With three wickets down Pakistan already lead by 358 – 26 more than England’s all-time highest successful fourth-innings run chase – after massively dominating day three
There’s no way to dress this up: this game might last for another day, perhaps more, but it was decided today. England lost it with the bat, crumbling as soon as a previously-unruffled Root got out and collapsing from 206-3 to 242 all out. Bowled out with a 136-run first-inning deficit, England’s only hope was to somehow convince a Pakistan team with no kind of scoreboard pressure to randomly self-destruct, and though they were given some early encouragement, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan have taken it away from them. Their partnership stands at 139, from 236 deliveries, and still stands.
It’s been a particularly unpleasant day for Jos Buttler, who failed to score with the bat, dropped Masood in unpleasant style (though he caught him a few minutes later), and then didn’t even try to catch Misbah towards the end. If he fails to get a second-innings daddy-hundred his place will be under extreme pressure.
61st over: Pakistan 222-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 87, Younis Khan 71)
Root, England’s most expensive bowler, takes his third over of the day. Misbah nurdles a four, and boshes a wild, vicious, rub-it-in-why-don’t-you six, sending the ball down one of the stadium’s exits, where a dozen or so Englishmen would very dearly have loved to follow it.
60th over: Pakistan 211-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 77, Younis Khan 70)
Moeen bowls. Three singles. One over left for the day, in all likelihood. Pakistan lead by way too much, or 347 as it’s otherwise known.
59th over: Pakistan 207-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 75, Younis Khan 68)
Rashid continues, and Younis tries to send the last ball out of the ground, fails, toe-ends it and gets four anyway. That and four singles adds up to a healthy over’s scoring.
58th over: Pakistan 199-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 73, Younis Khan 62)
Moeen comes on. Three singles and a two. Neither batsmen looks remotely concerned about anything whatsoever. They’re in some refined state of extreme calm.
57th over: Pakistan 194-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 70, Younis Khan 60)
A run and a leg bye take Pakistan’s lead to 330. At the end of Rashid’s over Stokes leaves the field – retired narked – and Broad, who’d had a spell on the sidelines, replaces him.
56th over: Pakistan 192-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 69, Younis Khan 60)
Stokes’s face has been the best source of entertainment this past 20 minutes or so. He lives it, and perhaps too frequently, when it comes to attitude, gives it. No wickets for him this innings, not for the lack of trying.
55th over: Pakistan 190-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 68, Younis Khan 59)
Rashid bowls, and after a Younis single Misbah, who’s really rocketing now albeit not in a completely chanceless way, sweeps for four.
@Simon_Burnton I thought there were two 'keepers in this team. None present for that edge.
54th over: Pakistan 185-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 64, Younis Khan 58)
Edged! And safe! Stokes bowls, Misbah clips and it flies between Buttler and Root at first slip, neither one of them moving. Stokes screams and shoots Buttler the mother of all evils, which the wicketkeeper probably misses as he examines his hands mournfully. England, in as much as they need anything given their position in this match, need a wicket. That was Buttler’s catch, surely. Misbah ends the over with another four, this a sweet cover drive, just to rub it in. The partnership has now been worth 102 runs.
Misbah edges Stokes between Buttler, whose catch it was, and slip:the batsman then belts him over extra. Stokes about to blow a gasket.
53rd over: Pakistan 176-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 56, Younis Khan 57)
Rashid gets one to spin and rise, beating Misbah, flicking off Buttler’s gloves and smacking Stokes at slip at the top of the chest, just below the throat. Nasty, and about six inches from very nasty, but Stokes quickly recovers.
52nd over: Pakistan 175-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 56, Younis Khan 56)
Stokes bowls, and after a Younis single Misbah deflects the ball to third man for four. Andrew Benton emails again. “Sounds like the perfect time for Mr Bond to appear to save England,” he writes. Bit late for that, but anyway. “Seem to recall that during the summer on TMS, Blowers said that his dad knew Ian Fleming, and that Blowfeld may have been named after his dad.” All, apparently, true. More details in his Desert Island Discs appearance here. Fleming and Blowfeld Snr went to school together, apparently.
51st over: Pakistan 170-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 52, Younis Khan 55)
On comes Rashid, and away goes the ball, over mid off, then over long off, then over the bottom tier of the stand, and not far off clearing the second tier as well. A couple of dots later and Misbah dispatches the ball again, this time a little straighter but in power, distance and outcome very much identical. Quite the way to reach a half-century.
50th over: Pakistan 158-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 40, Younis Khan 55)
Fifty overs played, three wickets down, and Pakistan’s lead is six away from 300. To say they appear to be in control of this game would be an understatement of most epic proportions.
