Hasan Ali to Stokes and the bowler pitches one up for the left-hander to drive down the ground for four.

Another pitched up is also smacked back, this time even straighter, and Hasan is left shaking his hand in pain as he manages to stick a palm out and block the speeding ball from going for four down the ground. That was a stinger.

SHOT! Cook, striding forward, on the half-volley, drives the ball through cover for four. Majestic.

Hasan Ali - a right-arm seamer - is bowling around the wicket to Stokes, looking for that bit of away nip.

Appeals from Pakistan for lbw as Stokes advances and gets hit on the pad, but there's was bat involved too.

Applause from the Lord's crowd as Stoke punches the bowler back down the ground for four.

Opportunity knocks for Pakistan if they can pick up another wicket or two before tea as Faheem bowls a maiden. Drinks time.

First boundary from Stokes as he leans into a full, wide one from Hasan Ali and punches the ball through the covers for four.

Faheem back into the attack and... Booom!

WICKET! Bairstow b Faheem for 27. Eng 100/4 - YJB just missed it, beaten on the outside edge. It didn't seem to move that much, he just played down the wrong line and clean bowled. A big, big moment in this match. England tottering.

Here's Stokes, who gets off the mark with a streaky inside edge for one.

A loose, wide one first up from Hasan Ali, who is brought back into the attack, and Cook's eyes light up, but his crunching cut shot is drilled straight to the fielder who prevents a certain four.

No matter, though, as Cook does find the boundary rope with a push off his hips in front of square. Cook looks in the mood.

Cook also brings up England's 100 with another fine cut shot and this time the fielder fails to stop it dead, enabling England to pick up two.

Bairstow attempts to drive at Abbas and gets a thick edge to backward point, and he picks up two. That was a rare wideish one from Abbas, with everything else on the money.

Good running between Bairstow and Cook as they pick up quick singles and turn ones into twos.

Abbas to Cook. Dot ball (left), dot ball (left), dot ball (left), dot ball (blocked), change of angle, dot ball (blocked), dot ball (blocked). Maiden.

Amir, over the wicket to Bairstow, fires one across the batsman and the Englishman launches into him, striking the ball over the top of the inner ring of fielders and it goes clattering into the boundary hoardings for four.

Amir, stung by this assault, decides to go around the wicket. 

Abbas comes steaming in, he's bowling very close to the stumps, clearly looking for lbws. When he does try a bouncer, his radar is off and Sarfraz does well to get his fingertips to a high, wide one and take enough pace off it to prevent a four.

The ball is really zipping around out of the hands of Amir, his pace is up and he's beating Cook's bat regularly now. Cook is also leaving the ball like a pro, which is frustrating the bowler. Maiden over.

Smiles from Bairstow, frustration from Abbas as he bamboozles YJB with a ball that pitches and then seams a little, beats the bat and misses the off stump by a cat's whisker. Bairstow decides to attack the next delivery and has a waft at a wide one, but misses. Cue plenty of staring.

Abbas then puts one right in the slot for Bairstow to on-drive, on the up, straight face, skimming to the boundary.

Amir is getting in the swing now, quite literally, as he gets the ball to nip away from Cook's outside edge at the last moment. Unplayable.

Cook brings up his fifty with a thick edge wide of gully for four. Applause all round.

We're back. It's about Even-Stevens now, especially in these bowler-friendly conditions, thanks to this partnership between Cook and Bairstow.

Abbas opens the bowling after lunch... and his line and length are bang on immediately. The sky is a tad cloudy so it's a good time to bowl.

Bairstow gets a thick outside edge and the ball is airborne for a while as it flies past third slip for four.

More Amir, bowling over the wicket and looking to slant the ball across Bairstow. He nearly produces the perfect result as shape and seam off the pitch sees the ball fizz past the bat. That was sooooo close.

And speaking of close, Cook plays and misses too. The England batsmen are living a bit of a charmed life right now. AND THAT'S LUNCH.

We have legspin as Shadab Khan comes into the attack just before lunch and Cook bags a single, first ball, nurdled off his pad. Three more singles follow.

Amir is back for his second burst. He had four overs at the start of the day's play, but looks down on pace compared to the other seamers.

A flirt outside off stump at a wide one by Bairstow has everyone pursing their lips. YJB wants to attack anything wide but that was close, too close.

Beautiful, just beautiful. Cook, displaying perfect balance, shows the full face of the bat and drives Faheem back down the ground for four. That was textbook. 

And another gorgeous driver, this time through off, produces another four. Eight from the over.

No surprise that Pakistan are continuing with Hasan Ali, who's bowling round the wicket to Cook and extracts some seam movement off the surface, down the slope, that the Englishman does well to leave. He's hitting 88mph now. A single ends the 22nd over.

England's run rate is hovering around the 2.6 mark as Cook plays and misses again to Faheem.

