Where to start? With Harry Brook’s innings of 317, England’s first triple century for 34 years? With Joe Root, reduced to a hobbling wreck by the end of Wednesday but returning to add another 86 runs the following day, his total of 262 bettered only four times in the 147-year history of English tourists (including one within five minutes of his dismissal)? With England’s greatest ever partnership, worth a mammoth 454 and scored off only 522 deliveries? Or with Pakistan, who amassed 556 leisurely first-innings runs and still ended up in a desperate battle to avoid defeat with a day to spare?
England eventually declared on 823 for seven, the fourth-highest in Test history, a lead of 267. Their task then was to ascertain whether Pakistan’s recent history of third-innings failure would vex them so much they would forget how dull and lifeless this pitch was. Less than 25 overs later the home side were 82 for six, though they rallied to reach 152 by stumps without losing another wicket, still 115 behind.
This surface may be a batter’s dream but England have played on plenty of those in recent memory and never achieved anything like this. Brook and Root produced a partnership of mammoth, awe-inspiring proportions, the kind of achievement that should have the MCC Museum clearing some space on its shelves, an honours committee convening an emergency session, the Sports personality of the year judges settling on a shortlist of two and someone scurrying to Mount Rushmore clutching the players’ portraits and an outsize chisel.
England could hardly have rushed any more – after all, only one of the 150 overs they faced was a maiden. They averaged 5.48 an over, a rate bettered only twice in the 3,861 Test innings that have lasted for 100 overs or more – a chart on which this England side, with Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes in the dressing room, now sits at No 1, No 2 and No 3.
Pakistan had only occasional chances to contain the carnage. The day was in only its third over when Root pulled to midwicket, the ball flying quickly but unerringly to Babar Azam, who failed to hold it. Any sense of resolve that Pakistan took on to the field, any flickering glimmer of optimism, fell with that ball, and was ground into dust when Root speared the next through the covers for four. He was on a mere 186 at the time of his reprieve. From there he and Brook continued their remorseless accumulation of runs and records.
When the day started the partnership stood at 243. Gradually they ticked them off, surpassing the best efforts of the greats of the game: Jack Hobbs, David Gower, Len Hutton and Bill Edrich; Javed Miandad, Garfield Sobers and finally Don Bradman, to settle eventually in fourth place. In a sport where few records last for long England’s highest partnership, the 411 shared by Colin Cowdrey and Peter May at Edgbaston in 1957, had stood for 67 years and become a legend. Root and Brook left it in the Multan dust.
They became the first team to reach 700 runs for the loss of only three wickets, with Brook in complete control of his opponents, the conditions and the state of the match as he took his total number of runs scored in Pakistan – in six innings – to 785. He has scored only 761 in England.
Though the Pakistan coach, Jason Gillespie, certainly had a go, it felt unfair to criticise their bowlers’ efforts across a long, sapping third day with any venom. The same was not true on the fourth. Deprived of Abrar Ahmed, their best spinner, who had been hospitalised with a fever overnight, they were guilty of some absolute filth, often with fielding to match. At one stage Salman Agha was punished for negative bowling as he aimed his deliveries down the leg-side. In the end they bowled 150 overs, only one more than England had sent down over the first two days, and conceded 267 more runs.
Once Root was dismissed the pace of scoring increased, and the number of chances presented rose with it. Jamie Smith was dropped twice before falling for 31. After Root’s dismissal Brook scored 57 off his next 34 deliveries before top-edging a sweep to short fine leg, and within three overs of that they had been beckoned in.
In their response Pakistan needed more than anything to show resolve, to find time for their confidence to build and England’s to wane. Sadly they started it with a pairing that is making a very strong argument for being the worst opening partnership in history, and with the first ball of the innings Chris Woakes duly ripped out Abdullah Shafique’s off-stump. It was the fourth time in eight attempts that either Shafique or Saim Ayub have fallen with Pakistan yet to score, and brought their average as a partnership to 2.87.
Shan Masood offered and survived two catching chances but was apparently very determined to return to the dressing room and soon presented Zak Crawley with one he could not drop. The miserably out of form Babar followed for five, Brydon Carse dismissed Ayub with his first ball of the innings and Jack Leach got Saud Shakeel with his second.
Eventually, Salman Agha and Aamir Jamal brought some stability, though the latter needed Shoaib Bashir to fluff a straightforward catch to make it to stumps. Much about this game has been wildly improbable, and at this stage so are Pakistan’s chances of survival.
