Stumps! England back on top
49th over: England 202-5 (Brook 74, Stokes 16) Babar, trying something different at last, gives Agha Salman a go with his off-breaks. The batters milk him for a few singles and that is the close, with England back in control after threatening to teeter into a ditch.
Harry Brook and Ben Duckett, two fringe figures, have played like elder statesmen, easing their way to 150 between them. Nobody else made many but Ben Stokes is still there, in his sober white-ball mode so far, ready to revert to red in tooth and claw tomorrow. England lead by 281, which happens to be what they scored in their first innings.
Their spinners, Jack Leach and Joe Root, surprised us this morning by engineering a Pakistan collapse. Root may be in danger of becoming a bowler who bats a bit. For Pakistan, Abrar Ahmed has ten wickets on debut – two of them Root’s – but as things stand he must feel he is heading for defeat.
Thanks for your company and correspondence. We’ll be back first thing tomorrow for the third and possibly last day of this fast-forward Test. In the meantime, does anyone know of some other England match we can find to entertain us?
Updated
48th over: England 197-5 (Brook 72, Stokes 13) Stokes, making himself more comfortable against Abrar, pulls the googly for two. A camera catches a flock of somethings wheeling round in a peachy sky, as if they’re wondering what’s going on.
Talking of birds, here’s John Tumbridge. “TMS told us earlier that Duncan Fletcher (remember him?) is currently in South Africa and is attempting to photograph every one of the 970 bird species in Southern Africa. He’s currently on about 750 after five years. Is there ever a more perfect 100% overlapping Venn diagram than bird-watching and cricket?” Ha. Not quite 100, as I’ve just demonstrated, but an interesting point.
47th over: England 192-5 (Brook 71, Stokes 9) Hang on, Babar is going back to pace, summoning Mohammad Ali, so the umps must be saying the light isn’t too bad. Or else Babar just wants the day to end … though Nasser reckons he should be wanting to stay out there. “The only way Pakistan win this game,” he says, “is to take the next wicket now.” And it needs to be the wicket of Brook, because he scores so fast that he could get another fifty with just the tail for company.
Updated
46th over: England 189-5 (Brook 70, Stokes 8) Abrar manages to keep Brook quiet and goes for just three singles. The umpires are conferring, probably about the light, though I like to think they’re discussing that stroke of genius from Brook and deciding that if he can do that, the light must be absolutely fine.
“It is such a pleasure see people playing sport with such joy,” says Denis. “I am tired of doleful players and hangdog coaches with the world on their shoulders. It is only a game and not life and death! All English male teams should ask Stokes to captain them. He would make a great Number 7 with his competitiveness and a gritty midfielder. All hail the joy of cricket. All hail Ben Stokes.” Ha. I’m not sure even Stokes would pick himself ahead of Declan Rice.
45th over: England 186-5 (Brook 68, Stokes 7) Zahid sticks with his dismal Giles impersonation, and Brook’s not having it. He stands outside leg stump and sweeps fine for four, then cover-drives, inside-out, right out of the rough. On the evidence of these two Tests, he’s going to be a superstar.
44th over: England 176-5 (Brook 58, Stokes 7) Stokes is content with singles at the moment, so he does seem to be laying down his dogma and playing the situation. Brook is making it easy for him with his easy fluency. Again he waits for the bad ball and punishes it, late-cutting Abrar for four, like Joe Root on speed.
43rd over: England 171-5 (Brook 54, Stokes 6) Babar Azam has 99 problems here (and the pitch is one – it’s not doing much). Among them is the fact that Zahid Mahmood can’t manage a maiden. Bowling to Brook, he does string together a few dots, but only by going round the wicket into the rough outside the leg stump. A leg-spinner reduced to bowling like Ashley Giles.
Here, on a different tack, is Tom van der Gucht. “I know Stokes publicly backed Foakes,” he says, “and explained that Pope’s selection as keeper was a horses for courses option bringing balance to the the team by allowing a second spinner and Wood, but Foakes must look at which way the wind is blowing and worry.
“When Bairstow is fit again, there will be a plethora of batting options available in the Bazball mould... Duckett, Crawley, Brookes, Bairstow, Pope, Livingstone... but not many places. Considering how JB epitomised and led the revolution last summer, he must be a shoo-in when he’s fit, but who for? Brooks looks the future... Pope seems to offer more battingwise... It’s sad, but the silky gloveman with model good looks doesn’t seem to quite cut the mustard for the Bazball style.”