49th over: Pakistan 157-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 39, Younis Khan 55)
Edged! And safe! Broad bowls, and the ball bounces a little higher than expected, flies off the shoulder of the bat and over Anderson at slip. Bairstow launches an athletic diving stop to prevent it reaching the rope, and the batsmen run three.
48th over: Pakistan 154-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 36, Younis Khan 55)
There seems to be a certain funk of yeah-whatever here at the moment, as a crowd smaller than yesterday’s makes less noise than yesterday’s as they witness action less gripping than yesterday’s. Someone needs to throw England a bone here.
47th over: Pakistan 152-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 36, Younis Khan 53)
Broad’s first delivery flicks Younis’s trouser on its way down leg side for four byes, and his line here is certainly a little wobbly. Pakistan’s led is now 288, which England have only five times exceeded in a successful run chase. The all-time high is 332, and that was nearly 90 years ago, though there was a 315 against Australia in 2001. So if they can take the last seven Pakistan wickets for 27 runs or fewer, there might statistically be a ludicrously optimistic chance.
46th over: Pakistan 147-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 36, Younis Khan 52)
Four dots, and then four more for Misbah, who deliberately diverts the ball between slip and gully.
45th over: Pakistan 143-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 32, Younis Khan 52)
Younis is waving his bat again now, having completed a half-century by diverting the ball from its line towards, or perhaps just wide of, leg stump and away, fine, for four. “Only a minor pity,” writes Andrew Benton about Bond. “Looks like the clip is only about cricket to set it in Pakistan. Now if Bond were playing the game himself – cue opportunities for exploding bails, on-field martial arts japes with the stumps, under-pitch machine guns, baddie umpires … so much potential.” This is true. One can only imagine what Oddjob could do with a baggy green.
44th over: Pakistan 139-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 32, Younis Khan 48)
Another maiden, which is followed by some drinks. Those heady days of 16-2, when England could dabble with some optimistic but nevertheless not entirely fantastic feelings of optimism, feel a long time ago now.
43rd over: Pakistan 139-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 32, Younis Khan 48)
Broad, who has been off the field for much of the innings so far, has a bowl, with Buttler coming right up to the stumps and a silly mid-on – Cook himself, I think – moving in by way of preparation. No runs are scored, and no wicket-taking chances created, though that silly mid-on does get to pick up the ball once.
42nd over: Pakistan 139-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 32, Younis Khan 48)
Younis has nine thousand runs and still isn’t happy. “At the moment, my wish is to become the first (from) Pakistan to reach 10,000 runs for his country,” he said after the last Test. Well if Pakistan delay their declaration for a day or so, he could make a decent deposit on the next thousand here.
YounisKhan (103 Tests) the 14th player to reach 9000 runs, but only Brian Lara (101 Tests) required fewer games. [Sanga also 103]
41st over: Pakistan 136-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 30, Younis Khan 47)
Rashid bowls, and Younis scores his 9,000th Test run, and does some really quite extravagant balcony-waving, heaven-pointing and earth-kissing in the way of celebration. Footage of Misbah’s cunning dummied sweep meanwhile can be found here.
40th over: Pakistan 135-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 30, Younis Khan 46)
Stokes returns, and Younis gets a single off the first. The lead stands at 271. The world’s gone a bit James Bond-crazy, what with the new film’s imminent release. Tis a minor pity that the franchise’s only cricket-playing scene ended up on the cutting-room floor:
39th over: Pakistan 134-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 30, Younis Khan 45)
Ha! Rashid bowls, Misbah moves as if to sweep, sending Buttler and Anderson sprinting into the leg side in a bid to head it off, but then decides against it and nudges the ball the other way with a glove, sending it precisely where slip was standing a moment earlier, and earning two runs for his troubles.
38th over: Pakistan 131-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 28, Younis Khan 44)
Anderson’s first ball is pinged through midwicket by Younis for four. There’s an optimistic lbw shout later, though the umpire thinks Younis got a bat to the ball and awards him a run for his troubles.
37th over: Pakistan 126-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 28, Younis Khan 39)
Misbah does not look minded to let England back into this match. Rashid drops one short, and he smashes it wide of long on for four. A couple of balls later he goes big again, miscues it somewhat and gets away with it.
36th over: Pakistan 119-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 22, Younis Khan 38)
Misbah decides it’s about time someone gave Anderson the treatment, and launches the ball high – really extremely high – over mid on. It lands, always safe, 10 yards from the rope and decides it’s gone far enough, pretty much staying put. Two runs.
