I’ll leave you with Ali Martin’s report of another sensational day’s play, and we’ll see you again for Karachi. Peace out.
Sky have finished their coverage, so I guess that means the end of ours. It’s another Test win for the Testvangelists, another Test series-win for the Testvangelists, and we’re very lucky to have them in our lives. They’re everything the game needs, and I can scarcely believe how much they’ve changed things in how little time. I absolutely loved what Ben Stokes said earlier, about not feeling like he’s playing away from home, just that he’s playing in front of a different crowd to entertain, and show the levels to which this thing of ours can ascend. If every sport had humans of his fibre and calibre looking after them, the world would be a much better place – I hope people are taking note – but in the meantime he’s ours, and we need to wade right in to enjoying him, because he told us to and he knows.
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We move onto Ollie Pope, who’s kept pretty well these last two matches and balanced the side in the process. Butcher, though, recalls his own playing days and Alec Stewart, who should’ve averaged 45 but because he opened and kept, or batted down the order and kept, didn’t put up the numbers he should’ve done. I’m not sure what England do here, because it is extremely helpful not to have a spot taken by a specialist – though specialists are useful, Foakes is a good one of those, and can also bat. I’d guess that they bring him into the team for Karachi because they’ll want to give him a game and because he only lost his spot because he got ill but, especially with the Bairstow situation, he may find it a struggle to establish himself as a permanent fixture.
We move onto Duckett, who’s had a brilliant tour so far. Of all the players, he seems to have bought into McStokes the most – hearing him speak about them is moving – and though he joked with Butcher he’s worried about becoming a subcontinental specialist, Butcher told him it’s better to be a specialist somewhere than nowhere.
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Back to Brook, Finn says he hated tall batters because he felt they could smother his length, and Brook is really good at picking length; Abrar was bowling beautifully and Brook whacked him off his. His feet are so quick, adds Butcher, and it’ll be exciting to see how he takes on the Aussie quicks in the summer.
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Butcher doesn’t, though, think that Stokes was entirely straight about his own bowling. He might trust his attack without him, but there were times he’d have brought himself on were it not for the knee situation. My guess is that he won’t bowl much in Karachi either, but you never know with superheroes.
In terms of Karachi, Finn and Butcher are wondering whether Wood should be given a rest to bring in Overton, and Ahmed handed a debut with Jacks sitting out. No resolution is reached, but Butcher says Stokes really understands the rhythm of cricket in the subcontinent: sometimes you open with a spinner and don’t flog your seamers just because, because there’ll be times it works for them – when it’s reversing in particular – and you need them fresh for then. I guess Stokes being a quick is very helpful in that aspect, but we shouldn’t ignore that feel he has for the game, which is special.
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Nas then praises Rob Key, who got the big decisions right in terms of style and personnel, and stays out of the limelight; Athers tells him it’s enough, so Nas finishes with the line “they said it was jobs for the boys, but the boy’s done a pretty good job”. That’s very nice.
Athers then goes on to say that they don’t spend too long in the nets, practising like mad. They work hard, but the point is to give everything during the six hours of play, then enjoy each other and wherever they happen to be the rest of the time so that they’re ready to compete as hard as possible when it counts. This is a very significant thing, because cricket is so demanding for so long – especially with the current schedule – that to work in an environment that prioritises well-being and fun must be seriously inspirational.
On Harry Brook, Nas says he’d be good in any environment – during the Blast, Joe Root told him he was one to be talking about. There’s then a lovely moment as Brook walks by, blushing – imagine how he must be feeling! – and Nas says he’s no fool. He knew he played a dreadful shot in the first innings, so made sure he sorted it in the second.
Nas reckons England’s management won’t be totally happy with what they’ve seen, and they’ll be encouraging the players to play a little differently because against a better side they’d have lost this match. Athers, meanwhile, thinks Stokes will go down as one of England’s great captains. It’s more or less the same team that failed so miserably in the Ashes, but the clear strategy has changed everything along with the idea that losing doesn’t matter that much – they’ll have a go and see what happens.
