Saeed Ajmal on Tuesday delighted in his seven-wicket haul that saw England slump to 192 all out on day one of the first Test in Dubai.

The Pakistan spinner, taking advantage of the opposition's poor shot selection and inability to read his variations, had his five-for by the fall of the seventh wicket and later dismissed tail-enders Chris Tremlett and James Anderson to cap his best figures in Test cricket. Four of his wickets were clinched with lbw decisions.

Last year's leading wicket-taker in the Test ranks by a long shot, 2012 is off to a great start for Ajmal, who finds himself sitting in 12th spot in the ICC rankings for Test bowlers.

"It's the best performance of my life," he enthused. "I bowled wicket to wicket, and there were a few bad shots as well. There was low bounce, and some of them played cross-bat shots.

"We're not surprised. We've been working on a plan, and we've bowled them out as per the plan."

In 2009, the 34-year-old slow bowler was reported to the game's authorities for an alleged illegal bowling action. Subsequently cleared for transgressing the permitted straightening of his arm, Ajmal continues to account for his oft-questioned right arm.

"I'm just concentrating on my bowling. It's the umpires' and match referee's responsibility to see if there is any problem with my action," he added.

"They did it to former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq. They are doing it with me. I have played county cricket, and there has been no problem with my action."

With England left to rue a substandard first innings after winning the toss and opting to bat first, Pakistan replied with a confident 42 without loss before the close of play, with opening batsmen Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar reduced the deficit to 150.