Joe Root pressed on towards 200 after Chris Woakes’s brisk fifty saw England pile on the runs in the second Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford on Saturday’s second day.
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Consternation is hardly yet rife that the hosts might have shot themselves in the foot by going into bat again, but hindsight will doubtless be damning if they are somehow not able to convert overwhelming mid-match superiority into a 1-1 scoreline before Tuesday evening.
After winning the first test last week, Pakistan found themselves in a awful position on day three at Old Trafford.
Cook’s 29th, in his 50th Test as captain, equalled the number made by the great Don Bradman and was also his first in 20 innings dating back to the tour-de-force 263 against these same opponents in Abu Dhabi nine months ago.
Whatever transpires from here, Pakistan know they will have to either chase down a world-record target in Tests or bat out the remainder of the match whenever England declare on day four.
Only 60.4 overs were bowled on a day when there were four interruptions for rain, including two during England’s second innings in bowler-friendly conditions. Moeen then completed the innings as he dismissed Wahab for 39, Alex Hales taking a tenth England catch of the innings.
Earlier on Saturday, Joe Root’s career-best 254 helped England post a solid 589 on the scoreboard, as he became the fourth England batsman to score a double ton against Pakistan in a Test match (after Denis Compton 278, Nottingham 1954, Ted Dexter 205, Karachi 1962 and current captain Alastair Cook 263, Abu Dhabi 2015).
Pakistan, which resumed on 57 for 4, saw its first-innings collapse continue in the morning session as it lost four more wickets for 62 runs.
Likewise, James Anderson and Stuart Broad took 1 wicket each. Opener Shan Masood and captain Misbah-ul-Haq came to the crease with more hope than expectation of delivering an innings-saving partnership.
Left-handed opener Masood, who had held firm for more than two hours, exited in familiar fashion on 39 when he edged Anderson to Root.
Pakistan were now 71 for 5, their total at the rain break.
Shortly after play resumed, Asad Shafiq (4) drove loosely at a Broad slower ball and lobbed a catch to Hales at point.
By contrast it took Misbah 47 balls to score the first boundary of his innings, a square-drive off Anderson.
Bairstow (58) gained from wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed’s dropped catch when he had reached nine and dominated a 106-run stand with Root, who hit only two boundaries in the second session.
Typical of their plight was that when Sarfraz played defensively at Ben Stokes, he succeeded only in giving Root another routine slip catch.
Fortunately Misbah appeared fine, if a little shaken, and composed himself to chalk up a spirited 52 before top-edging a sweep to England skipper Cook at short fine leg.
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Wahab hoisted Ali for six.