Updated
42nd over: England 170-5 (Brook 54, Stokes 5) Abrar ties Brook down for a few deliveries, but then floats one up and gets thumped down the ground. “The more he’s faced him,” says Nasser of Brook, “the more’s he’s picked him, and the more he’s dealt with him.”
Another fifty to Harry Brook!
41st over: England 165-5 (Brook 50, Stokes 4) Brook, facing Zahid, gets a nice friendly ball on leg stump and works it into a gap for two to reach fifty. It’s his third one in this series, same as Duckett, and it’s been an innings of two halves – scratchy as he made his way to four off 26 balls, then suddenly commanding as he added 46 off the next 47. And that’s drinks, with England leading by 244 but not having it all their own way. Pakistan need to take five wickets fast. The only problem is that they seem to have just two weapons in their armoury – Abrar and run-outs.
Updated
40th over: England 160-5 (Brook 47, Stokes 2) Abrar gives Brook a single so he can attack Stokes. A push, a leave, another push … but then Stokes loses patience and goes for the reverse sweep. He misses, Abrar appeals, Marais Erasmus shakes his head firmly. Stokes fiddles a single off the last ball by working the ball to leg with his wrists. Good contest.
39th over: England 158-5 (Brook 46, Stokes 1) Three singles off Zahid: so far, so cool.
Updated
38th over: England 155-5 (Brook 44, Stokes 0) Run-outs can change the mood and Pakistan have a sniff now. England lead by 234 runs, but it will only take one more wicket to get down to the tail, and Stokes is so eager to practise what he preaches that he may well be caught in the deep for 16 off ten balls. His general approach has been a gust of fresh air but if, in this case, he could bring his white-ball persona – much calmer and cannier – he’d be doing his team a favour. He starts, promisingly, with a defensive push for no run.
Wicket! Pope run out (Nawaz) 4 (England 155-5)
Another one! And another bad run as Pope, just like Crawley earlier, sets off for a kamikaze single. Unlike Crawley, he is sent back, rightly but not very promptly, and all Nawaz at cover has to do is be alert to send him on his way.
37th over: England 155-4 (Brook 44, Pope 4) One of the striking features of Stokes’s team is that when they lose a wicket, they just carry on regardless. Zahid is allowed only one dot in this over as the batters take four singles and then a hard-run two, cut by Brook to the cover sweeper.
36th over: England 149-4 (Brook 40, Pope 2) Here’s Ollie Pope, back in his old haunt at No 6 as he was given a rest after making runs and keeping wicket. He starts positively, going deep into the crease to work the ball for two. But the story of the over is Abrar, completing his ten-wicket haul, seeing off England’s best batter in this match and sparing the blushes of his captain, Babar, who had dropped Duckett a few minutes earlier.
WICKET! Duckett b Abrar 79 (England 147-4)
A short ball keeps low, Duckett pulls and misses, and Abrar gets his ten-for! Not his best delivery, but what a performance on debut.
35th over: England 143-3 (Duckett 75, Brook 40) Zahid beats the bat too, turning a leg-break past Brook’s outside edge, but only after leaking eight runs off the first five balls of his over. England’s run rate has finally made it to four. It could go a lot higher if Pakistan can’t separate these two soon.
34th over: England 135-3 (Duckett 71, Brook 36) Brook is fully himself now and shows it by whipping Abrar for six! It’s the first one in this innings, and he follows it with a pull for four, miscued but still powerful. After making four off his first 26 balls, Brook has 32 off his last 31. Abrar, unabashed, beats Duckett outside off with a gorgeous googly.
Updated
33rd over: England 124-3 (Duckett 71, Brook 25) Zahid continues and Nasser Hussain, on commentary, gives a little lecture to younger viewers on how to play spin. “Duckett’s good at it because he’s short. It’s easy to read length when you’re short. Look at Brook, he’s tall, but he crouches down low against the spinner.”
Duckett dropped by Babar!
32nd over: England 120-3 (Duckett 70, Brook 22) Duckett gets a bad ball from Abrar, a long hop, and is so surprised he plays a bad shot, a half-arsed pull, straight to midwicket – where Babar Azam is so astonished by both these developments that he drops an absolute sitter. If his team didn’t already feel they were doomed, they will now.
31st over: England 119-3 (Duckett 69, Brook 22) Zahid is leaking runs again. Duckett reverse-sweeps him for two and then Brook pulls for four.
