Graham Thorpe is two short of a century at Old Trafford

"He's shown us the talent and we've been waiting to give him the opportunity," Fletcher said. "We didn't want to rush him in.

"We've been patient with him and he's shown us he's got the class and batted very well."

Fletcher praised his side for taking up the challenge, after the early dismissals of Michael Atherton (5) and Marcus Trescothick (10) had left England poised at a delicate 15 for two.

"We played some positive cricket after being in early trouble," he said.

"When we were two down early chasing 400, it was nice to see that we didn't shut up shops."

Pakistan tour manager Yawar Saeed, meanwhile, confirmed that fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar had left hospital after the 25-year-old had been detained overnight.

"Shoaib had a fever yesterday and a high temperature," Yawar said.

"The doctor said he should stay in hospital for tests but now everything's OK."

Shoaib was not selected for the second Test.

His place was taken by off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq after an ineffectual performance in the opening Test at Lord's.

'The Rawalpindi Express' arrived late on tour after struggling with a stomach infection, but remains a part of Pakistan's plans for the triangular one-day series involving England and Australia.

England: A Stewart (capt/wkt), M Atherton, M Trescothick, M Vaughan, G Thorpe, I Ward, N Knight, D Cork, A Caddick, D Gough, M Hoggard.

Pakistan: Waqar Younis (capt), Saeed Anwar, Abdur Razzaq, Faisal Iqbal, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Azhar Mahmood, Rashid Latif (wkt), Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq.