Yahoo Sport 
Harry Brook and Joe Root make more history as England close in on extraordinary win
Triple centuries and a hatful of milestones lose their lustre if the team fails to win, but Harry Brook and Joe Root’s history-making in Multan has put England in sight of an extraordinary victory.
If you travel all the way to Multan as an England supporter, put up with its gun-toting police escorts that hare you through the traffic-clogged streets at white-knuckle speed, as well as its scorching heat, then you deserve to be rewarded with something special.
Well, this England team delivered their side of the deal both individually and as a collective, combining to produce two unforgettable days of Test cricket, setting up a startling win in the process.
It has been a truly upside down couple of days. A placid pitch on which only 13 wickets had fallen in the first 10 sessions, suddenly became a minefield in Pakistan minds as the mental torture of Test cricket and conceding more than 800 took its toll. They slumped to 59 for five, stabilising only slightly to 152 for six at the close, trailing by 115.
Just a couple of hours after England declared on 823 for seven at 5.48 an over, their highest total since the war, fourth best of all time and comfortably quickest in the top ten, Pakistan were on the edge of becoming the first team to lose by an innings after scoring 500 in their first dig. An inglorious achievement.
It rarely rains in Multan – apart from records for England that is. Brook’s 317, the first triple century by an Englishman since Graham Gooch in 1990, and his stand of 454 in 522 balls with Root, which eclipsed the best for any wicket for England set by Peter May and Colin Cowdrey 67 years ago, were enough to keep stats buffs smiling from ear to ear but there was more to come.
After Root surpassed Sir Alastair Cook on day three as England’s highest Test run scorer, he went on to convert an overnight 176 into a career best 262, his sixth double hundred. He was dropped on 188 but despite exhaustion continued to unfurl dreamy drives and even pulled out his love-it-loathe-it reverse scoop, but not until he had passed 250.
Five minutes after lunch, Brook pulled to midwicket and the pair found enough energy to run another three and break the May-Cowdrey stand that had stood since a month before Harold Macmillan made his “never had it so good” speech.
Such a moment would be enough to mark this down as a great day for English cricket. But after Root fell leg-before, Brook continued battling fatigue and cramp to make the fifth highest score by an Englishman, and the second-quickest triple in Test cricket.
3️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ FOR HARRY BROOK 🌟
He becomes only the sixth England player to ever score a triple century 🏴 pic.twitter.com/UapgyF8kc1— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 10, 2024
He motored after lunch, going from 218 off 257 balls to his triple hundred from just another 53 deliveries, bringing it up with a cross-batted slap down the ground for four. He looked heavenwards, a mark of respect to his grandmother Pauline, who died earlier this year and was such a big figure in his life and cricket.
Brook had no idea of Sir Len Hutton’s all-time high of 364 when he finally fell top-edging a sweep. By then he had batted in the 30C plus temperatures for 418 minutes at a cruising tempo, continuing his love affair with Pakistan pitches. He ran 109 singles, 31 twos and four threes in between striking 29 fours and three sixes from a total of 322 balls, a strike rate of 98.44.
When he missed the tour to India, to help nurse Pauline in her final days, he used the downtime after her death to improve his fitness. His stamina and growing maturity, helped by batting here with Root, played huge roles in this achievement.
The first pat on his sweaty back as he reached the dressing room came from Root. It was an acknowledgement from one giant of English batting to a player who had just announced himself as the heir to his throne.
Pakistan were already broken. They dropped two sitters and six bowlers had conceded more than 100 runs for only the second time in Test history. Their leg spinner, Abrar Ahmed, spent the day in hospital with a virus and from sitting pretty after their first innings, they were staring at a 267-run deficit.
The Pakistan national mood of pessimism when it comes to their cricket team was fully justified when Chris Woakes knocked over Abdullah Shafique’s off stump first ball of the innings. It was perfectly pitched, nipping in and through the gate, but it was a mind-numbing drive in such circumstances.
BOWLED HIM FIRST BALL!
Chris Woakes bowls Abdullah Shafique with an absolute beauty 😍 pic.twitter.com/f7CiXKBUqY— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 10, 2024
England’s tactics and bowling on such a flatbed would normally have to be razor sharp to have a chance but Pakistan are such a mess that it did not take long for panic to spread.
Captain Shan Masood was dropped twice in a sorry innings of 11 and Babar has not put in much of a shift for his replacement as skipper. After a duck in the first innings and a dropped catch, he made just five, nibbling behind at a ball from Atkinson that nipped away late.
Brydon Carse has made a good debut, showing the hostility on flat pitches that England crave. He struck with his first ball, Saim Ayub playing another howler, caught at mid off trying to hit over cover the ball after Babar’s dismissal and with his team reeling.
Carse bowled Mohammad Rizwan with a beauty that moved in at high pace and Jack Leach struck with his second ball, Saud Shakeel nibbling behind.
Shoaib Bashir dropped a skier at deep square leg off Aamer Jamal on 13 and that really ended any hope of wrapping it up with a day to spare.
It should not matter. England are close to one of their great overseas wins that would cap the startling feats of two names – Root and Brook – that slot in nicely among the greats of English batting.
Brook: Beating dad’s high score in village cricket means most
Forget emulating Graham Gooch, one of England’s greatest batsmen. All that was on Harry Brook’s mind as he scored England’s first Test triple hundred for 34 years was beating his dad’s highest score in village cricket.
Before his 317 in Multan, Brook’s highest score in cricket was 194 for Yorkshire in the County Championship and 186 in Test cricket for England.
His father David once scored 210 for his Burley against Woodhouse in Yorkshire’s Airedale-Wharfedale League and had enjoyed family bragging rights until Harry’s innings in Multan.
