England's Eoin Morgan hit his maiden Test century to help dig his team out of trouble and steer them to 331 for four at stumps on day one of the first Test with Pakistan .
Left-hander Morgan - who reached three figures with a six - came to the crease with England at at 118 for four on Thursday.
But he added 213 with Paul Collingwood, who was 81 not out at the close at Trent Bridge.
Mohammad Aamer had earlier claimed three wickets and was the only bowler to pose a regular threat, finishing the day with three for 39 from 19 overs.
Morgan's 125 may have cemented his name in the reckoning for the Ashes tour in November and served to illustrate the growing strength of England's middle order, with the injured Ian Bell still to return.
It also helped justify Andrew Strauss's decision to bat after winning the toss in overcast weather that eventually gave way to sunshine.
Glaring errors
Pakistan, seeking to avenge their 3-0 series loss in England in 2006, started well with four early wickets but glaring errors by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal as well as some wayward bowling meant they could not capitalise.
While Morgan's enterprising 182-ball innings, which comprised 18 fours and one six, was chanceless, Collingwood struggled for fluency but battled through.
He survived one chance when he should have been stumped on 48 when beaten by a ripping leg-break from Danish Kaneria, but keeper Akmal fumbled the ball.
Akmal, who struggled with his glovework on the 2006 tour of England and also dropped several chances in Australia in December-January, dropped a simple chance off Strauss when the England opener had scored 15. Strauss went on to make 45.
Morgan was at his best before tea, when he was particularly aggressive against the spinners Kaneria and Shoaib Malik, striking six boundaries in 12 balls at one stage.
The dry pitch is turning and showing early signs of uneven bounce.
Pakistan also suffered from the Decision Review System (DRS), which was employed in England for the first time.
The tourists incorrectly challenged two umpiring decisions to lose their two allocated reviews while England had two successful reviews and lost one.
Pakistan's players wore black armbands in memory of the 152 passengers who died in a plane crash in the hills north of Islamabad on Wednesday.