35th over: Pakistan 117-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 20, Younis Khan 38)
Misbah sweeps fine, and Bairstow hares after the ball gamely, finally diving over the rope in order to stop it getting there itself, and allowing the backing-up Taylor to pluck it off the turf and return it to the middle. The batsmen run three, and then get a couple more when a bottom edge flummoxes Buttler next ball.
34th over: Pakistan 112-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 17, Younis Khan 36)
Anderson ties Younis up and at one stage thinks he might have trapped him lbw, but the umpire’s not convinced, and it looks high. Another maiden, his fifth in six overs.
33rd over: Pakistan 112-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 17, Younis Khan 36)
Right on cue, a maiden from a spinner. Bapuesque, in its way.
32nd over: Pakistan 112-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 17, Younis Khan 36)
Anderson, who conceded precisely zero of Pakistan’s total during his four-over opening burst, returns in place of Wood. This time they do score a run, somewhat streakily, as Younis inside-edges well wide of his stumps for a single. And then Misbah scores one too. Bapu Nadkarni can sleep well again tonight. For the sake of it, and because it’s not anywhere else online, here’s what he said to the Guardian about his record-breaking 21 successive maidens a few years back:
My basic theory of bowling has always been “line and length” and that’s all I did against England that day in Madras. I did not even know it was a record until the game ended at five o’clock in the evening, when the scorer came on to the field to tell me.
Unfortunately after that game the English press labelled me a negative bowler, which is something I never agreed with. I was always on the stumps not a single ball was outside the stumps. And I used to bowl always round the wicket to the right-hand batsmen, into them. How can you call that negative bowling?
31st over: Pakistan 110-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 16, Younis Khan 35)
A couple more singles tickle Pakistan’s score into treble figures, before Misbah smartly sweeps the ball past the square leg umpire and away for four, enjoying himself so much that he pulls the next over midwicket for six! And so it is that two balls after reaching their first hundred Pakistan are 10% of the way to their second.
30th over: Pakistan 98-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 5, Younis Khan 34)
Oooh! Misbah pulls a short ball and sends it looping up into the air, but it lands just short of an inrushing Moeen at long leg. Misbah-humbug.
29th over: Pakistan 96-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 4, Younis Khan 33)
Another over, another single. “England need to find a way to bring Taylor into the team,” writes Nicholas Stone. “We’re stuck with Moeen opening, even though he’s not an opener, because bringing in Hales would mean changing the batting order if Moeen went back to 8 where he should be. So my solution is that Buttler should be dropped and have Bairstow play the final game as keeper. Bairstow can go down to 7 and Taylor can come in at 5. Bell should probably be dropped but we have no experienced players to replace him with so he’ll have to stay. I rate Buttler but he is out of form and not so good against spin.” I feel the Buttler-Taylor switcheroo is likely for Test three.
28th over: Pakistan 95-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 4, Younis Khan 32)
Mark Wood at the other end, England starting this session very much as they ended the last. He’s still bowling excellently, tight and fast. One run from it.
27th over: Pakistan 94-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 4, Younis Khan 31)
Rashid gets the evening session started, and each batsman snaffles a single in entirely stress-free style.
Hello world!
Out come the players. England need to take seven wickets in the next half-hour or so to play their way back into the game. Fingers crossed, eh?
That’s quite enough from me. Simon Burnton will guide you carefully to the close - let him know what you think via either email or Twitter.
So then.
Highest 4th inns to win by non-Asian team in Asia (excl Bangladesh): 276-5 WI v I Delhi 1987 209-5 E v P Lahore 1961 208-4 E v I Delhi 1972
26th over: Pakistan 92-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 3, Younis Khan 30)
Wood clearly thinks he can disquiet Misbah with some bumpers - he’s got a leg-slip and a short-leg in - but there’s nothing doing at the moment. The Pakistan skipper gets a single with a guided dab through point, and Wood tries coming around the wicket to Younis. Worth a go, but he smacks a four through mid-on with such dismissiveness that he turned on his heels and headed off for tea before the ball had even departed from the square. Lovely stuff, all for that sort of thing.
25th over: Pakistan 87-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 2, Younis Khan 26)
Rashid puts a little more juice on one that keeps a little low, and Misbah only just manages to keep it out, with some low bounce. Just one run from the over, Misbah scoring with a sharp single to the covers.
24th over: Pakistan 86-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 1, Younis Khan 26)
Wood tries some short stuff to Misbah, following it up with the ol’ one-two and a yorker, but nothing doing there. Two singles from the over.