Awwww, that is a thing of beauty. The bat may have turned in his hand a little, but Cook manages to punch the ball back past the bowler for four.

Hasan is bowling at a good lick now, regularly hitting 87mph. Both Cook and Bairstow are trying to make sure they get well forward to negate the ball's movement as much as possible. Hasan in particular is getting the ball to swing both ways. Maiden over.

Brilliant delivery. Unplayable. Cook can only smile after Faheem uses the slope to get one to cut the Englishman in half, the ball seaming between body and bat and narrowly missing off stump.

Hasan Ali to Bairstow and a cover drive through the gap, not timed but three runs.

Hasan follows up with an absolute beauty, the ball pitching and moving away leaving Bairstow helpless, dangling his bat and giving a knowing smile in acknowledgement that that was unplayable.

Pakistan are on top here and Faheem continues to probe, Cook picking up two runs with a thick outside edge.

Hasan Ali to Malan... FOUR! Pitches on middle, swings into leg and clipped fine for four.

WICKET! Malan ct Sarfraz b Hasan Ali for 6. Eng 43/3 - Having just been hit to the boundary, Hasan Ali adjusts his line and Malan nicks behind. That was the tiniest of edges and superb bowling.

In comes YJB. He leaves one and that was very, VERY close. It misses Bairstow's off stump by millimetres. Great leave and great bowling. Bairstow finishes the over with a clip for four.

Enthusiastic appeal from Faheem and his slips after Cook is hit on the pads. Replays show it definitely hit pad first and ball tracking says.... umpire's call. Ooooooo that was close, but Cook survives as Hawk-Eye reckons it would only have clipped the top of off stump. Not out. And Cook shakes off his close call by pulling Faheem for four. Great response.

Hasan Ali to Root and there are hands on heads from Pakistan as the skipper gets a thick inside edge. There was a hint of nip there.

WICKET! Root ct Sarfraz b Hasan Ali for 4. Eng 33-2 - Terrible shot selection as Root goes after a wide one, a really wide one, and edges behind. He should have left that well alone and he's kicking himself.

In comes Malan, and he's off the mark straight away with a gentle offering onto his toes that he can clip away for two.

Change of bowler as Faheem Ashraf - a medium pacer - comes into the attack. His first ball is full and floaty and Root punches firmly, but straight to cover. Three quick singles follow.

The sun is shining down on Lord's now and Abbas is bowling round the wicket to Cook, but the change of angle isn't working and his line is off. He might want to go back to over because Cook doesn't even need to play at these deliveries.

And the over ends in a four as Cook gets a thick edge and the ball bounces between second and third slip.

Hasan Ali to Root and there's a bit of wobble seam from the right-armer. Well left alone by the England skip, though. Another maiden. Good bowling.

Abbas continues, 83mph, wicket-to-wicket, getting close into the umpire, full length, making the batsman play and a bit of movement either way. Ideal for English conditions... and he nearly has Cook caught behind as the England opener plays forward and the ball nips off the surface, missing the outside edge by the thinnest of margins. And again next ball! Carbon copy. This a probing stuff. Excellent maiden.

Change of bowling as right-arm seamer Hasan Ali replaces Amir, who didn't look at his best. Hasan is a mid-80s bowler so it'll all be about what movement he can extract from the pitch.

Root wears one in the plums from a inside edge... ouch! The England skips laughs it off, though, after a quick rub. A quick single follows to get him off strike and enable another quick check that all is still in order downstairs.

Muffled cries for lbw as Abbas slides one into Root's pads, but nothing given and England pick up a leg bye. Just one off the over.

Root gets off the mark with a single into the covers. Cook once again picks out the close fielder with a lovely shot. Just one off that over.

Abbas is on the money at Lord's, his line and length asking questions. A maiden over although Cook will be cursing his luck that a sweetly-timed on-drive went straight to the fielder at cover, otherwise it was a certain four.

Consecutive boundaries from Cook off Amir, the first a clip off his pads through square leg and the second a thick edge down to third man. The second was as much a victory for the bowler as the batsman.

It's all action in this over as Root is also very nearly run out, Cook calling for a quick single and Faheem at mid-off swooping in... Root would have been a goner had the throw been any good. 

Early suggestions are that Abbas can swing it both ways as he produces a deliver that seams past the outside edge of Stoneman's bat. That was very close. And the next is even closer, a whisker away from the edge of the bat. Terrific bowling. Stoneman doesn't know which way the ball is going... 

WICKET! Stoneman b Abbas for 4. Eng 12/1 - Brilliant, brilliant bowling. Abbas put doubts in Stoeman's mind with two outswingers and then scythes him in two with an inswinger that goes straight between bat and pad and clatters into the stumps.

Off line from Amir as he fires the ball too far down Cook's leg side and the England opener is able to guide it down to fine leg for four.