I’ve been picking up some correspondence from earlier. “Hello again Tanya,” wrote Rob Lewis after Pakistan collapsed. “It looks like Bazball has been vindicated and I have to eat humble pie... earlier I predicted Stokes had got it wrong. Oh Ye of little faith! It just proves there’s no fool like an old fool and fortune favours the brave.” Don’t be down on yourself, Rob: Stokes makes fools of all of us at some point.
30th over: England 110-3 (Duckett 65, Brook 17) Abrar was changing ends, and he may be regretting it. Brook, growing in confidence now, not only reads a googly but then spots a ball that is only slightly short and late-cuts it for four. That too was Root-like, in a good way.
29th over: England 103-3 (Duckett 63, Brook 12) A change of bowling! And it’s Abrar who gets a breather, though it may be just to change ends. Zahid Mahmood comes on with his orthodox leg-spin and makes a respectable start, going for three singles. But it already feels as if Pakistan are going through the motions. Slip, short leg, field placing by numbers: Babar is a Root of a captain, not a Stokes.
28th over: England 100-3 (Duckett 61, Brook 11) A decent over from Nawaz, just two singles from it, but the only faint whiff of danger came from a possible run-out. After Abrar, that may be Pakistan’s most potent weapon.
“This match,” says John Starbuck, “may well be done by lunch on Day Four, giving us all a chance for a rest from sport for a few hours/do the washing up/send Xmas cards (some of us still do that)/wrap presents etc.”
Updated
Meanwhile, in Adelaide …
Scott "build the man a statue" Boland has begun with a triple-wicket maiden against West Indies at Adelaide.
— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) December 10, 2022
27th over: England 98-3 (Duckett 60, Brook 10) No change at the other end either, more understandably, as Abrar is carrying on where he left off in the first innings. After stuttering to four off 26 balls, Harry Brook finally finds his feet, giving Abrar the charge and drilling a straight drive to the rope.
26th over: England 91-3 (Duckett 59, Brook 4) Babar Azam, a beautiful batsman and a rather bland captain, needs a bright idea here, but he just keeps Nawaz on with his harmless slow left-arm. Each batter takes a single as they digest their tea and biscuits.
A thought from Kim Thonger. “For all its positives, Bazball, for me, has one serious downside. It has killed the notion of the brave British nightwatchman, defending his wicket to the death, turning down the quick single, resolutely ignoring the slow long hop outside leg stump, ducking bouncers, with a firm jaw and a steely eye. I feel for Jack Leach, our most magnificent practitioner of the dark art. Shall we never see his misty spectacles glinting in the low setting sun again? Spare a thought for him in this day and age when he might once have been our hero.”
Ha. He’s still a cult figure. And Bazball has brought us the nighthawk – a part played in the summer by Stuart Broad, who is back on the telly now in his latest role as a rather tentative young curate in The Vicar of Dibley.
Updated
Tea: England comfortable-ish
25th over: England 89-3 (Duckett 58, Brook 3) Duckett again faces only one delivery, getting three this time – off the glove, as Abrar deceives him and the ball pops over Mohammad Rizwan’s shoulder. Brook again plays the role of Geoff Boycott, so he now has three off 22 balls. And that’s tea, with Pakistan winning the session but England still on course to win the match. They lead by 168 runs and Ben Duckett is playing like the senior pro, while Abrar Ahmed continues to take almost all the wickets by himself. See you in 15 minutes: I’m off to find my long-johns.
Updated
24th over: England 86-3 (Duckett 55, Brook 3) Duckett takes a single off Nawaz’s first ball, which is just what Pakistan would like, so they can get at Brook. He keeps Nawaz out but can’t buy a run, even off these gentle slow left-armers. Three off 17 so far: he may be dropped for slow scoring.
23rd over: England 85-3 (Duckett 54, Brook 3) After tormenting one Yorkshireman with his mysteries, Abrar starts work on another. Brook fails to read the googly, shapes to cut, finds the ball following him towards leg stump, and is lucky to squirt a single off the inside edge.
22nd over: England 82-3 (Duckett 53, Brook 1) So England are in a bit of bother, or are they? Duckett is joined by Harry Brook, the only player with more runs than him in this series. He gets off the mark, characteristically, by going down the track and pushing into the off side.
21st over: England 81-3 (Duckett 52, Brook 1) So Abrar has his ninth wicket in the match, plus a direct-hit run-out: now that’s what I’d call a ten-for. The decision went upstairs to check that it was a fair catch, but Root had already walked.