23rd over: Pakistan 84-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 0, Younis Khan 25)
A change of ends for Rashid, who comes on in place of Root. A misfield in the covers gives Younis a single, and the process of Misbah playing with either extreme caution or intense derring-do commences. For the remainder of that over, it’s the former.
22nd over: Pakistan 83-3 (Misbah-ul-Haq 0, Younis Khan 24)
And those two looked so comfortable. Big breakthrough for England, although it might already be too late. Pakistan lead by 219.
Two overs is all Cook gives to Rashid, and Wood is back on. Hafeez notches the half-ton with a rapid spin on his heels and swipe of his bat, pulling to the mid-wicket fence. But what’s this! The next ball he drives just outside off and edges to Root at slip, who takes a good catch at around knee-height. Well, well, well.
21st over: Pakistan 79-2 (Hafeez 47, Younis Khan 24)
Bit of turn for Root, which nearly brings a chance - Hafeez nudges to short leg, but Bairstow had just started putting his weight onto his left foot when the half-chance fell to his right. Would’ve been quite the catch. A few singles, then Younis gets down and sweeps with gusto, splitting deep backward square and mid-wicket to collect four runs.
20th over: Pakistan 71-2 (Hafeez 45, Younis Khan 18)
Slightly tidier stuff from Rashid...until a wide half-volley that Hafeez probably could have belted to/over the boundary, but instead carefully drove a single out to the sweeper. Two other singles from the over, and these two look in not the slightest bother at the moment.
19th over: Pakistan 68-2 (Hafeez 44, Younis Khan 16)
Well looky here, it’s Joe Root with a bowl. Younis takes a single, then a slightly short one is carted over deep mid-wicket with the minimum of fuss or flourish, and Wood does the umpire’s job by confirming the six.
18th over: Pakistan 61-2 (Hafeez 38, Younis Khan 15)
Here’s Adil Rashid for a bowl, and gives a long-hop outside off to Younis, who doesn’t quite get hold of it, but it still requires some fine fielding on the boundary by Wood to keep them to a brace. Hafeez is rather more ruthless when a short one comes his way, pulling in front of square and wide of mid-on for four.
17th over: Pakistan 54-2 (Hafeez 34, Younis Khan 12)
These batsman seem to have the measure of Moeen. A couple of singles, a square drive for two by Hafeez, Younis doesn’t take full advantage of a long-hop and gets just one, before Hafeez nails a lowish full-toss down the ground for four.
16th over: Pakistan 45-2 (Hafeez 27, Younis Khan 10)
Stokes is offering too many ropey deliveries here. He follows a couple of decent balls with a wide half volley, that Hafeez drives through the covers and four more runs are notched. Pakistan now lead by 181.
15th over: Pakistan 41-2 (Hafeez 23, Younis Khan 10)
A couple o’ singles from the over, one for each batsman. Which is nice. Younis needs some new gloves, and possibly a bit of tape for his rather elderly looking bat which has a crack towards the bottom of the inside edge, but twelfthers only brings out the former for him.
14th over: Pakistan 39-2 (Hafeez 22, Younis Khan 9)
Stokes again, and after a few perfectly solid deliveries he drops short, but not short enough, and Hafeez thwacks him over straight mid-wicket and four. Another shorter one, but better directed, has Hafeez flapping outside off, and while a couple of those behind the wicket are briefly quite excited about the whole affair, there’s no edge.
13th over: Pakistan 35-2 (Hafeez 18, Younis Khan 9)
Mo gets Younis propping forwards, a brief moment of excitement that is stamped on like a kids’ dying campfire by first a rancid long-hop, sent with gusto to the mid-wicket fence, then a couple of false starts as some clot shifts around behind the bowler’s arm, then a great big fat juicy half-volley, that Younis drives to the cover ropes.
Everyone’s having a drink, and now it’s Nick Miller to take us through to tea.
12th over: Pakistan 27-2 (Hafeez 18, Younis Khan 1)
Now Stokes bowls, with Wood off the field sorting out his footwear and Broad apparently also off the field. So 12 overs bowled, and already five bowlers used – as many as Pakistan turned to in England’s 75-and-a-third-over first innings. Another maiden, though, and drinks to follow.
11th over: Pakistan 27-2 (Hafeez 18, Younis Khan 1)
In which England’s 12th man, Chris Jordan, has to go wondering around the empty stands in an effort to retrieve a ball dumped there by Hafeez’s massive slog-sweep. Younus also has a go at sweeping Moeen here, not quite so violently, for one.
