England completes memorable and record-filled test match with innings win over Pakistan

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — England notched one of its most memorable test wins as it beat Pakistan by an innings and 47 runs on the fifth and final day of the first cricket test on Friday.

Pakistan was bowled out for 220 inside the first session as Salman Ali Agha (63) and Aamer Jamal (55 not out) delayed the inevitable with their fighting half centuries.

Ill No. 11 Abrar Ahmed, who has been in hospital for the last two days due to a fever, couldn’t bat as Pakistan suffered the embarrassment of becoming the first test-playing country to lose a match by an innings after scoring over 500 runs in the first innings.

Left-arm spinner Jack Leach picked up all the three wickets on the final morning to finish with 4-30 after fast bowlers Gus Atkinson and debutant Brydon Carse had mopped the Pakistan top-order on the fourth evening.

Carse and Atkinson, who is playing his first away test match, took eight wickets in the match while Chris Woakes set the tone of the England win by clean bowling first-innings centurion Abdullah Shafique off the first ball in the second innings.

Resuming on 152-6, Agha and Jamal resisted for an hour and stretched their partnership to 109 before Leach struck in his first over when he had Agha trapped leg before wicket off a straight delivery.

Leach then finished off the tail quickly by grabbing a stunning low return catch of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah was stumped after hitting the left-arm spinner for a straight six.

England had broken number of test records when it amassed 823-7 declared on the back of Harry Brook’s belligerent triple century and Joe Root’s impeccable 262 in reply to Pakistan’s first innings score of 556.

On Wednesday, Root also became England’s highest test run-scorer. He surpassed Alastair Cook as England’s leading run-scorer and batted with lot of determination in a record 454-run partnership with Brook in intense heat of Multan.

“The fitness Brook, Root and the bowlers showed, credit to them for the skills and determination to put the team in a winning position,” stand-in captain Ollie Pope said.

Pope was out for a duck in England’s mammoth total.

“I smoked a pull shot straight to mid-wicket, but it’s a team game and we’re on the right side of the performance,” Pope said.

Pope, who led the side in the first test in the absence of injured Ben Stokes, praised pace bowler Carse in his debut test and Leach, who made a comeback to test cricket after injury.

“Brydon on debut was awesome, charged with a lot of heart,” Pope said. “The way Jack Leach bowled, coming back into the side, fits right in and taking crucial wickets.

Pakistan's woeful run in test cricket continued with skipper Shan Masood losing his sixth successive test since being elevated as captain last year. It was also Pakistan’s seventh loss at home in 11 test matches with the last win coming against South Africa in February 2021.

“Harsh reality is that England found a way and we didn’t," Masood said. “No matter what the pitch is, quality sides will find a way and for us the learning is to find a way when we play test cricket."

Masood said his team is again demoralized after losing 3-0 to Australia, 2-0 to Bangladesh at home and collapsing in the testing hot weather of Multan against England.

“We’re hurt by the results, we’re hurt as a nation, we’re not getting the results that Pakistan cricket deserves. We have to get this right as a squad.”

The second test begins at Multan from next Tuesday with the final test scheduled for Rawalpindi from Oct. 24.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

England's Joe Root, center, and teammates walk off the field after winning the first test cricket match against Pakistan, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Ollie Pope, left, and teammates walk off the field after winning the first test cricket match against Pakistan, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Zak Crawley, right, and teammates acknowledge crowd as they walk off the field after winning the first test cricket match against Pakistan, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

English fans cheer for their team on the end of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Ollie Pope, left, and teammates are congratulated each others after winning the first test cricket match against Pakistan, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Jamie Smith, left, removes bails to stump out to Pakistan's Naseem Shah during the fifth day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Jack Leach, center in glasses, and teammates are congratulated each others after winning the first test cricket match against Pakistan, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Jamie Smith, left, and Ollie Pope, center, appeal for LBW out of Pakistan's Salman Ali Agha during the fifth day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Jack Leach takes the catch of Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi during the fifth day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Salman Ali Agha reacts as he walks off the field after his dismissal during the fifth day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Jack Leach, left, celebrates with Ollie Pope after taking the wicket of Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi during the fifth day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Jack Leach, center in glasses, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Pakistan's Salman Ali Agha during the fifth day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Ollie Pope, right, and teammates are congratulated each others after winning the first test cricket match against Pakistan, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Jack Leach, center, celebrates with Ollie Pope after taking the wicket of Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi during the fifth day of the first test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