Wicket!! Root c Shafique b Abrar 21 (England 79-3)
Root sweeps … to short leg! Where Abdullah Shafique takes a wonderful catch, as he had to spot that Root hadn’t timed it at all and then lunge to his left when he had been dancing to his right. That moment was all about the fielding, but Abrar fully deserved it after giving Root, a great player of spin, persistent trouble.
Updated
Fifty to Duckett!
20th over: England 78-2 (Duckett 50, Root 21) Duckett, facing Nawaz, clips for two to bring up the fifty partnership, then sweeps for a single to reach his second fifty of the match and his third of the series. He already has almost as many runs in these two Tests (220) as he picked up in the T20 series before the World Cup (233). Whatever the format, he looks so comfortable now in an England shirt.
19th over: England 73-2 (Duckett 47, Root 19) Abrar troubles Root again with a ball that hurried on and kept low. The slider, to my untrained eye. Where’s Shane Warne when you need him?
18th over: England 70-2 (Duckett 46, Root 17) Root, finding himself fenced in by Nawaz, breaks free by moving across to the off stump and playing a lovely lap-sweep for four.
“Missed the morning,” says Thomas Whiteley, “but amazed to see England had taken all remaining wickets. Is Bazball actually more about the bowling? Taken all 10 wickets in 16 consecutive innings.” Great spot.
17th over: England 63-2 (Duckett 44, Root 12) Abrar is giving Root some bother. He uses over-spin to get extra bounce and the ball pops off Root’s pad onto his glove, only to fall short of the man at short leg. That’s a maiden and another moral victory for Abrar.
Meanwhile, in Antigua …
Updated
16th over: England 63-2 (Duckett 44, Root 12) Babar Azam recognises that it’s time for spin at both ends, but turns to Mohammad Nawaz rather than Zahid. His slow left-arm looks rusty as Duckett helps himself to a drive for three and Root follows it with a dab for three more. Duckett throws in a glance for two, there are a couple of singles and that’s ten off the over.
15th over: England 53-2 (Duckett 38, Root 8) Abrar thinks he’s got Duckett! A reverse-sweep, a miss, a big appeal for LBW, a review … and it was hitting the stumps, but the impact on the pad was umpire’s call. Duckett celebrates his escape with a couple of conventional sweeps, picking up a two and a single.
14th over: England 48-2 (Duckett 35, Root 6) Ali dishes up another of those freebies outside off, inviting Root to play the late cut and pick up his first four of the innings. It’s a mystery why the mystery spinner has yet to be joined by the orthodox leggie, Zahid Mahmood.
13th over: England 43-2 (Duckett 34, Root 2) Abrar continues, with a slip and a short leg, and keeps it tight, conceding two singles. This is Test cricket as we used to know it.
Updated
Drinks: England well ahead but wobbling
12th over: England 41-2 (Duckett 33, Root 1) Mohammad Ali replaces Faheem Ashraf as the token seamer. He begins with a rank loosener, short outside off, so Duckett helps himself from the buffet. And that’s drinks, with England both lording it (they lead by 120) and flirting with a collapse. And they’re only going at three and a half an over. Ben Stokes may be having a word.
Updated
11th over: England 37-2 (Duckett 29, Root 1) Root, facing Abrar, gets off the mark with a push to mid-off. The batters meet for a conference in mid-pitch, to allow the old hand Duckett to offer some tips to the skittish Root.
10th over: England 34-2 (Duckett 27, Root 0) Duckett, looking supremely relaxed as wickets fall at the other end, pulls Faheem for four. If you’d never heard of him or Root, you’d assume Duckett was the senior partner here. He has 27 off 37 balls; the rest have seven off 23 between them.
9th over: England 29-2 (Duckett 22, Root 0) Thanks Tanya, lovely stuff as usual, and morning everyone. It’s Abrar, the debutant who eats England for the meal I’ve just finished. He has an appeal for LBW against Root, but it ends in smiles as there was a big inside edge. Still, a moral victory to the bowler, who, with the run-out, has been responsible for nine of England’s 12 wickets in the match.
Updated
8th over: England 28-2 (Duckett 21, Root 0) Faheem bowls the support over well as we wait for the main act. Talking of which – here is Tim de Lisle to take you through to stumps. Thanks for getting up with me in the small hours. Bye!
7th over: England 25-2 (Duckett 18, Root 0) A fizz around the ground, which has grown in size and spirit over lunch. Duckett sweeps cleverly and dabs Abrar behind the slips. England take six relatively easily from the over until Jacks is done like a kipper.
