England teen claims two scalps on dream debut

Eighteen-year-old Rehan Ahmed admitted he could not sleep the night before his England debut but finished the day with two wickets as Pakistan were bowled out for 304 in Karachi.

The leg spinner was brought into the side for the final Test of the series, handed his chance with the tourists having been without a wrist spinner since Liam Livingstone suffered a knee injury in the first Test in Rawalpindi.

England finished the opening day on 1-7 after Zak Crawley was out for a duck, but it was a day which belonged to the debutant as Ahmed, England's youngest ever men's Test cricketer, finished with two wickets for 89 runs across three spells.

England have already wrapped up the series following victories in Rawalpindi and Multan, but that did not take away from the magnitude of the occasion for Ahmed.

"I didn't expect to play. I just came on this tour to get better, but they've given me a chance to play," he said.

"I didn't sleep at all last night. I was very nervous before the first ball, but the whole day was good."

Ahmed first came to prominence aged 11 when he dismissed Ben Stokes and Alastair Cook in the nets having been invited to bowl at the national team.

But it was Shane Warne's approval after watching the 13-year-old  bowl in the nets at Lord's that convinced his father Naeem that his son was on the path to greatness.

"When Shane Warne saw him and said a few things about him, and that really meant something serious to me," Naeem said.

"It made me think, 'wow, if Shane Warne thinks this, then yes he is going to be something special'."

Ahmed is 23 days younger than England's previous record holder Brian Close was when he made his Test debut against New Zealand in 1949 at the age of 18 years, 149 days.

Having originally accompanied the squad to Abu Dhabi as a net bowler for England training camp prior to flying out to Pakistan, Ahmed impressed so much he was drafted into the squad.

Ahmed's first wicket came when he cleverly set up Saud Shakeel before the Pakistan batter was caught by Ollie Pope at short leg.

It was a first glimpse of the talent spoken about by captain Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum as he first beat Saud with a googly turning past the bat before following it up with a wicket-taking leg spinner that just took the edge.

Ahmed's second scalp came in the evening session when Faheem Ashraf was trapped lbw for just four, with DRS upholding the decision following a review to leave Pakistan on 7-237.

Reflecting on the day as a whole, Ahmed added: "I rushed a little bit in that first spell, but Stokesy didn't care about runs, he just wanted wickets.

"I've bowled at left-handers all my life as my brother's left-handed and I used the tactic I used against him. Googly then leg spinner and it worked."

Ahmed's day started with being awarded his Test cap by Nasser Hussain before he received a warm hug from his father Naeem, who was permitted to join the team huddle.

"Probably the best day of my life, probably the best moment (receiving his cap from Hussain with his father there)," he said.

"He's worked really hard with me throughout my life."

England have been on an upward trajectory, winning eight of their last nine Test matches heading into this contest, and Ahmed was delighted to come into a team riding the crest of a wave.

"I mean I think it's the best Test team that's ever played, so it's great to be part of it," he said.

Pakistan coach Saqlain Mushtaq, who played 49 Tests as an off-spinner, was full of praise for Ahmed, saying: "I really like his control and the most important thing is his confidence. The first game, the way he started his first over, he showed the first ball was a wrong-un one and that was brilliant.

"A young chap, just 18 years old and the first ball he's doing is a wrong-un one and that shows that he has a lot of potential. He looks a really good prospect for the England team in the future."