Monty Panesar admitted it was great to be back in the England ranks after making a wicket-taking return to the side in the second Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.

Panesar chugged through 33 overs on the opening day to record figures of 1 for 91, as Pakistan closed on 256 for seven after winning the toss and opting to bat first.

"I was really pleased and excited to be back after such a long time," Panesar said.

"There were a few nerves flying around but I was looking forward to bowling with Swanny and applying a lot of pressure to the Pakistan batsmen."

The left-arm spinner claimed the wicket of Mohammad Hafeez with a delivery that skidded on, one ball after he had dropped a caught-and-bowled chance from the Pakistan opener.

"All spinners would say they meant it! I think it probably just hit the leather and skidded on," he admitted. "It was a nice wicket to get after I dropped him the ball before."

The Sheikh Zayed Stadium is a notoriously good batting strip, making England's efforts on Wednesday all the more impressive, although Panesar admitted that he was encouraged by how much turn there was.

"There was a bit of moisture in the pitch early on and that helped the ball to grip," he added.

"Especially with the new ball when the seam is a bit harder there was a chance of getting some purchase out of the wicket. Both the spinners and the fast bowlers were in the game with the new ball.

"Trying to get the right pace for the wicket (was the key). It is a slow wicket, you don't want the batsmen to be able to hang back and cut you easily - but you want to draw them forward as well, so you have to vary it and keep them guessing."

Asad Shafiq's wicket in the closing moments of the day was a crucial breakthrough for England after the right-hander had mounted a century partnership with captain Misbah-ul-Haq.

Although Shafiq was out to a marginal lbw decision, with Graeme Swann the bowler, Pakistan coach Mohsin Khan said that he had given Shafiq a piece of his mind.

"Any player, whether it's a senior player or a yong player, if somebody's playing for their country they should understand the responsibilities of playing for the team," Khan said.

"I had a go at him - in a loving way, no doubt - but he's been told very seriously this is not the way to get out especially when the team is struggling to get a better score."

On batsmen failing to make big scores, he said: "I've been pretty worried about that. Some of the batsmen are getting very good 40s or 50s then getting out, like for example Asad Shafiq today.

"He was playing marvellously well, he was doing a wonderful job for the team but then he lost his wicket and all the pressure came back on us.

"This is a problem we have to sort out as soon as possible."