Big hitter Bairstow gives England hope
JONNY BAIRSTOW brought a sense of urgency to a slow burner of a Test at Edgbaston yesterday with another thrilling demonstration of the bustling strokeplay that has made him one of England’s most exciting batsmen.
An attritional but fascinating fourth day had left this pivotal third Test in the balance, until Bairstow joined forces with Moeen Ali in the partnership which could swing this contest — and the Investec series — decisively in England’s favour.
What a year Bairstow has had and what an impressive cricketer he has become, as shown here with an unbeaten 82 in a stand of 132 so far with Moeen that leaves Pakistan needing to pull off a record Edgbaston chase today.
And what a vital contribution Moeen’s second half-century of the match was at a time when he is struggling to establish himself as England’s No 1 spinner as the pair lifted England to 414 for five and a position of supremacy.
It was hugely frustrating for Misbah-ul-Haq, who had seen Pakistan dominate for the first half of this match but who will now be grateful to emerge with a draw today and a series-deciding finale at the Kia Oval on Thursday.
Bairstow has now scored more runs in a calendar year than any other England wicketkeeper, overtaking Matt Prior’s record of 777 runs with fully eight Tests remaining in 2016.
He is good enough to play in this England side as a specialist batsman but it means just as much to him that his glovework in the last two Tests was as good as it ever has been at the highest level.
He started cautiously here but began to flourish once he had taken 10 runs off an over from Sohail Khan as England, who began their second innings with a deficit of 103, finally wrested control.
Bairstow had the perfect companion in Moeen, who went into this Test with the mindset of playing like the top-order batsman he is in county cricket.
He resumes today on 60 and could have just as vital a part to play with the ball.
How the best batting of the match from Bairstow and Moeen was needed because, whatever happens today, it will frustrate England that so many of their batsmen are doing the hard work before repeating mistakes that are leading to their downfall.
Before Bairstow and Moeen began to take this fluctuating Test away from Pakistan, no fewer than nine England batsmen had passed 28 but none of them had bettered Gary Ballance’s first-innings 70.
With Alastair Cook and Joe Root, it was almost overconfidence that led to their downfalls yesterday. England captain Cook looked certain to add yet another 100 to his record-breaking tally.
That was until he pushed firmly at Sohail and was mortified to see the flying figure of Yasir taking an excellent catch at point.
This was the first time Alex Hales had reached 50 against Pakistan’s impressive attack but he was again unable to convert it into three figures, falling outside off-stump against Mohammad Amir.
It needed Root and James Vince to steady the ship in the face of a superb spell from Rahat Ali, who bowled five successive maidens.
Only 63 runs came from the morning session, with Root needing treatment for the back condition that represents, more than any bowler, the biggest threat to him going on to become one of England’s all-time greats.
He was much more mobile after lunch and looked certain to reach his ton until he nipped a stand of 95 with Vince in the bud by trying to sweep Yasir out of the rough and only succeeding in top-edging.
That left Vince, in company with Ballance, with the opportunity to play the decisive innings that would have vindicated England’s faith in him and booked his place on the tour to India.
Instead, Vince again gave it away after he had shown huge discipline for almost three-and-a-half hours in reaching 42 from 123 balls.
Playing for in-swing off Amir’s first delivery with the second new ball, he instead found none and offered Younis Khan the catch.
When Ballance fell to Yasir for the third time in this series, England were only 179 ahead and the series was marginally in Pakistan’s favour.
But then Bairstow and Moeen took centre stage and Pakistan’s four-man attack started to wilt.
On this ground, no side have scored more than the 283 South Africa reached here in 2008 to bring Michael Vaughan’s captaincy to an end to win a Test.