Asked whether he had any idea of Sir Len Hutton’s all-time high for England of 364 that has stood since 1938, Brook said “No I didn’t,” and quickly revealed his real target. “I just wanted to get past my dad’s highest score of 210. I’ve said that before, and I was pretty happy when I got past his score to be honest.”
He said he thought of his grandmother Pauline for a few minutes after reaching each milestone and looked heavenwards at each of his three century moments.
Brook said he did not speak much to Joe Root during their record breaking 454 run stand, the highest ever for any wicket England and best of all time in Test cricket for the fourth wicket, because they were too tired in the heat. “We were both struggling with heat for a while but it is mega to bat with Rooty. He plays the ball so late and makes bowlers look slow. It helps you as well because he makes it look so easy.”
The two Yorkshireman became only the third pair in Test history to score more than 250 in the same innings and afterwards Root said he wants Brook to one day break his runs record for England. Root was speaking a day after going past Sir Alastair Cook as England’s highest ever.
“I hope so. That’s the beauty of records is that you want to create an environment and a team where things are always improving and always getting better. You want the guys that come in to play with that belief that they can go and do really special things. I had that with the senior guys that I worked with and learned from,” he said.
After Pauline’s death earlier this year, Brook threw himself into improving his fitness and it paid dividends in Multan. “That two to three month period at the start of the year was massive to me. I lost a bit of weight, tried to get as fit as possible by eating well, gyming and running. I think if I had not done that I would have got to 150 and slogged one up in the air.”
For Root, this has been a momentous week of records but like Brook, he brushed it off. “It doesn’t mean a lot at the moment. I feel like I am going to play a lot more cricket for England.”
01:58 PM BST
Root on what a Test win tomorrow would mean
It’d be a hell of an achievement. We’ve worked really hard to get into this position and tonight, that was equally as phenomenal as how we played with the bat.
01:55 PM BST
Root speaks about Brook’s 300
I knew how good he was going to be it was just when he was going to figure it out and the pace in which he has matured into the player he is. At the same time it hasn’t because of his work ethic. To see him go and play like that today was awesome and to be stood at the other end of it...
01:53 PM BST
Harry Brook speaks after his triple-hundred
It feels pretty good. I’m just glad that the team is in a strong position to win the game tomorrow. We had a lot of fun out there, we didn’t say much to be fair, but we enjoyed it. It was a good wicket so I just wanted to cash in as much as possible.
What he focused on... how tough it was out there:
Thankfully Rooty wants to change his gloves every two overs so we were getting a lot of drinks. Take as much fluid as you can, having those energy gels and take your time between balls.
01:50 PM BST
Joe Root speaks after his double-hundred
You just know what it’s like, this game. There are period where you are really struggling and it’s so hard. Every little mistake, the nick carries or there’s a brilliant catch and an LB or whatever and all of a sudden it feels like five innings and you’ve not scored a run and you’re not in good nick.
It’s that mentality of Goochy that you’ve never got enough. When you’ve got that position of strength, you know things can happen quickly later in the game but you’ve got to earn the right to do that and have the chance of winning.
I spent, as you know I spoke to you about this in Covid, I spent that period off really looking at areas of my game where I felt there were holes and weaknesses... and then work with the strengths and try and tighten up the areas in my game that just needed to raise a level. Not all of that is technical, some of it is mental.
01:35 PM BST
STUMPS, DAY FOUR: PAK 152/6 and 556 trail England (823/7) by 115 runs
Well, that partnership between these two has given Pakistan some cheer at the end of what is surely one of their most difficult days in Test cricket. Battered by Brook and Root for the first session and a half and then slumped to 80-odd for six.
01:31 PM BST
OVER 36: PAK 148/6 (Salman 40 Jamal 24)
Just one run from Leach’s over.
01:27 PM BST
OVER 35: PAK 147/6 (Salman 40 Jamal 23)
Bashir has gone for runs so far today and that continues as Aamer sweeps a leg-side ball down behind for four more, very fine and without a great deal of contact. In fact it was four byes. Bashir then drags a quicker one down, but that is only a single. Salman goes for a big shot, resulting in an agricultural heave across the line and he gets four for it. Not pretty but he moves to 40.
Probably one more over for the day and it looks like Jack Leach will bowl it.
01:23 PM BST
OVER 34: PAK 138/6 (Salman 36 Jamal 22)
Brydon Carse continues. Two wickets for the seamer today, and he has bowled well. This will be his fourth over of the spell and 10th in total. He continues to hit a good line and length, conceding just two singles in his latest set.
01:17 PM BST
OVER 33: PAK 136/6 (Salman 35 Jamal 21)
The 50 partnership for this pair comes up with a four to Aamer Jamal, after Bashir tossed it up. Three other singles from the other as England search for further wickets. A couple more and they might get the extra 30 minutes to wrap the game up.
01:12 PM BST
OVER 32: PAK 128/6 (Salman 33 Jamal 15)
A little bit of a partnership between these two emerging: 41 runs at 5.59 currently. They still trail by more than 140 runs but it is not inconceivable that they can make England bat again. Not that it feels all that likely, either but this is still a decent pitch. A leaky over from Carse that ends with a four to Salman off the final ball, guided down to deep third man.
01:07 PM BST
OVER 31: PAK 120/6 (Salman 26 Jamal 14)
Thanks Rob. A solid shift with so much happening today. Right, England have been a bit sloppy in the field on an otherwise superb day. Bashir returns to bowling after dropping that so let’s see if he can make amends in some way. Agha advances down the pitch but cannot quite pull off the big shot, instead getting one for it.
