They begin the final morning 311 runs ahead and all that remains to be seen is how long Cook gives his batsmen before he begins the quest to bowl Pakistan out and seal what would be a notable victory and a guarantee of at least a share of this series.
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Cook put down a straightforward slip catch, which was not costly, to reprieve number 11 Rahat Ali – but it was no surprise England’s all-time leading runscorer did not let that put him off when his turn came to bat.
Pakistan’s assistant coach, Mushtaq Ahmed, disagreed with Root about the conditions, saying: “There is swing in some spells but not others”.
James Anderson and Chris Woakes might be able to pile the pressure on a Pakistan team who you suspect are never far away from a spectacular collapse.
“For them to cancel that deficit out the way they have, looking pretty solid and not like giving any chances, was crucial”. Pakistan might have trouble batting on Day 5.
After two flat days for the hosts, they took Pakistan’s last seven wickets for 143 runs and then reached stumps on 120 without loss themselves in their second innings.
Pakistan’s batsmen have found Moeen Ali to their liking this series and Misbah reverse-swept him four when the off-spinner came on before lunch.
Hales, it emerged at the start of the day, had refunded one angry fan 10 per cent of his ticket price after just 81 overs were bowled on Friday.
The fan, Alexis Fuller, later confirmed he donated the offering to a cricket charity.
The England captain was caught by a diving Yasir at point off Sohail Khan, before Hales, pushing at one from Amir, was caught by Younus Khan at second slip. There was a zip about Pakistan’s cricket, sensing a sniff to get into England’s middle order, and Root was given an early wake up when his second ball from Sohail leapt over his top edge.
Root and Vince could not afford to take any chances, and a stalemate developed as Pakistan too refused to chase the game – their seamers holding the ball outside off-stump on this slow pitch and Yasir keeping a much tighter line.
“But for us to be where we want to be, those are the series we’ve got to win”.
Aslam, a 20-year-old left-handed opener, was in sight of a well-deserved maiden Test hundred when he was run out responding to Azhar’s poor call. Vince the latest Englishman to depart. But the way that Jonny Bairstow and Moeen played in the evening was fantastic’.
Bairstow had the ideal companion in Moeen, who went into this Test with the mind-set of playing like the top order batsman he is in county cricket and that he has the talent to be on the Test stage consistently for England.
Hales played a more disciplined innings than has recently been the case, bringing up his much-needed half-century with a single from the final ball of the day.
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A fabulous unbroken partnership of 132 for the sixth wicket sent England cruising to 414-5 at the close of play.