But what a riposte from the Pakistan left-armer as, wider on the crease, he angles the ball in towards the off stump and Cook plays inside the line. That was close.

Cook, though, finishes the over on top as he produces a text-book cover drive for four. Sumptuous!

Mohammad Abbas - described by Wasim Akram as an English-style seamer - runs in at the other end and there are muffled cries for lbw first ball as the ball swings in to Stoneman's pads after he shoulders arms, but it was too high.

First runs of the day, second ball, as Stoneman, on the front foot, calmly pushes through the covers for four. Useful start.

We're underway! Mohammad Amir is handed the cherry and opens the bowling... and first up there's already a bit of movement as the ball swings away from Cook, but it' an easy leave. Deliveries two and three are more on the money and force Cook to block before a corker next up zips past the edge, producing "oooooohs" from the slip corden. Maiden over.

England will kick off their Test summer by batting first against Pakistan at Lord's.

Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed called incorrectly at the toss and England counterpart Joe Root decided to post a score first in the opening Test.

Openers Alastair Cook and Mark Stoneman, who both struggled over the winter, will get an early chance to bat under grey skies in London.

In England's remaining selection issue, paceman Mark Wood is preferred to all-rounder Chris Woakes in England's team for the first of the two-Test series.

Spinner Dom Bess had already been assured of his England debut while Jos Buttler returns to the Test arena for the first time since 2016.

The visitors have picked seamer Hasan Ali ahead of left-armer Rahat Ali.

"It looks on the surface like slightly bowling conditions, but it looks slightly dry underneath and looks to be beginning to crack."

"It's a great moment for Dom to get his cap this morning, and Jos is approaching it as a debut as well."

"We've gone with Wood... with the surface so dry, hopefully he can exploit the conditions later."

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed admits he would have bowled first, so the toss has worked out well for everyone.

Azhar Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas.

Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, Joe Root (capt), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Mark Wood, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.

England win the toss and will bat. Well, actually Pakistan lost it after Sarfraz Ahmed called heads, and it was tails.

The teams will be announced at the toss which, will be happening in a couple of minutes (10.30am). Here's what we think they will be...

England (possible): JE Root (Captain), AN Cook, MD Stoneman, DJ Malan, JM Bairstow (wkt), BA Stokes, JC Buttler, CR Woakes, DM Bess, SCJ Broad, JM Anderson

Pakistan (possible): S Ahmed (Captain, wkt), A Ali, I Ul-Haq, H Sohail, A Shafiq, B Azam, S Khan, F Ashraf, M Amir, M Abbas, H Ali

Umpires: R Tucker (Aus) and P Reiffel (Aus)

Third umpire: B Oxenford (Aus)

Match referee: J Crowe (NZ)

Interesting news coming out of India this morning, especially with India touring England later in the summer...

Virat Kohli's eagerly-anticipated stint with Surrey will not go ahead due to a neck injury.

Kohli, cricket's biggest global star, was due to play for the Brown Caps throughout the month of June in what would have been his first ever overseas contract.

But the Board of Control for Cricket in India has announced he is no longer available after suffering the neck problem in an Indian Premier League match last week.

It was a damp start to the day this morning, but it looks like the weather will improve and we should (fingers crossed) have an uninterrupted day's play. Here's what the weather has in store:

Hello and welcome to England' summer of cricket. Pakistan, Australia and India will all be visiting these shores over the coming months for either Test or one-day series. But first up, it's Pakistan.

Spinner Dom Bess makes his England debut in today's first Test. The 20 year-old's inclusion means England must choose between seamers Chris Woakes and Mark Wood to complete their team.

Captain Joe Root said of Bess: "He seems really clear about what he wants to do in the game and how to approach this week, and that's all you can ask for from someone making their debut.

"I remember mine, you just want the game to come around, to get your cap and get on with it.

"He's approached the week really well and hopefully he can have a good start to what's a good, long career."

A revamped England line-up also features Jos Buttler at seven as a specialist batsman, with Jonny Bairstow retaining the wicketkeeping gloves.

Root said: "We want a side that covers as much as possible, that gives us the best options we can have in each department.

"Jos at seven can be an exciting and integral part of our batting unit, to take the game to the opposition from a position of strength and make it even stronger.

"The way he approaches his white-ball cricket, I think a lot of that can cross over. He's got a good brain, a lot of experience in white-ball cricket and this is an opportunity to do that in Test cricket."

Bairstow is adamant he can handle the pressure of moving up to No 5 in the batting order as Buttler slots in lower down.

"You wouldn't be playing at the highest level if you weren't able to cope with the pressure," he said. "It comes with expectation as well."

England will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing winter in Australia and New Zealand.

Bairstow said: "It was a struggle this winter but we've had a chance to speak about it and work out ways to move forward. "Our record at home is very good and we need people to be coming here and going, 'OK, we've got a serious challenge on to win in England'."