ENGLAND stand-in skipper Marcus Trescothick batted his team into a dominant position in the first Test in Multan today.

The somerset batsman made a superb 193 in his side's 414-9 - to give England an overall lead on 140over Pakistan.

Trescothick, whose only double-hundred came in the famous Oval victory over South Africa in 2003, fell just seven runs short of passing the milestone again.

He had hit 20 fours and two sixes from 305 balls - helping the England total on to 388 for seven - when he fell caught behind to a ball from Shabbir Ahmed which nipped away off the pitch.

But once he was dismissed, wickets fell like nine pins with Geraint Jones and Shaun Udal falling in quick sucession.

Trescothick batted through a third complete session in the course of his tour-de-force innings, sharing a stand of 93 with Andrew Flintoff as the tourists ploughed on to 371 for six by lunch in reply to the hosts' disappointing 274 all out on a docile pitch for this first Test.

Pakistan, who delayed taking the second new ball for 17 overs, had their hopes raised by two early wickets only for England to recover their authority after the loss of nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard and then Kevin Pietersen.

Hoggard managed just one run in half-an-hour's batting, before falling to a regulation caught-behind off Shoaib Akhtar.

There was a more serious blow to England's ambition just round the corner, though, Pietersen failing to spot leg-spinner Danish Kaneria's variation delivery and edging via bat and pad to short-leg to continue his run of low scores at the start of this tour.

Flintoff was never entirely convincing and would have gone for 27 had a throw from substitute fielder Rana Naved-ul-Hasan at cover hit the stumps when the England all-rounder set off for a faulty single off Mohammad Sami and was rightly sent back.

Rana fluffed a more clear-cut opportunity to see off Trescothick on 181 when the left-hander swept Kaneria to deep backward-square where the fielder failed to hang on to the catch, running in.

But just before the second new ball was finally taken, Flintoff gave his wicket away five short of his half-century to a Shoaib loosener - dragging an attempted big hit over the top into the hands of Shoaib Malik at deep square-leg.