10th over: Pakistan 18-2 (Hafeez 10, Younis Khan 0)
Wood’s over is interrupted by some shoe-related discomfort, and he walks around for a while with his left foot besocked, waving his footwear at the England balcony, before grudgingly lacing himself back up to complete the over. It’s a maiden, with Younis ducking a couple of bouncers, on both occasions taking evasive measures well before the bowler released the ball. Maiden.
9th over: Pakistan 18-2 (Hafeez 10, Younus Khan 0)
Anderson’s spell ends, and Moeen Ali comes on and immediately gets good turn. Hafeez gets a couple of runs off the first, paddled down to long leg, but then edges the last, low and fast to slip, fielded with the foot, not a catching chance.
8th over: Pakistan 16-2 (Hafeez 8, Younus Khan 0)
Wood bowls fast and full at Malik who, surprised, attempts a leaden-footed swish and misses. Then a couple of shortish deliveries, the first hoiked over point for four, and then another full one at Malik who, surprised, attempts a leaden-footed prod and edges.
Malik attempts to drive a full ball and edges into his stumps! Good bowling here from Wood, and Malik never looked comfortable with it.
7th over: Pakistan 12-1 (Hafeez 8, Malik 3)
Four overs from Anderson now, and still no run scored. Just 17 more and he’ll be threatening a world record.
6th over: Pakistan 12-1 (Hafeez 8, Malik 3)
Broad is hooked after just two overs, with Mark Wood replacing him. Malik scores two off the first, taking him to precisely the score at which his last two innings have ended, but then he adds a single, so there’ll be no hat-trick here.
5th over: Pakistan 8-1 (Hafeez 7, Malik 0)
An over interrupted by various field-nurdling, primarily Bairstow moving from short leg to shortish cover, a short journey that seemed to take a long time to organise. The next couple of deliveries are prodded pretty much straight to short leg, though neither of them in the air. Anderson, after three overs, has taken one wicket and is yet to concede a run.
4th over: Pakistan 8-1 (Hafeez 7, Malik 0)
Hafeez gets off the mark stylishly, pulling the ball off his hip to the midwicket boundary, and then he pushes through cover for three. Broad strains to deliver a couple of short balls at around 80mph that keep pretty low and Hafeez can only just duck under.
3rd over: Pakistan 1-1 (Hafeez 0, Malik 0)
Anderson has bowled 17 deliveries at Masood in this series so far, has conceded four runs and has taken his wicket four times. Not so much his bunny as his entire rabbit farm. And Robert Wilson, for one, hasn’t given up on this Test yet. “Surely this is the moment for a mass collective reverse jinx,” he suggests. “If all of us make dire predictions of Pakistan declaring on 300 for 0 and then skittling England out for 87, there’s a chance. The OBO’s astrological record is pretty poor in the first degree but it’s got serious reverse-hexing form. Nearly worked in the last Test after four and a half days of dismal whining (I, myself was proudly sepulchral). Come on, we can do this…”
This time he’s got him! Masood fails to profit from his big let-of, and Buttler gets a near-immediate chance to make good his mistake – and takes it. Masood pushes at the ball, gets a very clear edge and Buttler does the honours.
2nd over: Pakistan 1-0 (Hafeez 0, Masood 1)
There’s a delay between this over and the last while groundsmen come on to repair a strange hole that’s appeared in the grass. The hole is so perfectly circular it is surely man-made, which means either the pitch has been invaded over lunch by some emphatically belated George Davis protesters, or it’s something that a sprinkler occasionally pops out of. Whatever, it’s eventually filled in, and play restarts with a hideous drop! Shan Masood has a little nibble at Broad’s first delivery, which pitches on off stump and moves away, and then nicks the second down the leg side. Buttler dives, reaches it easily, but drops it all the same! It’s a metaphorical punch in the guts for England, in dire need of some kind of early-innings pick-me-up, and for Buttler, who really needs to be demonstrably excellent at something at the moment!
1st over: Pakistan 0-0 (Hafeez 0, Masood 0)
Anderson does the first-over honours and Mohammed Hafeez doesn’t even try to score a run. And he doesn’t score one by accident, either. Maiden.
The players are back out. If Pakistan end this session even half as chuffed as they did the last, the die for this Test will be truly cast. Let’s play!
Hello world!
“England have a lot of hard work to do if they’re to fight their way back into the game,” says Ian Botham as the players break for lunch. Well, not really. Because they’ll either blast their way through Pakistan in short order, in which case it will only have been a bit of hard work, or they won’t fight their way back into the game at all.
That’ll do from me for now. Simon Burnton is your man for the first hour after lunch – email here or tweet here.
Quite so...
