Masterclass: Joe Root and Harry Brook
(Picture: Getty Images)A chaotic afternoon session unfolded in Rawalpindi as England put their foot down with the bat declared on 264-7, setting Pakistan a total of 343 to win.
Joe Root batted left-handed. He didn’t swap his hands over or play a reverse sweep. He instead, for two balls, faced up as a traditional left-hander against the leg-spin of Zahid Mahmood.
It was yet another snapshot of the creativity and ingenuity that is rife within this England side as they swept and slashed their way through an afternoon of batting where the run rate remained comfortably above a run-a-ball and the lead grew from 124 to 342 in double quick time.
The first star of the show was Zak Crawley, who went to his half-century off just 48 balls. It was the first time in his career that he had passed 25 in both innings of a Test and it rounded off an excellent match for him as he backed up his first innings century.
Crawley’s innings would come to a close a ball after reaching fifty however as he gloved a pull shot down the legside which was caught by Mohammad Rizwan behind the stumps. Crawley was given not out on the field, and despite an attempt to dissuade Pakistan not to review by rubbing his shoulder as if the ball had struck his body and not his glove, he would soon be on his way. 10 out of 10 for effort though, Zak.
That wicket brought Harry Brook to the crease, who along with Root put on a masterclass of batting of which fans are at risk of soon considering ordinary rather than incredible, such is the regularity that England are now batting in a manner that beggars belief.
Where Root swept and maneuvered the field at will, Brook bludgeoned the Pakistan attack and in particular any spin that was put in front of him.
It was Root who wowed first, however. At one stage, he reverse-ramped Naseem Shah over the slip cordon for four, before his ultimate trick came out against the spinner shortly after.
Root swept five balls in a row. The first two conventional sweeps but as a left-hander, the second two reverse sweeps as a right-hander, and the final ball a conventional sweep - as a right-hander. It was creative, ingenious and almost all to no reward, as on the second of his two balls as a leftie Root was dropped at midwicket.
Root would eventually fall to the sweep as he was caught at short-fine leg as he top-edged a sweep. Three balls later and Ben Stokes would also be out as he went for an early heave and was caught at cover for a duck.
Will Jacks played a brief but very entertaining cameo to go along with his six-wicket haul from the morning as he scored 24 off 13 balls including three sixes.
As tea approached, he and Brook traded blows into the stand. At one point, they had struck four maximums into the crowd in the space of eight balls and even though Jacks would fall aiming for a fourth six of his own, it looked at one stage that Brook would again be threatening to score the fastest century in history by an Englishman.
But, he would eventually fall to the final ball before tea as he was clean bowled by Shah to finish on 87 off 65. And with that, England declared with a lead of 342 and more than 100 overs still scheduled to play. England have said from the off that they don’t do draws anymore. And it turns out they meant it.