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Here’s Ali Martin’s match report…
Stokes is now with Athers, praising how the batters applied themselves. When wickets were falling in the first innings, they kept pressure on the bowlers, and prompted to ponder that England have won two Tests in two weeks having won two in 60-0dd years, he’s obviously very chuffed. But he always wants to stay in the moment of where the team are, rather than thinking if we do this, then that might happen; in the third innings, another team might’ve hung on to get to 400-odd, but he wanted his team to play their way and on another day they’d have made that many doing just that.
They picked Wood to be the game-changing option and he was; the two men in the middle looked set, but what made it easier for him was that they’d been very clear in explaining his role. They knew Pakistan weren’t comfy against short, quick stuff and that, especially with the skill of Anderson and Robinson at the other end, made him a massive threat.
Athers says to him that England’s strategy seems to be quick scoring and good seamers; Stokes says that bowling well in England is one thing, but seam dominating in Pakistan is unusual. He saw from the first Test, though, that they were good enough to dominate on a different track.
On Pakistan, he says he doesn’t feel like he’s playing away from home – they just want to go and play entertaining cricket that people want to watch, wherever it is, and for people to stop talking about the longest form being the form that’s dying. They’re trying to create a style and team culture that means people want to be a part of, and he’s sure that there are players everywhere who want to join in, however good they are at T20 or what have you.
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In the studio, Mark Butcher notes that against a better batting outfit, England wouldn’t have had enough runs, but the pressure they’re putting teams under is so considerable that it’s affecting their opponents. Steve Finn then says if a captain wanted him to bowl two overs before an interval, he’d not especially want to, but Stokes is framing it as your opportunity to do something to help the team.
Ben Stokes says conditions were different to Pindi and it was a differently-played game, but equally great to be a part of, going down to the wire. Asked about judging a target, you take a look at conditions, and they got lucky that from one end, cracks opened up bringing their seamers into the game, and Robinson, Wood and Anderson hurled themselves into it, flogging their bodies for the team. He knows as captain those three will deliver for him more often than not, which is why he didn’t turn his arm over.
On Abrar, he congratulates him on his debut, but other teams wouldn’t have scored off him as England did, and he’s proud that his players kept aggressive and kept accumulating.
Babar says Pakistan lost control of the game with soft dismissals in the first innings, and though they were improved in the second, it wasn’t enough. They didn’t finish well as a batting unit, but it was a “dream start” for Abrar, who used conditions and he’s now looking forward to Karachi. He seems pretty disappointed, as you’d expect him to be.
Harry Brook is man of the match. He tried to learn from his mistake in the first innings and not be too aggressive but still put pressure on the bowler. They knew the pitch would spin because Pakistan were asking for that, but they didn’t bat as well as they could’ve done in the first innings. They wanted to play their way and be aggressive in the second though, and that worked out well.
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Oh yeah, morning everyone and thanks Rob! What a day! What a team! What on earth is going on!
Mark Wood says England are physically and emotionally shattered. “You don’t wanna let your mates down,” he says. “Stokesy” told him to go and change the game, he explains, and though Nawaz batted well, they knew they could get through the tail. He didn’t expect Abrar to come in a whack it, and explains that he’d been bowling a bit wide all game, so getting wickets strangled wasn’t exactly a plan, he was just trying to get it straight. Back to Stokes, he says the way he leads the team is fantastic and he’d run through a brick wall for him. The effort the team have had to put it in to win here is, he says, immense, and he wants to keep running in for England as long as he can.
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I’m struggling so I’m going to hand over to Daniel Harris for the post-mortem. Thanks for your company, bye!
Before this tour, England had won two Tests in Pakistan in 60-odd years. Now they’ve won two in as many weeks – and they’ve done it by playing the most exhilarating cricket. What have we done to deserve this?
“Well done to England but that Shakeel wicket looms large,” says Robert Speed. “Did not think that was out.”
Eight of the ten second-innings wickets were taken by the seamers, quite an effort on such a lifeless pitch. Jimmy Anderson and Ollie Robinson were masterful, and Mark Wood blew the innings open with some rough stuff just before lunch. So many of Ben Stokes’ decisions came off; it’s genuinely hard to believe the impact he and Brendon McCullum have had on this team.
