Alastair Cook closed in on a half-century but England otherwise struggled on the opening morning of the NatWest Test series with Pakistan.

Out-of-form opener Mark Stoneman, skipper Joe Root and Dawid Malan all departed for single-figure scores inside the opening 70 minutes of the first Test at Lord’s.

But Cook, who survived a review for lbw on umpire’s call, reached lunch unbeaten on 46, steering England to 72 for three after the hosts elected to bat first.

Stoneman, who averaged just 16.42 during his first four matches of the County Championship campaign, was bowled by Mohammad Abbas for four in the fourth over.

Root – having survived a run-out attempt before he had faced a ball – also departed for four, nicking behind when chasing a wide delivery from Hasan Ali in the 14th over, while soon after Malan edged Hasan behind for six.

Cook has reached 50 just twice in his last 11 Tests but on both occasions he scored over 240.