Updated
WICKET! Jacks b Abrar 4 (England 25-2)
Holy moly! Jacks tries to sock it to Abrar, drops to his knees in the sweep and is comprehensively bowled. Six balls for the wicket this time!
6th over: England 19-1 (Duckett 15, Jacks 1) Duckett pounces on a short one and pulls it to the rope in Henry VIII style. Faheem tightens up and no more runs off the over. And the mystery spinner is about to emerge from the wings.
“Good morning from sunny Lisbon and a relatively warm 13c, makes a change from a couple of nights ago when a months rain fell in 3hrs rendering Lisbon more like Venice!” taps a cheerful James Fielding. “Well, Bazball for breakfast, Portugal v Morocco for lunch and Eng v France for dinner, what a time to be alive.”
5th over: England 15-1 (Duckett 11, Jacks 1) Thinking that Jacks might have been sent in to try and knock the confidence out of Abrar – who will presumably be called into action shortly. A better over from Ali.
Updated
4th over: England 11-1 (Duckett 8, Jacks 0) The batting order has a twist. Jacks is sent in at three, for the first time in first-class cricket. I don’t see him pursuing this morning’s Rizwan route.
“Morning Tanya,” morning Michael Robinson.
”As always, thank you for providing the OBO and allowing me to read up on the mornings play from the comfort of my bed! I was torn between reading or getting the test match on for next hour so and you’ve convinced me of the cricket.
”I’m not sure Kamila Shamsie would be impressed though… as I discard In The City By The Sea in favour of Bazball!
Have a good day, enjoy the snow,”
A pleasure.
WICKET! Crawley run-out Abrar 3 (England 11-1)
That man Abrar! Crawley choses to stretch single from a paper bag and Abrar running from mid-on gently under-arms the stumps down in one throw. He stretches out his arms and zooms in celebration.
Updated
3rd over: England 11-0 (Crawley 3, Duckett 8) Mohammad Ali sends down two consecutive balls that float like a balloon and sting like a wet tissue. Duckett dispatches them both for four.
2nd over: England 3-0 (Crawley 3, Duckett 0) No spin yet, as Faheem Ashraf skids in. A testing maiden.
Stephen Cryan briefly waves a flag for the other beautiful game:
”Darkness falls quickly in Qatar. The night steals in like a kidnapper, wrapping its shroud around the desert like a bag over the head. Sunsets barely last long enough to choose an Instagram filter. On Saturday evening, either England or France will also discover that in these parts, oblivion descends with a devastating brutality.”
“What an opening.”
Jonny is a word god.
Afternoon session: England's second innings, lead by 79 runs
1st over: England 3-0 (Crawley 3, Duckett 0) Mohammad Ali is trusted with the new ball and Crawley immediately picks up a couple of runs off a fumble. Some swing for Ali; Crawley instantly imperious. We should all get a go at being six foot five.
Hello Chris Lewis! “Following the OBO from a Horticultural Fair in Chanthaburi in Thailand. A warm and humid 32 degrees here. England’s tactics vindicated. If it is a pitch teams will only last 60 overs on you have to score as many as you can before receiving the ball with your name on it.”
Play starts at 8.10 GMT. It might be worth putting it on:
With a big lead on this pitch, I think we could see BazBall in fast forward in Englands batting innings, if that’s even possible 💥💥💥
— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) December 10, 2022
“Just catching up on the goings on on a chilly morning here in Hampshire,” writes Hannah Rolls.
”In over 36 … was that Women’s Prize winning novelist Kamila Shamsie? High class of contributions today!”
I’ve gilded her on the OBO honours board! But seriously, she loves her cricket, here are a couple of things she’s written. And she also spoke, beautifully, at the Wisden dinner in 2016
Open the curtains to find snow is falling.
With England buoyant, time for me to get strong coffee and wake the paper boy.
62.5 overs: Pakistan 202 all out (Abrar 7) Very nicely done by Abrar who sticks out his bum and ushers Mark Wood over the slips for four. Squeezes a single before Ashraf holes out. 23 precious runs from the last-wicket pair but Pakistan ground to a halt after Babar’s wicket, and then could never restart the train against tight England bowling.
An email wheels in from Richard Whitehook. “Morning Tanya... Checking in from an overcast and cooling afternoon in Malaysia - 29 degrees! Loving the last weeks worth of test cricket, and on a family note would like to wish a happy birthday to my little brother Nick Rodwell who reached 50 not out this week.”
Happy Birthday Nick! May it be merry and bright.
