England supporter James Davis is in Pakistan throughout England’s tour, not only for the cricket but also to find out more about one of Asia’s most fascinating countries. He’s watching from the cheapest stands, seeing the sights and enjoying the food. This is the first entry in his exclusive weekly diary for CricInfo.

Even at four o’clock in the morning when I arrived, I could see that cricket was pretty important to the Pakistani people. A young man came running up to me brandishing a piece of paper. It was his most prized possession – Nasser Hussain’s autograph. Cricket is everywhere in Pakistan. It is played on the streets; advertised on massive billboards; plastered across front pages; and talked about incessantly.

I watched the two warm-up games at the National Stadium in Karachi - good batting practice for England, but little else of interest on the field. All the talk in Karachi was of the appearance of the heartthrob of Pakistani cricket, Shahid Afridi, in the first of these matches. He has a fair bit of talent along with his good looks, as he holds the World Record for fastest One Day hundred in 37 balls. He didn’t make quite the same impact in this match. He went out to open the innings at 7pm (it was a day/night game), but returned to the pavilion two minutes later having faced only one ball. No one was particularly surprised as he had a wedding to go to at 8pm – his own!

The first one-day international was a wonderful occasion. Six hundred runs scored in the day and an England victory. I watched the game in the cheapest stand, after paying 40 pence for a ticket. In Pakistan you have to go to the Bank to buy a ticket for a cricket match – a very bizarre process as it involves having an interview with the Bank Manager! The atmosphere inside the stadium is awesome, unlike any sporting occasion I have seen. You sit on the concrete floor surrounded by twelve-foot barbed wire fences – it’s more like a zoo than a cricket stadium. The crowd goes mad whenever there is a boundary or a wicket taken by the Pakistan side. They shout, they dance and run around the enclosure waving flags and anything else they can get their hands on. They also applaud all good shots and fielding by the England team, with Nasser being a firm favourite.

Some of the crowd, although disappointed by the defeat, come up and shake my hand, congratulating me on England’s victory. They appreciate good cricket and are happy that they saw a good game with lots of exciting strokeplay. I make my way back to the centre of Karachi, sitting on top of a packed bus, and watch the fireworks over the stadium. Next stop Lahore – a long twenty hours away by train.

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