ENGLAND WIN BY 26 RUNS!
WICKET! Pakistan 328 all out (Ali c Pope b Robinson 0) Ollie Robinson has sealed a famous series victory for England. He was brought back into the attack and struck with his first ball when Ali edged onto his back pad and through to Ollie Pope.
That’s another brilliant victory for England, their eighth in nine games under the remarkable Ben Stokes, and it gives them a rare series win in Asia. We don’t know how long it will last, it might all blow up before or during the Ashes, but we should savour every minute because we’ve never seen an England team play quite like this.
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102nd over: Pakistan 328-9 (Salman 20, Ali 0) Brilliiant batting from Salman! After four dot balls from Wood, he puts the last two deliveries away for four. Pakistan need 27 to win.
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101st over: Pakistan 320-9 (Salman 11, Ali 0) Ben Stokes, ever the gambler, brings on Jack Leach to tempt Agha Salman. In fact Salman sweeps the fourth ball sensibly for a single and Ali blocks the last two deliveries. Pakistan need 35 to win.
100th over: Pakistan 319-9 (Salman 11, Ali 0) Mohammad Ali just about survives five balls from Wood. I’ve been looking at the best England bowlers in overseas Tests (min: 50 wickets), and it’s no surprise that Wood is high on the list. It’s interesting to see Angus Fraser, who was often disparaged as a typical English seamer, is ahead of some very good fast bowlers.
WICKET! Pakistan 319-9 (Mahmood b Wood 0)
Bowled him! Mark Wood sends Zahid Mahmood’s off stump flying with an absolute ripper. It jagged back, beat Mahmood for pace and did unspeakable things to his furniture.
That’s Wood’s fourth wicket of the innings; nobody would begrude him a matchwinning five-for.
99th over: Pakistan 319-8 (Salman 11, Mahmood 0) Salman is beaten by consecutive deliveries from Anderson, then survives a potential run-out when Pope’s underarm throw hits the stumps.
The field comes up for the last two deliveries – and Salman hits them both for four! The first was driven over mid-off, the second squirted through backward point. This is exquisitely tense.
98th over: Pakistan 311-8 (Salman 3, Mahmood 0) Salman takes a single off Wood’s fourth ball, giving Mahmood two to survive. The first thuds into the pad, but it’s a bit legside and Ben Stokes doesn’t risk his final review.
Pakistan need 44 to win.
“This is another fascinating dénouement to a brilliant Test, in what’s turning out to be a vintage tour,” says Guy Hornsby. “England will surely do it here, turning orthodoxy on its head with quicks taking the key wickets. You have to really feel for Shakeel though. I’ve seen no replay that suggests it’s ever fully under the gloves. Can’t blame England for that. It’s just poor umpiring, I’m afraid.”
It’s interesting that the Sky pundits were split – Mark Butcher thought it was out, Steven Finn wasn’t sure.
97th over: Pakistan 310-8 (Salman 2, Mahmood 0) Zahir Mahmood is the new batter, and he starts with a couple of assured defensive strokes off Anderson.
“Abrar is a throwback delight,” says Hugh Molloy. “It’s 2022 but we have a mystery spinner coming in for the second test, taking 10 wickets and now being promoted from 11 batter and smacking it around with a plain wooden bat. I’m almost rooting for him. Bah, he’s out.”
WICKET! Pakistan 310-8 (Abrar c Duckett b Anderson 17)
Abrar’s jaunty cameo is over. He heaved Anderson straight to extra cover, where Duckett took a comfortable catch. Abrar leans on his bat, looking disconsolate, but he’s given Pakistan a chance with a manic innings of 17 from 12 balls.
96th over: Pakistan 309-7 (Salman 1, Abrar 17) Now then: Mark Wood to Abrar, who looks in the mood to take everything on. He backs away to launch the second ball over mid-on for four, which brings up the Pakistan 300. This is terrific stuff from Abrar, who has changed the mood in the space of about 10 balls.