Lunch. England 242 all out as Jimmy fences one up to the keeper off Imran. Seven wickets for 60 in that session (7-36 w-w). 136 behind. Grim
Even if Eng bowl Pak out for 100 I wouldnt fancy Eng chasing 230
Well. Well. Well well well. Awful stuff from England, but while they were partly the architects of their own calamitous downfall with some horrendous shots, Wahab Riaz and to a slightly lesser extent Yasir Shah bowled absolutely brilliantly, knocking England over with a big lead. They took the last seven wickets for 36 runs, instigating a collapse for the ages. The really troubling thing for England, if being skittled like this wasn’t troubling enough, was that Shah got some serious turn and variable bounce, which doesn’t make for a comfortable prospect in the fourth innings.
WICKET! Anderson c Sarfraz b Imran Khan 4
An absolute shorter from Imran, and Anderson can only wave his hands vaguely in the direction of the ball, it loops off his gloves and goes behind for a simple catch.
75th over: England 242-9 (Anderson 4, Broad 15)
Broad draws himself up to play a grand-looking shot, but only gets a single from it. Anderson props forwards and gets an inside-edge, that flicks his pad and whistles just past short-leg’s ear. Then there’s the review, and that’s the over.
That bounced just about a centimetre before Shan Masood’s boot at short-leg, and while it’s not 100% clear by any means, they can’t and don’t give it out.
Broad sweeps, it hits short-leg’s foot and loops in the air. He claims the catch, but umpire Reiffel isn’t certain and goes upstairs.
74th over: England 240-9 (Anderson 3, Broad 14)
Broad plays a square shot for one, but tries to turn it into two, before Anderson drives carefully through the covers, and actually does collect two. England absolutely rocketing along now.
Seems an appropriate time to plug an old blog of mine - England batting collapses of the 1980s: https://t.co/rVjOOuPxlg@NickMiller79
73rd over: England 237-9 (Anderson 1, Broad 13)
Sorry, that was Broad who was given not out. Corrected now, but it’s always better to own up to mistakes like that. A single, then Anderson tries that reverse-sweep again. You’ll get there one day, James.
It was hitting Broad marginally outside the line of off, and was heading down leg. Which, all in all, means not out.
A full one on Broad’s ankles, the umpire says no to the lbw shout, but Pakistan review, because they might as well.
72nd over: England 236-9 (Anderson 1, Broad 12)
Imran sends down a loopy slower ball that Broad waits for and plays with the care of someone handling a newborn kitten, and they take a single. Imran goes big on a leg-before appeal to Anderson, which was absolutely stone dead apart from it pitching outside leg and Anderson, you know, hitting the thing.
I think Tim Gray’s trying to tell us something here. Not entirely sure though: “Bairstow for Buttler, frees up a spot for Taylor. Just to comfirm: Taylor, Taylor, Taylor, Taylor, Taylor.”
71st over: England 233-9 (Anderson 0, Broad 10)
Anderson tries a reverse-sweep from his first ball - you’d say that was daft, but it’s no dafter than some of the other shots that have been played this morning. Shah then gets one to spit furiously out of the rough, which climbs on Anderson and thumps his glove, but hits Sarfraz in the chest and he can’t take the catch.
And it is indeed out. Well, that was weird. Wood either didn’t think he hit it, or was just chancing his arm. Even though third umpire Gaffaney had already checked if he’d hit it, and decided he had. Weird.
A very full ball from Shah, and it loops up to Younis at slip. The umpires go upstairs to check if it was a bump ball, which it wasn’t, but then Wood reviews it himself. Which is an interesting shout...
70th over: England 232-8 (Wood 1, Broad 9)
Wahab finally gets a rest, and Imran Khan is in. Broad tries to wipe him over mid-on first up, but doesn’t get enough on the flat-batter and is lucky that it just drops in front of the fielder. He takes a single with a bunted one off his toes, and that’s all from the over.
69th over: England 231-8 (Wood 1, Broad 8)
Wood leaves one that, if off stump had a motion sensor on it, would’ve set it off loudly. Then he swings lustily at a much wider ball, missing completely. Still, no wickets from the last two overs, which counts as progress this morning.
68th over: England 231-8 (Wood 1, Broad 8)
Riaz is back again, and first up Broad cuts - a little airily - in front of point and to the boundary. The next reverses threateningly in the direction of Broad’s stumps, but he gets enough on it to take two in front of mid-wicket. A couple of short ones trouble Broad rather, the second of which he shovels off the back foot and just in front of short-leg, who seemed to react very late - could’ve been a chance, that.
Big shout from the boy Naylor here...
