IT WAS a tough job finding a taxi during yesterday's Tube strike, and an even tougher one getting the cabbie to drive you to the right place. ``Could you take me to the cricket please?'' ``Right you are, guv. Would that be Lord's, or the High Court?''
What with all the legal shenanigans involving past protagonists in Test matches between England and Pakistan, it was rather refreshing to find a contest going on in which the presiding judges wore white coats as opposed to black gowns and wigs, not to mention relief that England finished the first day of the series with 11 men still on the field.
Every time the 12th man appeared at the pavilion gate, the tension rose to almost unbearable levels. Was he about to run on with a sweater, a message from the coach, an extra dollop of zinc for Dominic Cork's nose, or a subpoena? Cork, of course, makes so many impassioned demands for the death penalty - in this case to Mr Justice Willey and Mr Justice Bucknor - that any case involving him would have to be heard in the appeals court.
Yesterday, though, war failed to break out between England and Pakistan. Bill Frindall has yet to be consulted but with a full 24 hours now having passed in the series, this is thought to be a record.
The only issue that might conceivably have concerned Sir George Carman QC yesterday was the press-box lunch. Given the nature of the opposition, the chef's decision to serve up pork casserole was not a great one, although he managed to dis- guise its taste so effectively that one visiting journalist bolted it down before someone told him.
Inzamam played spectacularly well, while, as is usually the case with Pakistan, one or two others made spectacles of themselves.
England's supporters, on the other hand, might well have caused the legal system to grind to a halt in recent years had they decided to sue for emotional damages. However, while it would be hard to make out a case for England being any more talented than they have been in four consecutive Ashes debacles, they can no longer be charged with waving the white flag when confronted by apparently superior forces.
On a flat pitch, and against batsmen as talented as Pakistan's, perseverance gained its reward, although, as has so often been the case, the day began not so much with patience as patients. Nasser Hussain and Chris Lewis were both forced to withdraw through injury, and anoth- er casualty - possibly the result of too much exposure to Lewis during Wednesday's trial run - was the speed machine clocking the bowlers' respective mph.
It worked at the start of play, and again towards the end, in direct contrast to Pakistan, who only worked during the middle. Mind you, they did so in such style that the only time there was the remotest hint of a Pakistani altering the shape of the ball was when Inzamam-ul-Haq launched Graeme Hick into the Long Room wall for the six that took him from 94 to 100.
Inzamam played spectacularly well, while, as is usually the case with Pakistan, one or two others made spectacles of themselves. Ijaz Ahmed, wandering outside his off stump and playing no stroke to a ball from Cork that removed his middle stump, looked about as orientated as Frank Bruno shortly after taking a biff on the chin.
England's bowlers were steady enough but were donated most of their wickets by a side who are a curious mixture of the patient and frenetic. It is in the blood. In Pakistan, they will queue for days to get a visa stamped, or a postal order cashed, but get them behind a steering wheel and you realise where Inzamam gets his footwork. Crossing the road.