01:04 PM BST
OVER 30: PAK 115/6 (Salman 22 Jamal 13)
Jamal flicks Carse fine behind square for four then hooks a high bouncer to deep backward square leg. Bashir is perfectly placed to take the catch but drops it at the third attempt! Gah! [The voice of someone not wanting to set the alarm for 4.45am]
I’ll leave you in the hands of Luke Slater to take you to the close. Maybe we’ll meet again at 6am. Maybe not.
01:00 PM BST
OVER 29: PAK 109/6 (Salman 21 Jamal 8)
Bashir replaces Leach after a two-over wicket-taking spell. He has a slip, leg slip and short leg with three men out for the catch on the legside.
Bashir angles the first into the pads and Jamal clips it for a single, Salman does the same and Jamal ends the over with an exact replica. Nasser Hussain says he needs a point to encourage him to bowl outside off rather than off and middle.
12:57 PM BST
OVER 28: PAK 106/6 (Salman 20 Jamal 6)
Carse replaces Atkinson and Salman tucks a single off his hip. The all-rounder Jamal plays out three dot balls then whisks uppishly but stylishly through midwicket for three.
12:51 PM BST
OVER 27: PAK 102/6 (Salman 19 Jamal 3)
Salman resorts to counter-attacking No7 mode and sweeps Leach hard for a pair of fours and lofts the left-arm spinner back over his head for another. Taking a leaf out of Brook’s book, he takes a step to leg to open up the covers and slices a drive high over the infield for three. The boy stood on the burning deck...
12:49 PM BST
OVER 26: PAK 87/6 (Salman 4 Jamal 3)
Cricket is political in Pakistan and there has to be fears that they will chuck everything up in the air again, sack the management team for the umpteenth time in the past decade and succumb to the short-termism that has blighted their chances for years. They need an elite batting coach to help Babar out of his slump, tidy up Rizwan;’s technique, and a psychologist to help bolster fraying minds.
Salman takes the single on offer to expose Jamal to Atkinson who flicks two through midwcket and then edges one just wide of Pope’s dive at gully.
12:43 PM BST
OVER 25: PAK 82/6 (Salman 2 Jamal 0)
Saud Shakeel greets Leach’s first ball, tossed up, bu skipping down and lamping it over mid-off for four. So Leach darts the next ball in quicker and bags him caught behind! Excellent bowling.
Leach pins Jamal from round the wicket with the batsman’s first ball but it was always heading down leg.
Abrar is still in hospital with a viral fever so England are three wickets from victory.
Lovely bowling from Jack Leach, getting a wicket with a slightly quicker ball. He’s done a lot of work on becoming more effective against left-handers in the last three years or so. He’s outbowled Shoaib Bashir this Test match.
12:38 PM BST
Wicket!
Shakeel c Smith b Leach 29 Nicks him off on the cut. Fine catch by the keeper, six inches from the bat given that Shakeel got a fair chunk of it. FOW 82/6
ENGLAND ON THE RAMPAGE! 🔥
Brilliant work from Jack Leach and Jamie Smith 🤝 pic.twitter.com/aC5BPIGtMF— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 10, 2024
12:38 PM BST
OVER 24: PAK 78/5 (Shakeel 25 Salman 2)
Salman gets off the mark Root-style by opening the face and running the ball down to third man for two. Jack Leach, England’s best bowler of the first innings, has loosened up and will take the next over.
12:34 PM BST
OVER 23: PAK 76/5 (Shakeel 25 Salman 0)
Another calmly confident shot from Shakeel to crack a square cut off Carse for four. Carse continues to bowl well from round the wicket, cramping the left-hander for room to free his arms after that first ball four.
Would it be utterly ridiculous to suggest that a five-for here for an England quick would be more deserving of the man of the match award as the matchwinning contribution than a triple or double century on a road?
12:30 PM BST
OVER 22: PAK 72/5 (Shakeel 21 Salman 0)
Atkinson overpitches and Shakeel RSVPs with a handsome cover drive for four then plays tip and run for a single to point. Salman, scoreless after 11 deliveries, still cannot pierce the offside ring for another four balls. He’s the last of the recognised batsmen, an expert shepherd of the tail, almost like a white-ball finisher. Now his job is to lead the rearguard and, we have to remember, Abrar was in hospital this morning and is unlikely to bat today at least.
Nasser earlier pointed out, as chuffed with himself as chuffed could be for his wizard stat, that no side has ever made 500 and lost by an innings. Ian Ward replied: “Shush! We’re guests here.’
12:24 PM BST
OVER 21: PAK 67/5 (Shakeel 16 Salman 0)
After a drinks break, Carse resumes with a leg gully, short mid-on, short midwicket all on the next pitch over to the left-handed Shakeel. Carse tries to bring them into play from round the wicket, angling the ball on to off and middle but then strays to a fourth stump line, back of a length, and Shakeel stands tall to slap it through point for three.
Carse comes over the wicket to Salman who is beaten by a snorter last ball that angles in, nips away and whistles over the off-bail as the batsman is transformed into an S-shape.
12:15 PM BST
OVER 20: PAK 64/5 (Shakeel 13 Salman 0)
Nice from the left-handed Shakeel to ease two runs behind point with an open face and then punch three down the ground with a crisp push. Woakes and the slips go up for a leg-before appeal when he gets one seemingly to nip back but the big deviation came from it taking a chunk off the inside edge.
12:10 PM BST
OVER 19: PAK 59/5 (Shakeel 8 Salman 0)
England have bowled very well and have managed to elicit more movement off the pitch in 19 overs than Pakistan managed in 150. But two very special batsmen, Babar and Rizwan, were too easily squared up, their back legs coming round to face the bowler as they groped for the ball. Yes, they are mentally fried, too. But mental disintegration is only as culpable as bad technique. Salman, at least, defends competently.