That is the worst hour of cricket I have ever seen from an England team. Yes, really. @nickmiller79
67th over: England 223-8 (Wood 0, Broad 1)
So much for those hopes of a lead. Absolutely trousers batting from England so far this morning - they all appear to be playing as if they were only told there was a Test on five minutes before the start, and are all a little discombobulated. Shah’s first ball to Broad, from around the wicket, goes down the leg side and everyone - batsman, keeper, leg slip - misses the thing, and it goes for four byes. Broad shoves a single into the covers to get off the mark, after which Bairstow departs.
The decision is upheld, although it must be said Mr Gaffaney didn’t exactly linger over whether it did take an inside-edge. It probably didn’t, mind, and England are in quite the mess.
Bairstow goes back to Shah and is caught in front, but reviews straight away. He must think he’s hit it, because it looks pretty straight.
Rashid tests the old maxim that there are only two types of leave, letting one go about two inches outside off stump, then plays an absolutely abysmal slog-sweep that skews off a leading edge and loops up to Hafeez, who takes a simple catch in the covers.
66th over: England 218-6 (Bairstow 46, Rashid 0)
Another over from Riaz, which isn’t too surprising given how well he’s bowling, but this is number eight of the day. A no ball is probably his first misstep of the day, but other than that he bowls another fine over.
Meanwhile, the Aussies (winners of two Ashes series in the last seven) are gloating...
Wahab Riaz! The Pakistan quick has taken three wickets to leave Eng 6-216 LIVE: https://t.co/2X1peUQWxJ#PAKvENGpic.twitter.com/OiwN6iImtK
65th over: England 217-6 (Bairstow 46, Rashid 0)
Oy vey, that was an ugly shot from Buttler. When most of the footwork is done after playing the shot, when the ball was already comfortably nestled in the keeper’s gloves, you know it’s no good. Bairstow plays out the over, driving a single off the last ball.
64th over: England 216-6 (Bairstow 45, Rashid 0)
Buttler’s scores since the start of the Ashes: 27, 7, 13, 11, 9, 12, 1, 42, 23, 4, 0. Not so good.
Riaz is back, the old horse, for his seventh over of the morning. After trying his usual angle he goes around the wicket to Buttler, whose struggles continue as he drives loosely outside off and edges through to Sarfraz, who takes a good low catch.
63rd over: England 216-5 (Bairstow 45, Buttler 0)
More fortunate runs for Bairstow, who cuts Shah but gets an under-edge on that goes straight into the turf and bounces under the keeper, scuttling to the back-stop boundary. Much hilarity as Younis, chasing the ball, finds another ball resting against the ropes. Then a big lbw shout as Shah thumps one onto Bairstow’s pads, but that was drifting down leg and Paul Reiffel says not on your life you big dingo. Or something like that.
62nd over: England 212-5 (Bairstow 41, Buttler 0)
Brilliant bowling this, from Riaz, one of the more underrated bowlers in the world. The consensus seems to be that Bairstow was extremely lucky to still be out there, with plenty of reference to the catch that Jimmy Anderson took in the previous Test.
The lack of consistency in third umpire decisions is alarming. If jimmy's catch last week stands then Jonny had to go there.
No doubt about that catch. Stokes plays a horrible shot, off the back foot and on about a sixth stump line, pushing nondescriptly at the ball and he edges to Sarfraz, who pouches at about chest-height, to his left.
61st over: England 212-4 (Bairstow 41, Stokes 4)
That was almost a brilliant catch by Younis, and you can’t really blame him for claiming it - no hint of any pulling of wool over eyes there. Three singles from the over.
Well, well, well. Bairstow gets away with it, as thirders Chris Gaffaney judges that the ball did meet grass without Younis keeping his fingers underneath it. Big call, that.
Bairstow rocks back and jabs at a cut, it goes low to Younis Khan at slip who claims the catch, but it goes upstairs. He took the catch but really difficult to tell if the ball then touched the turf.
60th over: England 209-4 (Bairstow 40, Stokes 2)
Gorgeous delivery from Wahab to Stokes first up, angling in but moving away just enough to leave Stokes grasping, and just hoping he doesn’t get an edge. Which he doesn’t. Just. A single clipped through square-leg, and that’s it for the over.
Root has been out for scores of 83, 98, 84, 85 and 88 this year. Not much of a weakness... But the No1 batsman might have to consider it one
59th over: England 208-4 (Bairstow 40, Stokes 1)
Eeesh. Stokes does the foxtrot on a high wire as he goes for a big sweep, getting a colossal top-edge that flies high in the air, dropping exactly in the middle of two fielders. A single there, and another one cut by Bairstow from the over.