WICKET! Ashraf c Duckett b Wood 22 (Pakistan 202 all out - trail by 79)
Wood covers his mouth in disbelief, after Ashraf plonks the ball to backward square leg and Duckett takes a comfy catch. What a balls-up by Pakistan, but excellent again from England, who spring up the Multan pavilion steps for lunch.
61st over: Pakistan 197-9 (Ashraf 22, Abrar 2) A one-kneed swipe by Ashraf evades the clutching fingers of Ben Duckett at mid=off to go for four; and another , a big stride and a reverse-sweep to the rope. A little resistance at last.
61st over: Pakistan 189-9 (Ashraf 14, Abrar 2) Root leaks a run, with ten minutes to go till they must come off.
“Morning Tanya,” Andy Bradshaw.
”This is where bazball comes into its own (cue a collapse second innings to all Out for 100 off 20balls). But if you as a batsman, are expecting to only last 20 balls, whether you block or BazBall it, might as well try and get 30 off those 20 balls rather than 4
60th over: Pakistan 188-9 (Ashraf 13, Abrar 2) The deficit falls below 100, small, rather stale, crumbs of comfort.
“Morning Tanya,” Karen Thorne!
“Just tuned in at a most exciting point!!
Broady was right yesterday when he said a few wickets for England this morning will see their total unattainable by Pakistan.
He was right to ditch the clergyman’s glasses too. Bet he was ribbed something rotten about those.
Anyway Leach seems to have had some kind of revival this morning!! And what a blinder Robinson is playing.”
59th over: Pakistan 183-9 (Ashraf 8, Abrar 2) Wood is pulled off after bowling one over, and taking a wicket, and Leach replaces him. Pakistan survive.
58th over: Pakistan 182-9 (Ashraf 7, Abrar 2) Lunch in this elongated session is delayed while we wait for the final wicket to fall. Leach’s second ball goes straight through Abrar but he somehow survives the rest of the over. Since Babar was out at about elevenses, Pakistan have lost seven for forty.
57th over: Pakistan 181-9 (Ashraf 6, Abrar 2) Abrar, shirt stuffed full of a chest-pad, gets off the mark with a somewhat desparate pull.
WICKET! Mahmood lbw Wood 0 (Pakistan 179-9, 102 behind)
Mahmood is no match for an in-swinging beauty. He reviews, just because, and Pakistan have three left, but it only delays the inevitable. Wood’s first wicket of the innings.
56th over: Pakistan 179-8 (Ashraf 6, Mahmood 0) Pakistan at last discover the reverse-sweep as Ashraf scavenges a boundary off Leach.
55th over: Pakistan 175-8 (Ashraf 2, Mahmood 0) Pakistan gratefully accept four byes past Pope’s gloves.
Updated
54th over: Pakistan 171-8 (Ashraf 2, Mahmood 0) Ashraf squeezes a couple of runs off Leach but the good ship Pakistan is tilting dangerous.
“Good morning, Tanya!” Lovely to hear from you Jana Jeruma-Grinberga!
“Following fascinating OBO in a snowy landscape in Latvia, 1000’s of miles and degrees of separation from Pakistan. Today’s plan - a bit of IKEA flatpackery followed by a trip to the Christmas market in the Old Town and a hot Black Balsam (it’s -8 outside). As a longtime, old time England cricket follower, I’m loving this - the most riveting ENG team since maybe 1981.”
Have googled a black balsam, does it have a touch of the mulled wines about it?
Updated
53rd over: Pakistan 169-8 (Ashraf 0, Mahmood 0) Just the double-wicket maiden for Root!
WICKET! Ali b Crawley b Root 0 (Pakistan 169-8, 112 behind)
At slip, Crawley springs up from his long long legs, reaches his long, long arms and plucks the ball from the air after Ali props forward and gets an edge onto his pad. Pakistan have now lost four wickets in 19 balls for four runs.
WICKET! Salman c Stokes b Root 4 (Pakistan 169-7, 112 behind)
Root’s loosener is served up in a gravy jug and delivered straight to Ben Stokes who doesn’t have to move a finger at mid-on.
52nd over: Pakistan 169-6 (Salman 4, Ashraf 0) Pakistan crumbling against the potent combo of guile and rhythm from Leach, and reverse-swing from the big men.
WICKET! Nawaz c Robinson b Nawaz 1 (Pakistan 169-6, 112 behind)
Nawaz jauntily dances down the pitch to hit the ball straight to mid-off.
51st over: Pakistan 169-5 (Salman 4, Nawaz 1) Pakistan pick up a relatively princely four off Wood – who has busted a gut today for no reward.
