England lost Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler in quick succession as Pakistan took charge of the opening NatWest Test.

Alastair Cook’s 70 had steadied England after three of the top four all  departed for single-figure scores at Lord’s, but his dismissal shortly before tea sparked another mini collapse which left England 180 for nine.

They were 149 for four before Cook was bowled by Mohammad Amir, and Stokes and Buttler both departed within the space of three balls after the interval, before debutant Dom Bess (five) and Stuart Broad (nought) fell cheaply.

Stokes had made 38 before he fell to Mohammad Abbas after Pakistan successfully reviewed for lbw, and two balls later the returning Buttler (14) became Hasan Ali’s third victim when his attempted drive was nicked to second slip.

England had earlier won the toss and elected to bat but fell to 43 for three after opener Mark Stoneman, skipper Joe Root and Dawid Malan all departed inside the opening 70 minutes of play.

Jonny Bairstow, promoted to number five, made 27 before being bowled by Faheem Ashraf in the afternoon.