And how he has hit back-to-back boundaries! He made room to late cut past backward point and then top-edged over fly slip. Abrar has 17 from 11 balls, and now Pakistan only need 46 to win.
“Greetings from Singapore!” says Kevin Tong. “Thanks for holding the fort even with whatever may be ailing you. My heart is beating RAPIDLY inside my chest! As a neutral I’m hoping for a Pakistan win so we have another genuine test of Baz-ball in the third match!”
95th over: Pakistan 297-7 (Salman 1, Abrar 5) Anderson starts after tea, and the new batter Abrar Ahmed gets off the mark with a jaunty drag over midwicket for four! It looks like he’s going to have a swing.
Here come the players. Pakistan need 64 runs, England need three wickets.
“This match is now an enormity,” says Robert Wilson. “People always think an enormity is a good thing. It’s not. It’s large-scale sin or crime. Which is exactly what all this nonsensical excitement is against the sleepy, melancholy history of Test cricket that we have all treasured all our lives.
“Cricket’s not really meant to be for watching! How the hell am I gonna do my taxes, clip my toenails or learn Latin now if I am to be forced to watch such vulgarly gripping sporting action? It’s simply not on.”
Thirty years ago, this was Test cricket.
“England fan here,” says Hugh Molloy. “He dropped that, it clearly bounced off their ground and back into the gloves.”
That’s interesting – isn’t it often the case that those foreshortened images can be deceptive? Mind you, my instinct is that it scraped the floor. Who knows.
Lunch: Pakistan need 64 runs to win
What a terrific, hard-fought session of modern Test cricket that was. Joe Root struck early to dismiss Faheem Ashraf, but then Saud Shakeel and the busy Mohammad Nawaz added 80 in only 22 overs. Just as it felt like the game was slipping away, Ben Stokes asked Mark Wood to bowl some rough stuff from round the wicket.
It had the desired effect: Nawaz and Shakeel were both strangled down the leg side, though there was some controversy over Shakeel’s dismissal.
I’m off to bathe in Lemsip for half an hour, but please join us for the afternoon session.
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94th over: Pakistan 291-7 (Salman 0, Abrar 0) I still can’t decide whether Pope took that cleanly or not. What’s not in doubt is that this spell of short stuff from Mark Wood has changed the game. The new batter Abrar Ahmed survives an LBW appeal after being hit on the rump by a ball that doesn’t get up.
Ben Stokes reviews, which is slightly surprising, and replays show it was comfortably missing leg. And that’s lunch.
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Shakeel falls six short of a maiden Test century, having batted 213 balls. I can understand why Pakistan would feel aggrieved about that.
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WICKET! Pakistan 291-7 (Shakeel c Pope b Wood 94)
Mark Wood has done it again! This is a huge breakthrough for England on the stroke of lunch. Shakeel tried to pull and gloved the ball down the leg side, where Pope seemed to take an excellent low catch to his right.
The umpires went upstairs, with a soft signal of out – and that was crucial, because replays suggested the ball might have brushed the ground after Pope had taken the catch. It was a really tough one for the third umpire Joel Wilson, who decided there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the on-field decision.
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93rd over: Pakistan 291-6 (Shakeel 94, Salman 0) What England would give for another wicket in the 15 minutes before lunch. Anderson has a strangled LBW appeal against Salmon – missing leg – and then beats him with a good delivery outside off stump. A superb over ends with a big inswinger that bounces just over the off stump.
This is cracking stuff. Pakistan need 64 runs, England need four wickets.
92nd over: Pakistan 290-6 (Shakeel 93, Salman 0) Agha Salman, held back in this innings, is the new batter, and Wood greets him with a couple of bumpers.
WICKET! Pakistan 290-6 (Nawaz c Pope b Wood 45)
Another twist in this fascinating Test! Mark Wood has picked up Mohammad Nawaz in the first over of a new spell. He dug in a short delivery from around the wicket, and Nawaz gloved a slightly lazy shot down the leg side.
That’s the end of a terrific innings, 45 from 62 balls, and England are now one wicket away from the lower order.
