England in command Bairstow turns the tables on Pakistan
Century stand leaves Cook on verge of declaration Root says pitch offers the chance to dismiss Pakistan
England gave themselves a chance of stealing a memorable win from a forgettable match with quick runs in the Saturday evening sunlight to snuff out Pakistan hopes of victory.
Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali slapped 132 runs from 165 balls after tea, taking England’s score to 414 for five, and the lead to 311.
The question now is: how brave is Alastair Cook and when does he declare? Has he found a gambler’s instinct since declining to enforce the followon despite a 391-run lead at Old Trafford? This pitch has offered little to the bowlers but Pakistan have a long tail, so the luxury of two new balls could be crucial, so Cook cannot hang around long this morning.
“It was an unbelievable partnership tonight, good to watch and an exhibition of how to bat in the third innings,” said England No 3 Joe Root. “We had to show quite a lot of patience. If we lost a couple of wickets early we would have given them a chance to get ahead in the game. The pitch doesn’t look like it is breaking up, but there’s enough there to take 10 wickets tomorrow. I’m sure he [Cook] will want a night to mull it [the declaration] over and think what is best going forward.”
Pakistan squeezed England for two sessions, drying up the runs with defensive field settings on a flat deck, but their ninth dropped catch of the series cost them badly and the failure to press for wickets left open the opportunity of late runs, which was grabbed by Bairstow as he continued his year of dominance.
He has now scored 855 runs in the calendar year, smashing the previous record by an England wicketkeeper of Matt Prior’s 777 in 2012. England have eight further Test matches to play before the year is out so Bairstow can set the bar incredibly high. Moeen took 16 balls to get off the mark but the patience paid off. He moved through the gears like the top- order batsman he has been for most of his career, scoring his second half-century of the Test and quickest of the game, off 64 balls.
It delighted the Hollies Stand on fancy-dress day where matadors, Tellytubbies and a set of traffic cones sang through the final hour, as the beer erased the memory of a largely soporific afternoon and hid the fact the sta- dium was half full on a decisive day.
There have only been two draws in 17 Tests in England and one of those, against Sri Lanka in June, was a victim of the early summer rain.
You have to go back to the lifeless match at Trent Bridge against India in July 2014 for the last genuine stalemate and that was played on a pitch so dead that even James Anderson scored 81.
This surface has been better than that but has not deteriorated in a way that has threatened wickets. The footey holes are barely visible after four days, despite umpires fretting over bowlers running on the pitch, and there are few cracks. The psychological pressure of batting on the final day of a Test can open up faultlines and produce a winner. England have quicker, taller bowlers so may just have the ability to blow a way through and the question is whether the tourists can replicate their disciplined first-innings batting.
England brilliantly counter-attacked on Friday night to steal the momentum and infuriate the Pakistan coach Mick- Arthur. Someone, either Arthur or captain Misbah-ul-Haq, delivered a stern team talk for they started the morning better, bowling fuller to Cook, who popped a catch to cover before Alex Hales edged to slip where Younus Khan took a smart catch.
Two wickets had gone in nine balls and England were only 23 runs ahead. Suddenly, the contest was back on. Players often captain in the manner they bat and Misbah was as cautious with his field placings as he was with his strokeplay the day before. Sweep-
ers on the boundary cut down runs and he ordered his bowlers to play on England’s ego. Bowling left-arm over wide of the off stump dried the runs up. Rahat Ali bowled five consecutive maidens, there were nine runs in 10 overs and we were watching UAE-style attritional cricket.
Root called for the physio and took painkillers as his back complaint flared up. He has played 138 of England’s 163 matches in all cricket since his Test debut 3½ years ago and such a workload takes its toll. A slip-up was coming and he edged Rahat low to first slip but Mohammad Hafeez could not force his fingers under the ball and hold on to it. Root was on 25. It was a crucial moment. England were just 63 ahead and if Hafeez had held on they would have lost both Root and Cook before lunch.
The break enabled the painkiller to kick in and Root upped the ante after lunch, batting beautifully against Yasir Shah, late cutting and pulling him for four as he reached fifty off 108 balls. Yasir switched to round the wicket and Root’s instincts let him down. He could have kicked away Yasir but swept and top-edged a catch to fine leg.
James Vince did his best to play a Test innings. He played 37 ‘leaves’ outside the off stump as Pakistan tempted him to drive hard again. He faced 123 balls, almost twice as many as any previous innings, and when he did attack unfurled some wonderful strokes. It is clear he has the talent but the patience snapped and he fended another catch to slip, falling for the fourth time for a score of 35-42, ensuring he is back to square one at the Oval next week.