12:05 PM BST
Wicket!
Rizwan b Carse 10 That hard length again, angling in and Rizwan tried to turn it to leg, gated himself and heard the death rattle. FOW 59/5
12:05 PM BST
OVER 18: PAK 59/4 (Shakeel 8 Rizwan 10)
Shakeel cannot beat the infield with some cracking drives off Woakes from round the wicket but finally gets a wider one and he carves it behind point for four. The home crowd, deprived of anything to encourage them all day, reward him with a big cheer.
12:00 PM BST
OVER 17: PAK 55/4 (Shakeel 4 Rizwan 10)
Some nip again for Carse, helping him jag the ball back into Rizwan who is surprised by it and it takes an inside edge that flies square into the legside, a la Sciver-Brunt, for a single. Shakeel jams out a yorker for a single and clips another off his toes. I like Carse. Wholehearted, skilful and nagging.
11:54 AM BST
OVER 16: PAK 52/4 (Shakeel 2 Rizwan 9)
Woakes replaces Atkinson and starts with a maiden to Rizwan who gets his nose over the fuller balls and defends stoutly.
11:53 AM BST
OVER 15: PAK 52/4 (Shakeel 2 Rizwan 9)
It’s now 18 innings trailing back to the beginning of 2023 since Babar made a half-century in Tests. He looks like he needs a technical reset with a batting coach he trusts. Carse racks up five dot balls in succession to Rizwan who gets out of the over by driving the right-arm quick past cover for three.
11:46 AM BST
OVER 14: PAK 49/4 (Shakeel 2 Rizwan 6)
Atkinson has a short leg, short midwicket, slip and gully. Root, of all people, is under the helmet. He must be melting. Shakeel, the elegant left-hander, chisels out the yorker then wears one angled across him on the pads. The next ball is similarly angled but fuller and Shakeel gets off the mark by whipping it through midwicket for two.
11:40 AM BST
OVER 13: PAK 47/4 (Shakeel 0 Rizwan 6)
Could England wrap this up tonight? Not if Rizwan can match form to fight and he starts with a crushing pull for four as Carse again hits that heavy length. Now he goes fuller and Rizwan plays then defensively with an angled bat then skelps two off his toes.
11:34 AM BST
Wicket!
Ayub c Duckett b Carse 25 Good Lord. His head’s gone and with it, probably his place. No idea what he was trying to do there, seemed like he was trying to flat bat Carse’s loosener over cover but swatted it upwards and Duckett, with his recently dislocated thumb, takes a fine, running catch over his shoulder. Two wickets in two balls. FOW 41/4
11:34 AM BST
OVER 12: PAK 41/3 (Ayub 25Shakeel 0)
The two days in the field have taken their toll on Pakistan as well as England’s ability to hit the cracks hard. They will be cock-a-hoop with this bowling performance which in some ways has been more impressive than their batting.
11:31 AM BST
Wicket!
Babar c Smith b Atkinson 5 In dreadful nick but it was a special delivery from Atkinson that held its line on a heavy length. Babar can’t stop his hands from following it and he scrapes an edge through to the keeper. FOW 41/3
Babar Azam is dismissed early again! 😬
Gus Atkinson gets his second and Pakistan are already three down! 😲 pic.twitter.com/sOl4s6WUkU— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 10, 2024
11:28 AM BST
OVER 11: PAK 37/2 (Ayub 25 Babar 1)
Woakes slips in the yorker to the toiling Babar and he jams that out but the right-hander is then beaten by one that nibbles in, past his leave and sails just past off-stump. Babar defends a couple confidently but mistimes when he tries to free his arms and scuffs a drive to mid-off. He gets off the mark from his ninth ball as Woakes fires in the one designed to expose the faults that have crept into his alignment and footwork to trap him. Babar whisks it off middle for a single, both knees facing down the pitch.
11:24 AM BST
OVER 10: PAK 36/2 (Ayub 25 Babar 0)
Atkinson lands one on the edge of a crack from round the wicket that causes it to nibble away from Ayub’s edge as he pushed forward. Two balls later he hits something else and the ball shoots past off-stump at ankle height off a good length. Maiden, Atkinson’s second, which is one more than Pakistan achieved.
11:19 AM BST
OVER 9: PAK 36/2 (Ayub 25 Babar 0)
Ayub softens his grip and uses Woakes width to steer two behind point then stiffens it to smack four square with a blistering cut when Woakes gives him more width.
England appeal when Ayub is seemingly hit on the knee but there was an inside edge and they run a single. Babar, in the longest slump pf a hitherto marvellous career, is thwarted by the bowler and point when he connects well with drives and stays on nought.
11:14 AM BST
OVER 8: PAK 29/2 (Ayub 17 Babar 0)
Misfield by Carse at square leg makes a gift of a single to Masood off Atkinson and Ayub works another single to square leg. But Atkinson then makes amends for dropping the Pakistan captain by enticing him on to the rocks once again with a slower ball.
11:12 AM BST
Wicket!
Shan Masood c Crawley b Atkinson 11 Slower ball and he mistimes his clip, popping a soft catch to that short midwicket off a leading edge. FOW 29/2
11:08 AM BST
OVER 7: PAK 27/1 (Masood 10 Ayub 17)
Thanks, Luke. England have already bowled as many maidens in six overs as Pakistan did in 150. Chris Woakes replaces Shoaib after that one-over spell. The attack-leader has a short midwicket, shortish square leg and leg gully for the left-handers. Woakes drops short and Ayub pulls it fine for four. Woakes goes fuller from round the wicket and ties him up with five dot balls. He has two slips in but no seamer has yet had a catch taken at slip all match.