This is mind-blowing – Wasim Akram and Jack Leach
Jack Leach gets to 100 wickets in 50 bowling inns, the same number of inns as it took W Akram, C Vaas, S Akhtar, R Herath, M Starc, K Maharaj to reach 100
— Mark Puttick (@GryllidaeC) December 10, 2022
50th over: Pakistan 161-5 ( Salman 1, Nawaz 0) So cleverly done by Leach Rizwan had just reached the boundary with a characteristically wristy loft but, just as Shakeel did, falls the next ball.
Updated
WICKET! Rizwan b Leach 10 (Pakistan (165 -5, trail by 116 runs)
A beauty! Rizwan is squared up by the turn, befuddled, and the ball ricochets into middle stump. The end of a peculiarly out-of-character innings
49th over: Pakistan 161-4 (Rizwan 6, Agha Salman 1) Sweet riches, two runs off Wood. A flap into the ground from Rizwan brings one, and Salman gets off the mark after nine balls. Wood sprints in, with his whole body, and Salman just gets his bat down in time on a yorker.
48th over: Pakistan 159-4 (Rizwan 4, Agha Salman 0) Another maiden from Leach who has pulled on his slippers and scuffed up the tobacco. Brook takes one on the bum at silly point.
Tell me your Saturday breakfast plans, oh OBO-ers. Or lunch/dinner plans if you’re on a different longitude.
47th over: Pakistan 159-4 (Rizwan 4, Agha Salman 0) Super from Wood, largely on a good length till a final ball snorter. Salman is tempted to have a flash but survives his instinctive flash.
46th over: Pakistan 158-4 (Rizwan 4, Agha Salman 0) What a waste to bat so carefully all morning, only to lose your head for a passing fancy.
WICKET! Shakeel c Anderson b Leach 63 (Pakistan 158-4, 123 behind)
A hundredth Test wicket for Leach as Saud Shakeel loses his head, the ball after playing a sublime dance and hit for four. He goes for it again but mis-cues and the ball flies up between Anderson and Jacks. Anderson scrambles like a teenager late for the bus and takes the ball on the slide with both hands whilst avoiding Jacks.
45th over: Pakistan 154-3 (Shakeel 59, Rizwan 4) This anti-Bazball proving the worth of Bazball. If Rizwan was to make a mistake and go now, he’d have batted resolutely for nearly an hour but for not a single run to notch on the scorecard. A change of ends for Wood and Rizwan breaks the shackles at last! A glorious cover drive that skips with delight to the boundary. Rizwan grins.
44th over: Pakistan 149-3 (Shakeel 58, Rizwan 0) Stokes turns to Leach, long sleeves in the morning chill. Rizwan wristily drives but only to mid-on. He prods forward again. Pope has a little word in his ear from behind the sticks, and silly point examines Rizwan’s white lipstick. Another maiden.
43rd over: Pakistan 149-3 (Shakeel 58, Rizwan 0) And another maiden as Robinson runs over and around, over and around. Ben Stokes time?
42nd over: Pakistan 149-3 (Shakeel 58, Rizwan 0) Tick, tock, the overs pass and Pakistan play them out passively. A tutti-fruity length ball from Wood – England hesitate over the review – Pope isn’t keen, Wood is – they go for it and it is close – umpire’s call – but no cigar. Rizwan still becalmed.
41 overs: Pakistan 148-3 (Shakeel 58, Rizwan 0) All sorted on the eye and refreshment front, and Robinson finishes his over with two more dots.
40.4 overs: Pakistan 147-3 (Shakeel 57, Rizwan 0) Rizwan nearly sliced in half by a Robinson seamer and we take DRINKS while Rizwan tries to sluice something out of his eye with a bottle of water.
“Morning from a mild Istanbul Tanya. Today is really a tester for Bazball: with a slightly unbalanced attack for the circumstances, we could find ourselves 100 behind by the close. Then what? Go for it? If we lose this one, we’ll be accused of being, what’s the term? Flat track bullies?” Oh Robert Lewis, that’s a bit provocative for this time in the morning.
40th over: Pakistan 147-3 (Shakeel 57, Rizwan 0) A bowling change, and we get Mark Wood for the first time this morning, hitting over 90 mph (145 kph) by mid-over. Rizwan remains resolute with his 15 ball 0, he’s not going to be able to resist having a dart for much longer.