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91st over: Pakistan 286-5 (Shakeel 93, Nawaz 41) Anderson gets one to kick from a crack and hit Shakeel on the glove. But it’s another good over for Pakistan, four from it. This partnership is now worth 76 from only 21 overs.
90th over: Pakistan 282-5 (Shakeel 90, Nawaz 40) Shakeel looks very comfortable against Leach, and he gets another boundary with a slap through the covers. He’s 10 runs away from a maiden century in only his second Test.
If England lose they will regret their slightly frivolous collapse in the second innings, when they lost the last five wickets for 19 in six overs. But you can’t have Bazball without a bit of rain from time to time.
89th over: Pakistan 275-5 (Shakeel 85, Nawaz 38) Jimmy Anderson replaces Ollie Robinson, who bowled a challenging four-over spell with the second new ball.
Shakeel thick-edges a good delivery for four, with the ball going between the men at first and maybe fourth slip. It didn’t carry anyway. Right here, right now, Pakistan are in control of this runchase.
88th over: Pakistan 270-5 (Shakeel 80, Nawaz 38) Nawaz survives a biggish LBW appeal after missing a sweep at Leach. Outside the line. All of a sudden Pakistan need only 85 to win.
87th over: Pakistan 267-5 (Shakeel 78, Nawaz 37) Shakeel works a short ball off the body for a tight single, though Nawaz was comfortably home when Duckett’s throw whistled past the stumps.
This is a good spell from Robinson, who has gone past the edge a few times – and there’s another, with Nawaz playing and missing outside off stump. Nawaz’s comeback is superb; he walks down the track to push-drive Robinson between extra cover and mid-off for four. Lovely.
86th over: Pakistan 262-5 (Shakeel 77, Nawaz 33) Leach is on for Root, which might tempt Shakeel to emerge from his bunker. Not yet; just one from the over.
“As an England fan I would love to see England scrape over the line again here and wrap up the series,” says Brendan Large. “But as a sports fan, a decider in the third Test would be great, and another examination of this new Bazball philosophy. In addition, there is no way Abrar should be on the losing side here.”
85th over: Pakistan 261-5 (Shakeel 76, Nawaz 33) Nawaz is beaten again by Robinson, driving extravagantly outside off stump, and then works a single to bring up a precious fifty partnership. Robinson beats him again at the end of the over.
England are two wickets away from the lower order, so they won’t be panicking, but they could really do with breaking this partnership before lunch. Nawaz’s speed of scoring, 33 from 41 balls, makes him especially dangerous.
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84th over: Pakistan 259-5 (Shakeel 75, Nawaz 32) Nawaz is going after Root. He clouts another boundary through extra cover to bring Pakistan’s target below 100, then misses an attempted sweep.
“Morning from Johannesburg, Rob,” says Darryl Accone. “You note that Pope missed a very difficult chance off Shakeel. Likely that a specialist keeper like the much-abused Ben Foakes would have gloved it? I do think that successive generations of English selectors, captains and others colluding in such Popish plots deserve to be damned for the way they have treated many great English keepers (and waves of opening hopefuls optimistically selected and then callously discarded).
“That Foakes had to endure the indignity of the never-quite-there Jos Buttler being given the gloves ahead of him pales beside the latest stroke of selectorial “inspiration”: someone who has scarcely kept wicket at first-class level. If this were a Greek tragedy, England’s hubris would be punished by the fatal flaw of Pope’s ‘keeping’. Here’s holding thumbs for a Pakistan win.”
I do think Foakes has been hard done by, especially during that West Indies tour in 2018-19, but on this occasion I understand the logic; Stokes wants as many bowling options as possible, which means they have to sacrifice somebody.
83rd over: Pakistan 253-5 (Shakeel 74, Nawaz 27) Robinson continues to Shakeel, who takes a quick single to short midwicket. Aside from a boundary that was wrongly given when he missed a sweep, I think Shakeel has dealt exclusively in singles this morning.
Robinson’s last ball kicks from a length to hit Nawaz painfully on the bottom hand. That will really encourage England.