10:46 AM BST
TEA: Pakistan 23/1 trail England by 244 runs
As I said, still a lot of work for Pakistan to do, one down at tea. England will be very happy but they also have nine more wickets to take. I will hand back to Rob Bagchi to take you through most of the final session.
10:44 AM BST
OVER 6: PAK 23/1 (Masood 10 Ayub 13)
Atkinson continues round the wicket to the left-handed Masood. The third ball grips in the pitch and straightens past the outside edge. A maiden over and a good one.
Notice Ben Duckett is fielding, but not in the slips as usual. His dislocated finger can’t be too bad, given the way he batted, and England may yet find themselves with a rapid chase at some stage tomorrow, for which he and Crawley will be vital.
10:39 AM BST
OVER 5: PAK 23/1 (Masood 10 Ayub 13)
Shoaib Bashir on to bowl his off-breaks. Let’s see if he can get any grip with the new ball. Looks like the batsmen want to go after him, with Ayub launching him down the ground for four runs.
10:36 AM BST
OVER 4: PAK 16/1 (Masood 7 Ayub 9)
Ayub opens the faces and runs the ball over the top of wide third man for four before clipping off his pads for a couple more. Six from Atkinson’s second.
10:31 AM BST
OVER 3: PAK 10/1 (Masood 7 Ayub 3)
Another drop! This time Atkinson returns the favour to Woakes with a drop at cover. Quite similar to Woakes with Masood driving on the up and the fielder leaping with outstretched arms. Again, Atkinson got a hand to it but it went up and then down. Masood driving on the up.
10:26 AM BST
OVER 2: PAK 7/1 (Masood 7 Ayub 0)
Masood drives on the up off Atkinson and Woakes at mid-off leaps and attempts it one-handed but drops it. It was not a simple chance but is one you would probably expect him to take more often than not. Chances being created, though. Masood gets two for it.
10:23 AM BST
OVER 1: PAK 5/1 (Masood 5 Ayub 0)
Woakes then gets one to move away from Shan Masood who plays wildly at one going across him. Masood gets off the mark second ball with a clip off the pads for four. Plenty of work for Pakistan to do here in the next session and a bit. A lot of scoreboard pressure, even if the pitch is not doing a great deal.
I laughed out loud at that wicket, which is unusual. Just typical, and a pair of very tired strokes to start Pakistan’s innings.
10:19 AM BST
WICKET! Shafiq b Woakes 0
Woakes runs in to bowl the first ball of the Pakistan innings and knocks over the opener first ball! The ball was a good one, came back in and Abdullah Shafique drove at it hard, but it beat his inside edge and knocked off stump out of the ground. What a start.
BOWLED HIM FIRST BALL!
Chris Woakes bowls Abdullah Shafique with an absolute beauty 😍 pic.twitter.com/f7CiXKBUqY— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 10, 2024
FOW 0/1
10:08 AM BST
END OF INNS: ENG 823/7dec
Four byes off Ayub which indicates a bit of turn, missing everything. Woakes smashes one down the ground but Ayub gets a single. A dot off the final ball and Ollie Pope calls his boys in at 823/7 after 150 overs and a lead of 267. England will get a decent go at Pakistan this evening with 40 overs remaining in the day.
10:05 AM BST
OVER 149: ENG 813/7 (Woakes 14 Carse 7)
Thanks Rob. Woakes smashes one through the covers, opening up the offside and timing one. Woakes’ batting game more about timing than brute force. Carse gets a single off the final ball to keep the strike.
England collapsing in the nervous 790s - can happen to anyone. If England can bat until half past, while scoring quickly enough to make being out there worthwhile, they won’t lose two overs for the change of innings. Could be crucial.
10:02 AM BST
OVER 148: ENG 805/7 (Woakes 6 Carse 6)
A tired shot perhaps from Brook but typically he was still trying to go big. Ayub has two wickets from the over when he tempts Atkinson out. But in comes Carse to jump down the pitch and monster a slog over long-offf for six and bring up the 800.
Here’s Luke Slater for a spell. My hands hurt!
09:58 AM BST
Wicket!
Atkinson c Babar b Ayub 2 Chips a wristy swipe to cover second ball. Still disgusted by his dropping of Root, he quickly gets rid of the ball disdainfully. FOW 799/7
09:55 AM BST
Wicket!
Brook c Masood b Ayub 317 Top-edges a sweep to square leg. An epic innings ends. FOW 797/6
09:54 AM BST
OVER 147: ENG 795/5 (Brook 315 Woakes 6)
Naseem Shah goes for slower ball bouncers and off-cutters and Brook plays and misses at two attempts to swipe them over the keeper as they balloon over his bat. When the bowler pitches up, Brook opens the face to take a single to third man. Woakes retreats to leg and slices a drive over point for two.
Chris Woakes at 35 is the only player in the England XI alive when Graham Gooch made his 333. Brook’s achievement is a real moment to treasure.
09:51 AM BST
OVER 146: ENG 791/5 (Brook 314 Woakes 3)
Ayub’s drag down is panned by Brook on the pull for four. The tenacity to keep going at this rate in the heat is astonishing.
After exchanging singles, Brook whisks two off his pads then comes down the pitch to spoon a single short of long-off.
This is now the most runs Pakistan have ever conceded in a Test innings.
In case you’ve lost track, I know I have, click below:
All the records broken in extraordinary England innings
09:47 AM BST
OVER 145: ENG 781/5 (Brook 306 Woakes 1)
The umpires called on the drinks at the fall of Smith’s wicket. The keeper contributed a jaunty knock to complement Brook’s dashing and went down as England would want, swinging from the hip.
