - out. And then, in the space of eight balls, Ireland suddenly looked like a Test team.

Up until that point, they looked like a well-disciplined first-class side, and so they should, as they have 1254 first-class caps to Pakistan's 816. This is an old new side. Murtagh's mechanical mediums and Boyd Rankin's decent pace looked okay, but there was no real explosion. It was polite.

But then for eight balls it looked different. Rankin's angle into the body upset Azhar, and from the very next delivery, Murtagh got one to straighten on Imam. For the team hat-trick delivery, Haris Sohail found himself standing mid-pitch, pondering philosophical issues when he should have been worried about Stuart Thompson running around and firing the ball at the stumps. A few deliveries later, Asad Shafiq edged just short of slip. And the first ball of Tyrone Kane's debut over was a no-ball, but Pakistan still threatened to contrive a run-out from it.

                    

Michael Halliday, the former Ireland captain, has a broken pub roof tile on his mantelpiece. It is signed by Imran Khan. Because it was Imran who hit him out of Pagham Cricket ground when playing for Sussex against Ireland in 1977. Imran Khan made a hundred that day.

When Imran bowled all the men were behind square, especially when tailenders Halliday and Podge Hughes were batting. Hughes was fairly quick himself, but Imran was near his peak pace, and 20 miles quicker than most Irish bowlers. Hughes decided to back away when playing Imran, swinging hard and slicing him over third man. Imran just bowled quicker. Hughes was backing away so much, Imran had to bowl very wide down the leg side just to bowl at him. Hughes ducked, and the ball hit him and flew away for four leg byes.

Ireland had to chase 200. Opener John Short made 99, but it was Hughes at the crease again who got them over the line with three wickets in hand

     

After so little first-class cricket in the past 12 months, batting practice is what Pakistan are most in need of before the opening Test of their UK tour that begins on Friday. They were handed a perfect chance on a golden second day in Northampton and Asad Shafiq took advantage of the conditions - as well as two dropped catches - to make his 20th first-class century and hand his side a sizeable lead by the close.

Shafiq has not only the second-highest number of Test caps in the Pakistan squad but has played more first-class cricket than most of the touring party in recent months. By complete contrast, before last week's match at Kent, Haris Sohail's last domestic first-class match was all the way back in 2014. The pair shared a stand of 136 for the third wicket to set the day up for their side.

As preparation for the Test matches to come, this has been a true assignment for the tourists and they were kept in check for two-thirds of the day. Northamptonshire took two early wickets and had Shafiq been held by Ricardo Vasconcelos in the gully on just 13 - a sitter straight to the fielder at chest height - Pakistan would have been 70 for 3 and three of their top order left with successive failures to begin the tour.

But the partnership steadily built either side of lunch. Sohail, despite - or perhaps because of - his recent experience being almost exclusively against the white ball, was initially the more fluent of the pair. He began with a back-foot punch and a front-foot drive through extra cover before skipping down to Rob Keogh's offspin to lift another boundary over mid-off. And after being struck a nasty blow on the neck ducking a Gareth Wade short ball that didn't get up, he went through to fifty in 107 balls with seven fours.

A century loomed for Sohail but he produced a leading edge to point trying to flick Keogh over midwicket against the spin. Steven Crook took a smart diving catch and should have taken Shafiq's top-edged sweep diving in the opposite direction next ball. But the second chance Shafiq offered went down and he was left to dominate the day.

Shafiq made 363 runs at 30 in Pakistan's Quaid-e-Azam Trophy last season without a century but here took his chance to reach three figures. He slog-swept his second six off Keogh before clipping the same bowler to long-on to raise fifty in 98 balls. A steer behind point moved Pakistan into the lead shortly after tea before a fine sweep brought up his century, Pakistan's first of the tour.

Later, just when Northants had ambitions to limit the deficit after three wickets with the second new ball, Shafiq took three boundaries in an over off Wade with a leg glance, a fierce pull and an uppercut over cover.

But the innings of the day belonged to Babar Azam, who breathed life into a sleepy afternoon with a bright, punchy 57. Azam already has seven ODI centuries and could become one of world batting's stars. Three of his first four scoring strokes were boundaries and as he cut Luke Procter wide of third man to raise fifty in just 61 balls with six fours, the day began to drift from Northants. One hundred and forty three runs came in 33 overs after tea as the lead approached three figures and Pakistan achieved the solid batting day they had hoped for.

It did not appear that would necessarily be the case as both opening batsman failed. Imam-ul-Haq, having scratched around for 60 deliveries for only 11 runs, was beaten on the inside edge by Keogh to be trapped lbw and Azhar Ali, the most experienced member of the Pakistan squad, fell lbw to Wade. The wicket was just Wade's second in first-class matches, having missed the majority of last season with a stress fracture of the back. He said he enjoyed the challenge of bowling to a high-class batting line up but it was a challenge successfully met by Shafiq, Sohail and Babar.

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