England's Ollie Pope, center, and teammates are congratulated each others after winning the first test cricket match against Pakistan, in Multan, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As residents fled, firefighters scrambled to corral flames churning along Los Angeles hillsides as winds gained strength Tuesday across Southern California, where forecasters said “life-threatening, destructive” gusts could last for days while toppling trees, creating dangerous surf and bringing extreme wildfire risk to areas that haven't seen substantial rain in months.

Fire crews responded Tuesday morning to a handful of small blazes across the region, including one that prompted evacuation orders for neighborhoods of large homes in the foothills of the Pacific Palisades area in western Los Angeles. The Palisades Fire swiftly consumed more than 200 acres (81 hectares) of dry brush and sent up a huge plume of smoke visible across the city.

The erratic weather caused President Joe Biden to cancel plans to travel to inland Riverside County, California, where he was to announce the establishment of two new national monuments in the state. Biden will deliver his remarks in Los Angeles instead.

The National Weather Service said what could be the strongest Santa Anawindstorm in more than a decade began Tuesday across Los Angeles and Ventura counties and peak in the early hours of Wednesday, when gusts could reach 80 mph (129 kph). Isolated gusts could top 100 mph (160 kph) in mountains and foothills.

The actor James Woods posted footage of flames burning through trees on a hill above his Pacific Palisades home.

“Standing in my driveway, getting ready to evacuate,” Woods said in the short video on X.

The weather service warned of possible downed power lines and knocked-over big rigs, trailers, and motorhomes. Strong offshore gusts will also bring dangerous conditions off the coasts of Orange and Los Angeles counties, including Catalina Island, and potential delays and turbulence could arise at local airports.

The Los Angeles Unified School District said it was temporarily relocating students from three campuses in the Pacific Palisades area due to the fire.

Utilities said they were considering preemptively cutting power starting Tuesday to about a half-million customers across eight counties. In recent years, California utilities have routinely de-energized electrical lines as a precaution against weather conditions that might damage equipment and spark a fire.

The winds will act as an “atmospheric blow-dryer” for vegetation, bringing a long period of fire risk that could extend into the more populated lower hills and valleys, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California, Los Angeles and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

“We really haven't seen a season as dry as this one follow a season as wet as the previous one,” Swain said during a Monday livestream. “All of that extra abundant growth of grass and vegetation followed immediately by a wind event of this magnitude while it's still so incredibly dry," elevates the risk.

Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there’s been very little rain so far this season.

Southern California hasn’t seen more than 0.1 inches (0.25 centimeters) of rain since early May. Much of the region has fallen into moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Meanwhile, up north, there have been multiple drenching storms.

Areas where gusts could create extreme fire conditions include the charred footprint of last month’s wind-driven Franklin Fire, which damaged or destroyed 48 structures, mostly homes, in and around Malibu.

The blaze was one of nearly 8,000 wildfires that added up to scorch more than 1,560 square miles (more than 4,040 square kilometers) in the Golden State last year.

The last wind event of this magnitude occurred in November 2011, during which more than 400,000 customers lost power across LA County, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“The grid is built to withstand strong winds,” said Jeff Monford, a spokesperson for the utility. “The issue here is the possibility of debris becoming airborne and hitting wires ... or a tree coming down.”

Associated Press writer Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

A firefighter tries to extinguish a fire as it damages a property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Heavy smoke from a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades rises over the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

Smoke from a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades rises over the 405 freeway in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

FILE - Flags fly under heavy winds before sunset as a plume of smoke from the Franklin Fire rises over the ocean Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes,File)

Tall palm trees sway during extreme gusty winds in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A tree blocks a street after falling amid strengthening winds Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Northeast Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Christopher Weber)

FILE - Marvin Meador walks on the remains of his fire-ravaged property after the Mountain Fire swept through, Nov. 7, 2024, in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)