Woakes gets off the mark with a thick edge down to third man and Brook gloves one short of Rizwan, a possible strangle had their been any bounce.
09:41 AM BST
Wicket!
Smith c Jamal b Naseem Shah 31 Dances down and cloths his pull to long-on. FOW 779/5
09:40 AM BST
OVER 144: ENG 777/4 (Brook 305 Smith 29)
Brook makes England’s first triple century for 34 years since Gooch’s 333. He gets there with a four off Ayub, pumped down the ground, clearing the front leg and swinging hard. He, too, salutes the sky, for his grandparents. The number of records that have fallen today is dizzying.
England’s highest innings:
Hutton 364
Hammond 336
Gooch 333
Sandham 325
Edrich 310
Brook 305
Harry Brook is England’s first triple centurion for 34 years. A thrash for four down the ground brought up his 300, repeating a feat last achieved by Graham Gooch in 1990, and he looked skywards, an acknowledgement to granny Pauline, who died earlier this year. The remarkable thing is Brook’s scoring rate at almost a run a ball (310 deliveries). Despite the fatigue he raced from 218 at lunch to 302 off just 57 balls. Now for Len Hutton’s 364 (if England don’t declare).
09:36 AM BST
OVER 142: ENG 768/4 (Brook 298 Smith 27)
The sub fielder, Hurraira, has tried to set the tone for his demoralised team-mates. He backpedals to catch Smith’s pull on the rope but falling backwards he throws it up again and back inside the boundary but cannot cling on again. At least he saved five runs with his effort and acrobatic skill. Smith trades singles with Brook and then flogs Naseem through cover for four.
England move 200 ahead.
09:33 AM BST
OVER 142: ENG 759/4 (Brook 296 Smith 20)
Brook has used the scoop pretty judiciously since making his century and flips Ayub over his shoulder for two. he follows that with a legside flick for another then drives a single through cover. Smith sweeps for two and then bunts a single down to long-on. Mike Atherton wonders whether Len Hutton’s 364 is in play? While many would think it sacrilege and worthless on this pitch, let;’s not forget that all Australia’s pace bowlers were injured at the Oval in 1938 and Bosser Martin had also castrated that pitch. Some say Leyland’s innings was even better than Len’s.
09:27 AM BST
OVER 141: ENG 751/4 (Brook 291 Smith 17)
Naseem comes back, putting his hand up for a thankless task that brings Aftermyth of War to mind. Brook uses his feet to the right-arm quick, neutered by the miles in his legs, despondency and this dog of a pitch, and pumps a drive over cover for six! Credit to the lad, he keeps running in hard and racks up three dot balls, a run that ends when Smith pulls and the sub fielder, who hasn’t given up, hares round to make a fine stop and save two on the rope,
09:23 AM BST
OVER 140: ENG 742/4 (Brook 284 Smith 15)
Now Brook Dilscoops Ayub for three over the keeper to overtake Denis Compton’s record as England’s highest Test innings against Pakistan. Smith uses his height to lever a steepling six over the bowler’s head and then cloths his attempt at an encore to long-on and Saud Shakeel grasses another dolly. There are no words. Heads have not just dropped, they’re on the floor.
09:18 AM BST
OVER 139: ENG 729/4 (Brook 279 Smith 7)
Sound the horns! Brook goes over the top, skipping down to Salman and dumping a straight drive for six. Next ball is swept through square leg’s hands for two and the next pulled witheringly for four. Salman shifts his line to a more orthodox one for an offspinner outside off but Brook happily drives in orthodox fashion and sprints back for two. Where does he find the energy in this heat?
09:15 AM BST
OVER 138: ENG 714/4 (Brook 264 Smith 7)
Root even left his shirt out to dry. Goodness knows how many shirts and pairs of gloves he got through in six different sessions of batting. England take Ayub for five singles, finding the gaps easily.
09:11 AM BST
OVER 137: ENG 709/4 (Brook 261 Smith 5)
Root, exhausted, actually walked rather than waiting for the umpire’s finger to go up. He was plumb, the ball would have hit middle halfway up. He puts his helmet and gloves on the rope to dry.
Enter Jamie Smith who gets off the mark by thrashing the offspinner through cover for four. Plus ça change...
09:06 AM BST
Wicket!
Root lbw b Salman 262 Handshakes all round. All the fielders run to Root to congratulate him after being pinned plumb by an off-break that hit him on the left shin. England’s fourth wicket partnership ends at a record 454. FOW 703/4
Joe Root is finally dismissed for an incredible 262 🙌 pic.twitter.com/mSEZdtIept
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 10, 2024
Farewell Joe. Handshakes from every Pakistan fielder as he goes for career best 262. Now we can knock up the relevant stats. Root and Brook put on 454 in 522 balls. It is England’s highest stand in Test history, the highest ever for the fourth wicket for any team and the best by an overseas pair.
09:06 AM BST
OVER 136: ENG 703/3 (Root 262 Brook 260)
England make 700 for the first time since 2011 at Edgbaston, Brook driving through cover’s hands for a single. Ayub keeps wheeling away and England continue to milk the spinner as Root plays cat nd mouse with Brook, edging ahead by two runs.
09:04 AM BST
OVER 135: ENG 699/3 (Root 260 Brook 258)
Brook now reaches 250 by backing off to leg, winding up and carting the ball that followed him over midwicket for four. Next ball he flashes the blade, again after a step to leg, slashing the ball over the slips for another. He chews his gum hard, like Sir Viv, but also kneads his left hip which seemed to flex unnaturally while playing that shot. It can’t be bothering him that much because he makes it a hat-trick of fours off successive deliveries by, there’s no other word for it, slogging Jamal over mid-on.