58th over: England 206-4 (Bairstow 39, Stokes 0)
Smart catch that from Sarfraz, particularly given his difficulty in the previous over. New batsman Ben Stokes plays out the remainder of the over.
“I really think the lack of strike rotation cost us the wicket of Joe,” first-names Krishnan Patel. “Contrary to their reputations as busy players, Root and Bairstow didn’t take many singles since the morning allowing the bowlers to settle into their rhythms and making the scoreboard rather static.”
Well that was slightly unexpected. Root had looked entirely unfussed and comfortable at the crease, then he drives loosely at a widish fullish one, and nicks behind to the keeper, who takes a solid catch diving to his right.
57th over: England 206-3 (Bairstow 39, Root 88)
Ooof, lucky escape for Bairstow, who goes back to Shah and plays almost calamitously late, getting an edge that flashes between keeper and slip - too quick for the former, too far to the left for the latter. It goes for an accidental four, but he collects a more deliberate boundary with a firm cut through point. And then, in a rather eventful over, Bairstow again rocks back and cuts and again gets an edge which thunks the heel of Sarfraz’s hand, loops up over his shoulder and plops safely, from an English perspective, to the turf. Lucky Jonny.
56th over: England 198-3 (Bairstow 31, Root 88)
A single for Bairstow, driven in that not-quite-entirely-on-the-front-foot-so-he-can-look-a-bit-jumpy manner of his - you know the one - before Root delightfully guides one off the back foot, with a late cut through gully and to the third man fence.
55th over: England 193-3 (Bairstow 30, Root 84)
Runs! Lovely runs! The first alteration to the scoreboard of the day comes as Bairstow drives through the covers, and they come back for three after Imran Khan lumbers after it then tries to stop, half-successfully, with his big boot. And then Root goes one better, gobbling up a low full-toss from Shah and clipping it in front of mid-wicket and to the boundary. And then he does almost exactly the same thing, with the same result, from the next ball. Absolute dirt from Shah, that.
England’s morning so far:
54th over: England 182-3 (Bairstow 27, Root 76)
First hint of anything approaching danger of the day, as Root makes a minor hash of an attempted pull shot that was probably a bit too full, but definitely kept a bit low. It thudded into his pads, but there’s no prospect of lbw there. A third maiden on the spin.
53rd over: England 182-3 (Bairstow 27, Root 76)
And another maiden. Yasir Shah is the man with the ball from the other end, and Bairstow blocks away, hinting at a drive from one ball but circumspectly playing himself into the day.
“Stuart Broad’s comment about younger players being able to feed off Joe Root’s batting gave me pause for thought,” writes Sean McNeill. “Is there anyone in the team who is younger than Root?”
52nd over: England 182-3 (Bairstow 27, Root 76)
And we’re away. Wahab sends down a maiden to Root, who plays at a couple but leaves the rest well alone. A suitably gentle start to the day.
Pretty confident that I, along with a vaguely bemused security guard, are the only two people in the Guardian office at the moment. Possibly the only two people awake anywhere. Possibly.
Morning everyone. So who’s ahead? Our own Mike Selvey reckons it’s Pakistan, as you can see, but I’m not so sure. Of course it depends a huge amount on Joe Root, but if he can stick around for a long time, then a lead inside three days could be on, and who knows what could happen from there.
Here’s Stuart Broad on young Mr Root:
From a bowler’s point of view, you can feel quite relaxed when Joe is out there batting,” Broad said. “He doesn’t look like he’s panic-sweeping and dancing [down the pitch] because he’s not sure what to do. Last time we were here it was like tossing a coin as to which shot we would play.”
“I think Joe has brought a lot of calmness to the batting unit – and Cookie, of course, he played beautifully today – that the young guys can feed off. He’s as good a player of spin as I’ve played with. He’s very natural, he doesn’t look or rushed, he just knows his areas to score.”
Nick will be here shortly. In the meantime read Mike Selvey’s day two report.
Pakistan have taken control of the second Test. As well as the England bowlers performed on the second day to halt the Pakistan innings in its tracks, Pakistan’s own bowlers were starting to exert pressure of their own in a manner redolent to an extent of England’s last tour here.
Replying to Pakistan’s 378, a brace of early wickets had set England’s reply back before a third wicket stand of 113 between Alastair Cook and Joe Root restored a balance. In the final session though, the legspinner Yasir Shah, much-hyped but missing from the first Test because of injury, claimed the most valuable wicket of Cook for 65, taken at leg slip.
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