Shafiq’s ninth Test century will mean even more to him on a personal level after he suffered the indignity of being dismissed for a duck twice in the third Test at Edgbaston.
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“I was really embarrassed after my shot (at Lord’s), and that’s when I decided I needed to bat properly again now”, he said. He was supported by Wahab Riaz who was picked up in place of Rahata Ali. Here, for the third innings in a row, he has helped revive England’s effort.
If England win in south London to take the four-match series 3-1, they could find themselves back on top of the world Test rankings for the first time since 2012 if other results go their way.
Time had appeared to have caught up with 38-year-old Younis, Pakistan’s all-time leading runscorer, during this series.
Captain Alastair Cook has confirmed that England will retain an unchanged line-up for the final Test of the summer against Pakistan at The Oval.
It is “only” 15 months until England will be playing in the next Ashes and on this evidence only Cook and Joe Root of the specialist batsmen, along with Bairstow, Moeen and Chris Woakes of the all-rounders, appear ready to face Australia’s fast bowling.
The hosts lost the first Test at Lord’s but won the next two in Manchester and Birmingham and will go into the fourth match starting on Thursday full of confidence.
Yet to achieve that they will need to be sharper than they were on the second morning.
Pakistan, bidding to square the series 2-2 after England’s victory at Edgbaston last week, had a foothold at least in reply to 328 all out. He was eventually the last man out, caught in the deep by Yasir hooking at Sohail, who kissed the pitch in celebration of his fifth wicket. In an ideal world you’d like to give him a go, but global cricket is not about giving people a go.
Criticized for his shaky batting stance during his previous six test knocks, Younis looked more composed as he swept against Moeen Ali’s offspin and drove seamers easily.
Amir was bowling well too from the pavilion end, but his reward would not come – and when Azhar put down a straightforward slip chance, with Moeen on nine, the left-armer kicked the ground in understandable frustration.
49 Highest for Azhar Ali while opening the batting in Tests.
That left the tourists on 127 for three early in the afternoon session.
Hoping to induce a mistake from Moeen as he approaches three figures, Yasir gives the ball extra flight.
Pakistan were very much in the ascendency then.
Shafiq claimed his ninth Test century, hitting two sixes and 12 fours, before he pulled Finn to mid-wicket where Stuart Broad held an excellent diving catch.
But Pakistan’s pace bowlers found enough bounce to run through the top half of England’s batting, leaving the latest rescue in the hands of Jonny Bairstow and Moeen – and of fate, which saw them both reprieved before their counterattack had been launched.
They were still trailing by five when Younis brought up his hundred, pushing Woakes into the legside for a single.
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Subsequently, one Pakistani television station suggested England could have illegally tampered with the ball.
