Frustrated fan makes Hales pay
ALEX HALES dug into his own pocket to refund a cricket fan who moaned he had been shortchanged by England’s slow over rate.
The opener (left) was one of nine players contacted by upset punter Alexis Fuller after the home bowlers came up short during Friday’s play.
Nine of the regulation 90 overs went unbowled after a JONNY BAIRSTOW’S late charge set up a fantastic final day as England moved within sight of an outside shot at glory.
The flame-haired Yorkshire star put his foot on the gas in the last hour of a fascinating tussle as the hosts slowly tipped the balance of the Third Test in their direction.
There was plenty of rebuilding work to be done as Alastair Cook’s batsmen first concentrated on dragging themselves clear of immediate danger. But Bairstow saw that job to an end and then, along with Brummie boy Moeen Ali, helped turn the screw with a r apid unbeaten century partnership that left Pakistan firmly on the back foot.
Vice-captain Joe Root, who weighed i n with a vital half-century himself, paid tribute to his county colleague saying: “The way that Jonny played was oustanding.
“And the manner in which both he and Moeen then went through the gears has put us in a great position. You could see it developing throughout. They got the balance right.
“Jonny has always been a very talented cricketer and the way that he has applied himself here has shown that we could have an even more exceptional player on our hands in the next 18 months.”
The efforts of the lower middle-order left England with a 311-run lead going into what could be three vital sessions in the context of this series and, depending on how keen Cook is to gamble, a chance of victory series of stoppages as both teams battled for supremacy at Edgbaston. The culprits-in-chief were Alastair Cook’s men who managed just 20 between lunch and tea.
And that led to Fuller making his point on Twitter, as he contacted all but Cook and Gary Ballance, neither of whom are on the social media site.
“I want 10 per cent of my money back,” he wrote after shelling out £41 for the day’s
Exceptional
beckons. The highest total ever made to win a match in Birmingham is 283 when South Africa triumphed eight years ago.
However, Cook is conservative by nature and unlikely to make an overnight declaration on a flat track that is showing little sign of wear and tear.
But that takes nothing from England’s main men who put together an impressive effort as they grabbed the initiative.
And Cook would have certainly been a happy man, having conceded a 103- run deficit after the first innings.
Even though England began yesterday’s play with all 10 wickets intact, their first priority was to establish a position from which they were unlikely to lose.
Early on, their task was put into focus as Cook and Alex Hales both fell after adding just six runs to the overnight total.
Root then repaired the damage with a half- century before top-edging leggie Yasir Shah to short fine leg. James Vince followed caught in the slips shortly after the second new ball was t aken in mid-afternoon.
Although Bairstow lost Gary Ballance, Ali entered the fray and after a slow start the pair milked tiring Pakistan.
To put their evening’s industry into perspective, there were 142 runs scored in the first two sessions – 10 runs less than in the final two-and-a-half hours.
Pakistan spin coach Saqlain Mushtaq said: “We were only one wicket away from breaking through – if we had done that we would have been in the game.
“But Bairstow and Ali batted brilliantly from England’s point of view.” play, “wouldn’t go to football and find it ended after 80 minutes.”
The Nottinghamshire man replied: “OK. DM (Direct message) me your bank details. I’ll do it now.”
True to his word, the batsman sent the money to Fuller’s account and Fuller himself donated the £4.10 to the Lord’s Taverners, a cricket and sports’ disability charity.
He tweeted that Hales had
Priority
paid the money into his account saying: “Hope he goes big tomorrow!” Unfortunately, the right-hander added just four runs to his unbeaten overnight half-century. He was caught at second slip early on off the bowling of Mohammad Amir.