“Good morning Tanya.” Hello Finbar Anslow! “Just ‘tuned in’ in time for Babar’s demise. Thanks for getting up so early for us and please spare a thought for our Milan gig today - starts at 5 pm and have just discovered they’re letting us in to prepare at .... 5 pm. Sigh”
Milan. Went for the first time this summer. So lovely – still fantasise about those delicious tiny pastries, whose name escapes me right now, that you are served with your espresso. And good luck with the gig!
Updated
39th over: Pakistan 146-3 (Shakeel 56, Rizwan 0) More stats, Robinson has the lowest Test bowling average over the last five years apart from Kyle Jamieson. Pat Cummins sits in third. Robinson making the ball nip both ways. Another immaculate over with just the single for Pakistan, who have become becalmed since Babar’s wicket.
38th over: Pakistan 145-3 (Shakeel 55, Rizwan 0) A second consecutive maiden, this time from Leach as Rizwan plays it out not entirely confidently.
37th over: Pakistan 145-3 (Shakeel 55, Rizwan 0) I catch the arse end of some stats which, I think, show that Robinson has the lowest bowling average since Frank Tyson. He’s an impressive chap – has pulled himself out of the mire after that early bruising encounter with the offensive historic social media tweets. Listened and learned. There’s a simplicity to what he does, and it has travelled well from Sussex to Multan. A maiden.
Updated
36th over: Pakistan 145-3 (Shakeel 55, Rizwan 0) Leach pulls off his cap and puts it on again, wheeling through six balls so quickly in between that one blurs into another. Five dots till Shakeel cuts the sixth, cut off from the boundary by a chasing Mark Wood.
Good morning Kamilia Shamsie, who has news about the empty stands: “Pakistan is not a nation for early starts under the best of circs. And if anyone was watching Argentina v Netherlands last night they won’t have gone to sleep until after 3 am. The sports fan’s life can be so exhausting. (Still sipping on my first cup of tea here at 10.06 am in Karachi)"“
Love the on the ground updates, thank you!
Updated
35th over: Pakistan 142-3 (Shakeel 52, Rizwan 0) Reverse-swing straight away for Robinson, and Rizwan nearly perishes in the same over, driving to a similar ball. An immaculate wicket maiden and Pakistan lose their main batter still 132 runs behind.
Updated
WICKET! Babar Azam b Robinson 75 (Pakistan 142-3 - 139 runs behind)
Going for the drive, misses and hears the death rattle. An in-swinging beauty from Robinson at a perfect length with his second ball of the match.
Fifty for Shakeel!
34th over: Pakistan 142-2 (Shakeel 52, Babar 75) Nine off Leach’s over, as Shakeel reaches his second Test fifty with a smartly-executed sweep.
Updated
33rd over: Pakistan 133-2 (Shakeel 47, Babar 71) Anderson’s over starts with a mix-up between Shakeel and Babar, Babar sends Shakeel back and, if Crawley had hit the stumps from square leg, Shakeel would have been on his way But he didn’t, slipping as he threw, and Shakeel remains to drive Anderson through extra-cover most beautifully.
Updated
32nd over: Pakistan 129-2 (Shakeel 43, Babar 71) Leach leaks a couple of fours, a sweep from Shakeel and a glorious wristy dispatch from Babar, but finishes the over passing Babar’s bat, and bamboozling as he props forward.
Updated
31st over: Pakistan 118-2 (Shakeel 38, Babar 65) An a la mode back foot punch brings four from Shakeel.
30th over: Pakistan 112-2 (Shakeel 33, Babar 64) The stands are not full, in fact they’re verging on lonely. Perhaps the punters were as surprised as everyone else by the early start. Leach wheels through an over with a dash of turn but no real fizz. I’m going to have to make a trolly dash to the kitchen for a cup of tea. Bowl slowly Jimmy.
29th over: Pakistan 107-2(Shakeel 32 Babar 63) There’s a haze to the Multan air but Jimmy Anderson has the ball regardless. Oh my tired eyes. Jimmy is straight to work, sewing an immaculate line across an immaculate coat. Babar pushes a couple through the covers on a dewy outfield.
Disappointed to report, that in the studio, Stuart Broad’s curate glasses have gone. He is in a brown jacket and trouser combo, Mark Butcher immaculate in navy. Oh ignore me, the players are walking on so play will start pretty much now.
Good morning! It’s cold outside but baby, it’s bubbling at Multan. Can Pakistan haul their way back into the series today after an enthralling first day? Abrar’s debut performance (7-114) was one for the ages, and Babar looked in ominous form as the night drew in. Play starts 5am GMT, don’t miss a ball!
Updated
