Pakistan v England: hosts test tourist's spinners in Abu Dhabi

But there was turn from the outset this morning once England turned to Monty Panesar, and then Graeme Swann.

Panesar was called into the action first, for the 10th over, in his 40th Test and his first since the start of the 2009 Ashes in Cardiff.

Despite a nervy start as he, like Swann, appeared to drop short too often in his early overs, it was evident almost immediately both would be in the game if they could get it right.

The key was to find a suitable length on a slow surface nonetheless already responsive to their skills.

Ironically, both Swann and Panesar struck with deliveries which did not turn - but batsman error stemmed from doubts sown by spin.

Swann had beaten Taufeeq Umar with turn and bounce past the outside edge on the front-foot defence before the left-hander shouldered arms in the same over and was bowled off-stump.

Panesar dropped Mohammad Hafeez, a sharp return catch low to his left. But that was irrelevant after the very next ball went on with the arm and bowled the same batsman middle-and-leg on the back foot.

England's decision to pick two spinners and just two frontline seamers, as they try to get back in this three-match series following their hammering in Dubai, was therefore already looking sound.

But Broad proved his worth by taking two wickets for two runs, again both bowled, in 13 balls soon after lunch.

They were close to action replays too, the ball snaking back into Younus Khan and then Azhar Ali - bowling the former off his pads as he shaped to drive and the latter through the gate.

The second success came with an especially good delivery which offered to swing away before jagging back just enough.

Two new batsmen therefore joined forces with just one run between them.

Misbah's response was to hit Panesar for successive sixes from the crease, and Shafiq also cleared the ropes when he went up the wicket to the slow left-armer.

There was much earnest defence between the big shots, though, as Pakistan's fifth-wicket pair adopted a necessarily patient approach.

They also had a moment of fortune each.

Shafiq got only a thin inside-edge to save himself when he was up the wicket again and went through with another attempted big hit at Swann.

Then, on 30, Misbah edged Panesar just wide of slip - where James Anderson was unable to react quickly enough.

Pakistan v England: Monty Panesar's comeback solid and reassuring but the hosts adapted well to his tactics

So, was Monty Mark II any different? Not significantly. His bowling on Wednesday, introduced as early as the ninth over - ahead of Swann - was still pretty mechanical. After early nerves, he settled into a reasonable rhythm, wheeling away on a persistent line and length, save the odd short ball, and got some response from the pitch. He was accurate.

Immediately after he grassed the caught-and-bowled chance from Mohammed Hafeez, he sent down a similar delivery which slid inside Hafeez’s bat as he played for a bit of non-existent turn. Panesar didn’t possess a reputable arm ball in his first incarnation with England, and, as he confessed on Wednesday night, this success was more by accident than design.

But he did produce one of the deliveries of the day: a beautifully flighted teaser, enticing the obdurate Misbah-ul-Haq into a drive which he edged as the ball spun sharply. Unfortunately the usually alert Jimmy Anderson was slow out of the blocks and didn’t lay a hand on it.

Maybe it was a sign, though. Perhaps it said that Monty Mark II will be more prepared to try something to get a wicket. In time we might see him vary his position on the crease, or scramble the seam in delivery to tempt and confuse.

It is a good time to be a spinner. Hawk-Eye and the Decision Review System have doubled the number of lbw verdicts they win and batsmen cannot just ‘kick’ away straight deliveries with impunity. But the penny is quickly dropping, and they are already evolving the way they play.

It was noticeable on Wednesday that Pakistan played everything with the bat, keeping pads out of the way, and avoiding the sweep. In future spinners will have to be cannier than just to plug away on the stumps and hope the batsman misses one. But as comebacks go, Panesar’s was solid and reassuring and there’s no shame in that.

Pakistan v England: Misbah-ul-Haq on a mission to stabilise hosts with calm, caution and cunning

Misbah is not as good a player as Inzamam-ul-Haq, a consummate hooker who would have dealt with Broad’s bouncers. But Misbah has something of Inzamam’s lordly demeanour, and he is a far more impressive captain.

Out of Pakistan’s spot-fixing scandal, Misbah is the best thing to have come – along with the virtues he has inculcated in his inexperienced team. While Salman Butt is serving a 30-month sentence, Misbah is serving his country.

In the process of winning seven and losing one of his 14 Tests so far, with an equally fine one-day record, he has brought a stability that Pakistan has seldom known, perhaps not since the 1950s. Their team selections and batting orders used to change for a pastime, or perhaps for a reason more sinister, but not under Misbah. Only his fourth bowler differs from one Test to the next.

The fact that he admits his age is 37 suggests, in itself, a basic honesty.

So many Pakistanis have appeared at ‘20’, and retired long before they have reached 35. But not Misbah.

His calmness may well stem from his perspective on life and having an alternative career. Born in Mianwali in Punjab, and from the same Niazi clan as the former captain (and perhaps future president) Imran Khan, he studied at college and got an MBA before he played first-class cricket, starting in 1999.

His combination of calm, caution and cunning must have soon become evident because he has been captaining domestic teams since 2001. He won a few national caps the best part of a decade ago, but did nothing of note, and was not picked for Pakistan between 2003 and 2007.

But his characteristics were just what Pakistan needed after the manic captaincy of Shahid Afridi and the criminal one of Salman Butt. Whereas Afridi bit the ball, Misbah bit the bullet and took Pakistan back to basics.

It would be an exaggeration to say that Pakistan’s cricket could have died of shame after the spot-fixing, but it could have wilted and declined, scandalous and homeless. But Misbah has stopped that happening, by averaging 80 as Test captain, and by his leadership. In his calm, cautious and cunning way, Misbah has been the most important cricketer in the world in the last year.