82nd over: Pakistan 252-5 (Shakeel 73, Nawaz 27) Crikey, Joe Root is coming back into the attack. “Jimmy Anderson or Joe Root with the new ball?” wonders Nasser Hussain on commentary.
Nawaz charges the last ball to hack Root through mid-on for four, an ugly but effective stroke. He has 27 from 32 balls, Shakeel 73 from 180.
“In a repeat of an email I sent to you in the 2006-07 Ashes about Freddie ‘Andrew’ Flintoff, if Ben Stokes were not captain, he’d be bowling now. (Not exactly now with the new ball, but you know what I mean.)
I do, although in this case there has been some talk that his knee isn’t up to another punishing spell. He hasn’t bowled at all in this match.
81st over: Pakistan 247-5 (Shakeel 72, Nawaz 23) England take the second new ball, and give it straight to Ollie Robinson. He has a couple of slips, and they are almost in business with Nawaz misses an airy drive outside off stump. Well bowled.
Drinks
80th over: Pakistan 246-5 (Shakeel 71, Nawaz 23) Nawaz waves Leach through extra cover for four, a beautiful stroke that moves him into the twenties. Pakistan need 109 runs to win.
79th over: Pakistan 239-5 (Shakeel 69, Nawaz 18) In fact, replays suggest that delivery from Leach bounced over Shakeel’s gloves, so he wouldn’t have been out even if Pope had taken it. It was given as runs.
Meanwhile, Shakeel misses an attempted pull off Wood and is hit on the body. I think he was beaten for lack of pace that time.
“Top of the morning from Naples,” says Colum Fordham. “Saud Shakeel is displaying impressive concentration in his fine innings. His short stature is helping him to react deftly to the variable bounce, especially when the ball keeps low. I think the new ball is definitely going to come into the equation, and could help Jack Leach as well as the quicks to test the Pakistani batsmen. Hats off to you for doing the OBO in spite of a lurgy.”
I’m being a bit of a drama king. It certainly doesn’t compare to the time I saw [redacted] calmly puke into the rubbish bin under his desk mid-OBO.
78th over: Pakistan 238-5 (Shakeel 68, Nawaz 18) Jack Leach comes on to replace Joe Root, who bowled a useful spell and took the wicket of Faheem Ashraf. That’s a good idea, to give him a couple of overs to settle before England take the second new ball.
The left-handed Shakeel, who barely played a shot against the offspinner Root, gloves a vigorous sweep down the leg side for four. That was a chance for Pope, albeit a very difficult one.
77th over: Pakistan 232-5 (Shakeel 63, Nawaz 17) Presumably Leach and Robinson will take the new ball when it becomes available. That allows Wood to empty the tank in this four-over spell, and he almost gets through Nawaz with another one that keeps very low. That’s a danger ball on this surface.
Since you asked so politely, Pakistan have scored 34 runs off 13 overs this morning.
76th over: Pakistan 231-5 (Shakeel 63, Nawaz 16) Nawaz enlivens a quiet passage of play by sweeping Root emphatically through midwicket for four. That was a fine, fast-handed stroke. A paddle for three off the last ball takes Nawaz to 16 off 15 balls, a useful little cameo with Shakeel largely strokeless at the other end.
75th over: Pakistan 222-5 (Shakeel 62, Nawaz 8) An awkward lifter from Wood is very well defended by Shakeel. Wood is doing extremely well to get any life out of this pitch, which is a bit of a spirit-crusher for pace bowlers.
74th over: Pakistan 220-5 (Shakeel 61, Nawaz 7) A better over for Pakistan, with four low-risk singles off Root. They need another 135 to win.
“Just a thought,” says Brian Withington, “but if Pakistan’s last five wickets were to exactly match England’s then we are in for a very interesting ride indeed with a mere 19-run winning margin after facing a score of 311 before the sixth wicket falls…”
73rd over: Pakistan 216-5 (Shakeel 59, Nawaz 5) Mark Wood replaces Jimmy Anderson (10-1-19-1). All the England quicks are bowling very straight, trying to maximise any uneven bounce, although Wood keeps Shakeel on his toes with a sharp bumper that flies through to Pope. “Take a bow Mark Wood,” says Mike Atherton on commentary, “getting one to bounce above the shoulder on this pitch.”
