England will be hoping that the off-field problems they are dealing with at the moment do not have any influence on what has otherwise been a promising start for Joe Root and the England management in the ongoing Test series against Pakistan. 

The Men in Green, meanwhile, have a very different set of problems to deal with. Their issues have been on the field, and they will need to address them quickly if they are to compete strongly in the next Test. 

Starting with England, they deserve a great deal of credit for their performance in the first Test. They will know that Pakistan were well below their best, but England can only play against the opposition in front of them. As a result, they will take a huge amount of satisfaction from the way they performed. 

Perhaps the most encouraging aspect for England, when they reflect on that game and look ahead to the next one, will be their bowling attack. There should be a genuine feeling within the team that the four-pronged pace attack is working extremely well, not only individually but also as a group. 

For me, Robinson is the key to that attack. His metronomic accuracy with the new ball has caused all sorts of problems for top-order batters. There has been a theme around England cricket for the last couple of years about pace, pace and more pace, but what Ollie Robinson is showing is that the most difficult ball to face can simply be one that hits the top of off stump with a little bit of lateral movement either way. 

Robinson has enough pace and enough nip from the surface to make that kind of bowling particularly difficult to deal with. As long as there is a little bit of movement from the surface, which Robinson is getting, he is going to cause all sorts of problems for batters. 

The balance within the pace attack also looks encouraging. Jofra Archer brings the extra pace, Gus Atkinson offers a combination of pace and accuracy, while Josh Tongue has been particularly ruthless whenever he has been given his opportunity. Tongue has not always been used in the early phases with the new ball. Instead, when the ball becomes a little older, he has generally done a terrific job of picking up wickets in the middle and towards the end of an innings. If required, he can also make an impact at the top. 

England therefore appear to have four pace bowlers who are working very well together. In Test cricket, getting 20 wickets is obviously crucial, and this attack appears capable of doing that. 

Where England could potentially find themselves a little unstuck moving forward is with the lack of a genuine spinner. Dan Lawrence is doing that job at the moment. 

I also feel that Sam Curran could eventually become a viable option for this English bowing attack. Curran is injured at the moment and will not play in this Test series, but he could provide England with a slightly better balance if he were to come into the side at number six. That is something they could consider moving forward. 

Away from the bowling, England also have some interesting decisions to make with their batting line-up. Jordan Cox and Dan Lawrence both performed well and scored half-centuries, but they will probably feel that they left a few more runs out there. The same could be said of Emilio Gay.

When you look at England’s top six or seven, four places are pretty much already inked in. Ben Duckett is there at the top, Jacob Bethell will come back in at number three, Joe Root will bat at number four and Harry Brook will occupy number five. 

That potentially leaves two spaces to be decided. Cox is also a wicketkeeper, which could keep Jamie Smith on his toes because there is now another option available to England. 

Of the players being considered beyond Smith, including Lawrence, Gay and Cox, I think Cox is the most exciting prospect moving forward. Whether that means he remains at number three or potentially moves further down into the middle order is difficult to say. But there is no doubt that he is a player with immense ability and talent, and he is certainly someone to keep an eye on. 

Root’s captaincy was also pleasing, although he was not really challenged during the game. That is likely to change if and when Pakistan improve their performance in the next Test. England will therefore want to see whether their captain can deal with a much more competitive Pakistan side. 

As for Pakistan, to put it bluntly, their performance was pretty awful. They were nowhere near their best, and they will be disappointed with the way they played, particularly with the bat. 

The top six or seven have a lot of talent and ability, but they need to find a way to translate that into performances. Assuming Babar Azam comes back into the side, Pakistan are going to have to reshuffle their batting order, and that could actually work in their favour. 

I would be surprised if it was not one of Shan Masood or Abdullah Shafique who opened the innings. That would allow Babar to come into the middle order, and I think that would strengthen the side all round. It would give them a slightly different balance and could potentially help them get more out of their batting line-up. 

There could also be other changes. Ubaid Shah is one option with the pace attack. I have been impressed with him whenever I have seen him in the Pakistan Super League, although stepping up to Test cricket would obviously be a significant challenge for him. 

Aamer Jamal is another option. As I mentioned in the last game, he can provide a little bit of batting as well as a little bit of bowling. That could be useful for Pakistan as they consider how they want to balance the side. 

But ultimately, the focus should not be entirely on the changes they make. The bigger issue is the performance they produce. Pakistan need to put in a much stronger display, regardless of which combination they eventually select. 

They will also be hoping that playing at Lord’s can inspire them. Pakistan have had a great deal of success playing at Lord’s over time, and perhaps that history can provide them with some encouragement going into the next game. 

There is also a little bit of rain expected around London next week, which could make life particularly tricky for the batters. Overhead conditions can have a significant influence on how much the ball moves laterally off the surface, and that could become an important factor in the Test. 

The pitch will also attract some attention. There have been some difficult Test match pitches at Lord’s in recent times, so both teams will be interested in what kind of surface they get this time around.

For England, the challenge is to build on what was a very encouraging performance. Their pace attack appears to be functioning well as a unit, their young players have shown signs of promise, and Root’s leadership has made a positive start. 

For Pakistan, however, the task is much simpler. They need to improve. They need their talented batting line-up to perform closer to its potential, they need to consider the right combination, and they need to produce a much stronger all-round performance.