England captain Alastair Cook was glad to help his side seize control of the second Test against Pakistan on Friday and just as happy to shrug off being mentioned in the same breath as Don Bradman.
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Pakistan had gone 1-0 up in the four-match series with a 75 run-win in the first Test at Lord’s last week – a match where no England batsman made a century.
But although sent in as a nightwatchman, Warwickshire all-rounder Chris Woakes showed his batting class during a boundary-filled fifty on Saturday.
Amir, who took the last wicket in Pakistan´s win in the first of this four-Test series, saw his first and second deliveries edged through gully for four by Cook.
That reduced the time England had to bowl Pakistan out again, although there were, in fairness, still more than two days remaining in the match.
England rode on Joe Root’s career-best 254 to declare on a massive 589-8 and Chris Woakes’ triple strike left Pakistan in trouble on 57-4 at stumps in the second test on Saturday.
“It was a faultless display”, said the former England skipper, as Root notched his first ton from the No 3 position.
“There was weariness and a huge score like that plays mind tricks”, he said.
Root, who had batted for 10 hours, was a Test-best 226 not out.
But Younis Khan was slow to react to the hard low catch.
Cook’s two to mid-wicket off Amir saw him to a hundred in 157 balls including 14 fours and the normally restrained Essex batsman celebrated his century with several fist pumps.
Sarfraz Ahmed came in at 76 for six but the wicket-keeper stuck to his attacking game and got off the mark when he cut Broad over Hales’s head for four. Then Rahat fended a Woakes bouncer to Gary Ballance at short-leg.
Top-ranked test leg-spinner Yasir Shah made an unwelcome double century of his own, finishing on 1-213, the most runs conceded by a bowler at Old Trafford after England resumed overnight on 314-4.
Root, in the manner of Yorkshire and England great Geoffrey Boycott, forced both Wahab Riaz and fellow left-arm quick Amir through cover-point off the back foot for fours.
Ben Stokes had some fortune, depositing a mis-sweep at Yasir safely on 25, but less perhaps when Wahab (three for 106) had him caught-behind after overturning the initial decision via an extensive DRS procedure.
The paceman had Hafeez, carelessly opening the face, caught by second slip Root and Woakes then caught and bowled Azhar off a chipped drive.
Captain Alastair Cook gave his regular new-ball pair first crack at making further inroads, and James Anderson and Stuart Broad each struck once in an extended morning session which was interrupted for an hour by forecast rain.
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After winning the first test last week, Pakistan found themselves in a bad position on day three at Old Trafford.