72nd over: Pakistan 215-5 (Shakeel 59, Nawaz 4) Shakeel tries to cut a ball from Root that keeps extremely low and ends up in the hends of Ollie Pope. England go up for caught behind, but the umpires isn’t interested. Replays confirm there was no edge, though it was a superb take from Pope.
Shakeel is going nowhere at the moment; he’s scored five from 24 balls this morning.
71st over: Pakistan 215-5 (Shakeel 59, Nawaz 4) Shakeel does well to defend a grubber from Anderson that has designs on his front pad. Then Nawaz gets off the mark with an edge through the vacant slip cordon for four. I don’t think it would have carried anyway. This is fascinating stuff.
70th over: Pakistan 210-5 (Shakeel 59, Nawaz 0) Meanwhile, given the time of day (in the UK), this is an interesting read. My sleep patterns are a disgrace, and not only when there’s cricket on in the wee hours, so I might give it a try.
WICKET! Pakistan 210-5 (Ashraf c Crawley b Root 10)
A big breakthrough for England! Ashraf pushes with hard hands at a good delivery that curves in and then straightens to take the edge, and Zak Crawley takes a comfortable catch at slip. That’s Joe Root’s 50th Test wicket.
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69th over: Pakistan 208-4 (Shakeel 58, Ashraf 9) A swinging half-volley from Anderson is crunched through mid-off for four by Ashraf, the first boundary of the day. So far so good for Pakistan.
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68th over: Pakistan 203-4 (Shakeel 58, Ashraf 4) Saud Shakeel looks a really good players. This is only his second Test, but he has a striking first-class average of 53.
“Sorry to hear that you are not feeling too chipper, but kudos for still taking the reins of the OBO in the wee small hours,” says Brian Withington. “Let’s hope the cricket keeps you entertained if not compos mentis!”
I feel like Tony Sopranos at the start of Funhouse, though I should stress I’m not about to kill my best friend, and I can’t blame Artie’s shellfish.
67th over: Pakistan 201-4 (Shakeel 57, Ashraf 3) Ashraf punches a pleasant drive that is well fielded to his right by the bowler Anderson; then he defends a good one that keeps a bit low. It’s been a cagey start.
66th over: Pakistan 200-4 (Shakeel 56, Ashraf 3) It’s Joe Root from the other end. There’s a bit of turn, but it’s very slow, and Shakeel has plenty of time to wave a single behind square on the off side.
“In this Test we’ve had a beglassed bowler bowling to a similarly handsome batsman in Leach to Imam-ul-Haq,” says Tom Peach. “When was the last time this happened? Vettori to Sehwag?”
Did Sehwag wear glasses? That completely passed me by. I suppose I was distracted by the ball being slammed through point for four.
65th over: Pakistan 199-4 (Shakeel 55, Ashraf 3) We’re starting early to make up for lost time. Jimmy Anderson starts with no slips, two men on the drive and another at short midwicket. Everything is pitched up to invite the drive, but Shakeel and Ashraf politely decline for now. One from the over.
If Pakistan win it will be their second highest runchase in Tests, behind a fourth-innings romp at Pallekele in 2015. The last time England failed to defend a target of this size was on an emotional day at Mumbai in 2008.
A bit of news from Australia, where Pat Cummins and friends will be going toecrusher to toecrusher with South Africa’s pacemen in Brisbane at the weekend.
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A pre-emptive apology
Over the last 24 hours I’ve caught something not entirely pleasant, and I’m not entirely cognisant of what day it is. Thus, please accept my apologies for what you’re about to read over the next few hours until Daniel takes over.
Ali Martin’s day three report
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the fourth and final day of the second Test between Pakistan and England. It’s a simple race to the finish line: Pakistan need 157 runs to square the series, England need six wickets to win it with a match to spare. Shall we crack on?
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