Not sure Root and Brook had any idea they had made history when they took their stand beyond 411. It almost ended the ball before when Brook top edged one between midwicket and deep square leg. Knowledgeable England fans gave them a standing ovation when Brook pulled another three into the leg side to take the pair past the 411 mark. What next on the list? How sweet it would be to go past Australia’s highest ever stand – 451 between Bradman and Ponsford. Can hear the cries of anguish from Sydney.
09:00 AM BST
OVER 134: ENG 684/3 (Root 260 Brook 243)
Three singles off Ayub’s over as Pakistan mark time. Nasser Hussan suggests they play the second Test on this pitch rather than a fresh one because at least it will have some wear and tear to give the bowlers hope later next week.
08:56 AM BST
OVER 133: ENG 681/3 (Root 259 Brook 241)
England now have the highest score by a visiting team in Pakistan. Brook steps away to leg, as he has done so often, and cuts a perfectly respectable ball from Jamal for four off the stumps. His eye is so in it’s unreal. Brook bunts a low full toss and runs an overthrow after midwicket has a shy at Root’s stumps with no hope whatsoever of catching him out of his ground. In the words of Rob Smyth, ‘noggins have gone’.
08:51 AM BST
OVER 132: ENG 676/3 (Root 259 Brook 236)
Brook adopts full bully mode, chipping Ayub mightily over cover for four, scything him for another through point before slogging a hoicky pull for a breathlessly run two and a swipe that slices over cover for a single.
08:48 AM BST
OVER 131: ENG 663/3 (Root 259 Brook 223)
Here we go again. Aamer Jamal is given the burden first to Brook and starts with four dot balls. Good start. Nice and tight until he drops short but the ball doesn’t get up and Brook plays an ugly pull, the bat halfway between horizontal and vertical and plinks it over midwicket. The sub fielder runs back but can’t get there. They run two to equal May/Cowdrey then Brook pulls the next ball for three down to long leg and the alliance of Burley-in-Wharfedale and Sheffield now has England’s highest Test partnership (414*). Remarkable.
08:08 AM BST
Lunch verdict
Joe Root and Harry Brook are three runs short of setting a new record Test partnership for England for any wicket as they continued to dominate in Multan.
They have put on an unbroken 409 at lunch for the fourth wicket, two short of equalling the record stand of 411 by Colin Cowdrey and Peter May against West Indies at Edgbaston in 1957.
In another intense session of dominant batting, England added 166, moving to a 102 run lead on 658 for three, piling pressure on Pakistan’s second innings.
Root completed his sixth Test double century and Brook his first. Root is now just one behind equalling Wally Hammond with the most doubles for England. It is the first time England have boasted two double centuries in the same innings since 1985.
Root is on 259, a career Test best, and Pakistan are a bowler down with leggie Abrar Ahmed in hospital with a virus, adding to their problems.
England sped past Pakistan’s 556 in 36 fewer overs and are motoring at five an over with plenty of power to come lower down the order to extend the lead and give their bowlers time to dismiss Pakistan.
08:06 AM BST
LUNCH: ENG 658/3, lead by 102
That drop will haunt Babar but a couple of play and misses apart, England have been ruthless and relentless, grinding Pakistan into the dust with the impish sadism these two bring when batting at their best, constantly rotating the strike, running hard and astounding with their mastery of an extensive range of strokes that no number of field changes can stop on flat pitches.
08:03 AM BST
OVER 130: ENG 658/3 (Root 259 Brook 218)
Turn for Salman at long last but only of the gentle kind and no matter how tired these two are, they pay with the turn calmly for a couple of singles to walk off for lunch 102 ahead and with their partnership at 409, three runs short of making history.
08:01 AM BST
OVER 129: ENG 656/3 (Root 258 Brook 217)
There’s an understandable sense of resignation about Pakistan. Babar’s dropping of Root when he had made 188, spilling an absolute cuckoo, was the final nail. England milk six runs to extend their lead to a hundred.
Although it is understandable given the punding they have taken, they cannot let it infect their batting. It is, however, hard to quarantine despair.
07:57 AM BST
OVER 128: ENG 650/3 (Root 256 Brook 213)
Brook uppercuts Naseem for four, Louis Armstrong style, with all the time in the world. Running out of superlatives. That’s the 400 partnership. Eleven to go to match PBH May and MC Cowdrey’s record stand for England of 411 which has stood for 67 years. Twelve, obviously, to beat it.
07:54 AM BST
OVER 127: ENG 644/3 (Root 255 Brook 208)
Two double centuries in the same innings for England? Not since Fowler and Gatting at Madras in 1984-85.
Now Root also makes his highest first-class score, beating his 254 against Pakistan at Old Trafford in 2016, moving to 255 with a single driven off the back foot down to long off. Earlier in Ayub’s over, Brook had also retreated to leg and in his crease to lamp the spinner over extra-cover for four.
07:50 AM BST
OVER 126: ENG 637/3 (Root 253 Brook 203)
Naseem returns and Brook takes the first ball in the crease and just eases it with a vertical bat for a single through point to make his first first-class double century. What an innings this has been.
Root, as if to troll his critics, takes the scoop out of cold storage and reverse flicks it over his shoulder for four to bring up his 250. Further investigation suggests it should have been a leg-bye but it’s in the book now. After Root chops a cut for a single, Brook scoops, slips and still gets up to run two.
There have been bigger partnerships in Test cricket than the one between Joe Root and Harry Brook but have there been quicker ones, say above 300?
