Cook: We let it slip in two hours

ENGLAND captain Alastair Cook refused to condemn Adil Rashid yesterday after the all-rounder’s wild shot handed Pakistan victory just when the tourists were in sight of a draw. In only his second Test, leg-spinner Rashid appeared to be steering England to a draw to rank alongside Cardiff 2009, Cape Town and Centurion 2009-10 and Auckland 2012-13 — each of which they finished nine wickets down. But, from the third ball of the seventh-last over, Rashid drove loosely to Zulfiqar Babar at cover and sent the Pakistanis into jigs of delight. It was a stroke out of keeping with the care and caution that had preceded it. ‘A few of us would like our shots back,’ said Cook. ‘That was probably one of them. You never mean to get out or mess up, but he’d love to have that shot back, especially considering how well he played those other 170-odd balls. That’s cricket, that’s sport. But it’s not down to that one ball.’ Having been denied victory in the first Test in Abu Dhabi because of bad light, Cook — who insisted he would recover from a groin niggle in time for Sunday’s third Test in Sharjah — cut a disappointed figure as he reflected on a match that got away from England on Saturday morning. In the space of 18 overs they slipped from 206 for three to 242 all out against the searing left-arm pace of man of the match Wahab Riaz and the perky leg-spin of Yasir Shah, who finished the game with eight wickets. ‘It happens too often at the moment,’ he said. ‘It’s a real frustration. Full credit to Riaz — he bowled really well, 90mph reverse swing from different angles with some short stuff thrown in, so we aren’t saying it’s easy. ‘But it’s about the realisation that it’s a tough moment and for 45 minutes you’ve got to suck it up. You are allowed to lose one wicket, but not six or seven. He’s got 30 balls in a spell, and you’ve got to try to get through it. ‘We’ve talked about all that sort of stuff, now we’ve got to do it. We didn’t bat well in those two hours and it’s cost us. To win games out here you have to be ruthless for five days.’ A relieved Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq admitted England’s ninth-wicket pair of Rashid and Mark Wood had given his side a ‘tough time’. But he added: ‘The pressure was going to be on them when it came close. That’s what happened. Adil Rashid played really well but he made a mistake and we managed to win. That’s the beauty of cricket. It’s why we all love this game.’ Cook admitted Jos Buttler, in particular, ‘hadn’t scored the runs he would like on this tour’, and there is a case now for dropping him ahead of Sharjah, handing the gloves to Bairstow, and bringing in James Taylor.