07:44 AM BST
OVER 125: ENG 627/3 (Root 247 Brook 199)
Four singles are nudged and nurdled off Salman who then gets one to turn markedly from outside leg, enough to beat Rizwan for a bye rather than the batsman. It never rains ...
07:40 AM BST
OVER 124: ENG 622/3 (Root 246 Brook 196)
In the words of Barry Davies, ‘You have to say that’s magnificent.’ Root lets Shaheen’s back of a length delivery angle into him, plays it late, close to his body and opens the face to glide it down to third man for four. He pulls the next ball for two, back cuts the next for two more and makes it a prial of deuces with a drive down to the cover sweeper.
This is the first time in 34 years (and fourth overall) that England have reached 600 for the loss of just three wickets. The last? Graham Gooch’s 333 Test against India at Lord’s in 1990. Until England bowl again, this is going to be a statsfest kind of day.
07:38 AM BST
OVER 123: ENG 610/3 (Root 235 Brook 195)
‘Nasser, what are England looking at in terms of a declaration?’
‘A thousand.’
He then clarifies that they will actually try to accelerate after lunch and declare either side of tea to give their bowlers a chance.
Root, who has been on the field for all but England’s opening partnership of eight balls, scoops Salman over his right shoulder when square on for three.
The partnership at 360 is England’s highest against Pakistan and sixth highest overall.
Remember: Pakistan have lost their last five Test matches, including a 2-0 whitewash at home to Bangladesh in August and September. They are renowned for their third innings jitters with the bat: against Bangladesh, they were bowled out for 146 and 172 in the third innings. So England, even on such a flat pitch, will think that they have a real chance.
07:34 AM BST
OVER 122: ENG 606/3 (Root 232 Brook 194)
Nasser was saying earlier that on extinct pitches like this if you make a batsman play and miss three times, like baseball strikes, they should be out. Shaheen beats Root with a jaffa that angles in and just straightens unexpectedly but fails to graze the edge. A sharo intake of breath from those with Pakistan in their hearts.
07:28 AM BST
OVER 121: ENG 605/3 (Root 232 Brook 193)
Root needs more fluid and on comes the man Blowers and Johnners called ‘Twelfthers’ to administer the water and iced flannel to the neck. It revives him sufficiently to reverse sweep Salman for a single while Brook uses the orthodox sweep to cart the off-spinner for four.
Kumar Dharmasena has had enough of this negative line and calls two wides for successive deliveries speared 4ft outside leg stump, the second of which takes England to 600. Root now plays a choppy dab for three.
07:23 AM BST
OVER 120: ENG 593/3 (Root 228 Brook 187)
Change of ends for Afridi and Root pulls him hard for a single, rolling the wrists. Brook keeps squeezing the sweat off his head by pressing down on the top of his helmet until it starts raining down his cheeks. A clip off his toes takes him to 187 and his highest Test score while Root collars a pull in front of square and canters through for three.
This is just relentless for Pakistan. There is no sign of a declaration, obviously, for another few hours. They will be ground down completely as England look to take a massive lead and try to win by an innings. There is a national mood of doom taking over as well. The headline on cricinfo: Pakistan await their date with mediocrity as familiar tale unfolds in Multan.
07:18 AM BST
OVER 119: ENG 588/3 (Root 224 Brook 186)
Salman comes back on and Brook reverse sweeps him for two, steps back to leg and pummels a drive for four through cover. Making room again he drives through cover for a single and a two. Pakistan are shattered physically and emotionally. This is brutal
07:16 AM BST
OVER 118: ENG 578/3 (Root 223 Brook 176)
After Shaheen became the fourth Pakistan bowler to go ton up, leaking a hundred runs, Shan Masood turns to the part-time spin of Saim Ayub and they extract four singles without a great deal of endeavour.
07:13 AM BST
OVER 117: ENG 574/3 (Root 221 Brook 174)
Back to Shaheen after drinks and he starts by angling it across Root who flips a shot off his toes behind square and they gallop back for three. Brook tries a ramp, perhaps to keep himself interested, but doesn’t connect and grins sheepishly at the bowler. He doesn’t connect with a leg-glance either but knees it for two leg-byes wide of Rizwan.
07:05 AM BST
OVER 116: ENG 567/3 (Root 217 Brook 174)
Root swishes at a sweep, misses the ball but hist the ground. The noise excites a few in the outfield but Rizwan immediately signals it was ground not ball. The next ball is also tossed up outside leg and Root sweeps Salman fine for four then drives a single through cover.
Brook, too, misses out on a sweep and Rizwan, juggling the ball, inadvertently but quite funnily almost crowns Brook with it. A beaming apology follows.
Time for drinks.
07:02 AM BST
OVER 115: ENG 562/3 (Root 212 Brook 174)
Some fight in Jamal still which is good to see, sticking out a boot to take a punishing blow for the team off Root’s drive and then surprising Brook with a sharp bouncer.
06:59 AM BST
OVER 114: ENG 561/3 (Root 212 Brook 173)
Salman is bowling outside leg stump with an onside ring but they can’t stem the flow of runs because both batsmen are so adept at the reverse sweep and manipulating the angle. They take him for five singles as the immiseration of Shan Masood’s team continues. Babar, what have you done?
This is Brook and Root’s second triple-century partnership (312*) after their 302 at Wellington in early 2023 and England’s second highest for the fourth wicket anywhere, though May and Cowdrey’s 411 against West Indies at Edgbaston in 1957 (the highest for any wicket as well as the fourth) is still way off.
06:53 AM BST
OVER 113: ENG 556/3 (Root 208 Brook 172)
England tie Pakistan’s score off 36 fewer overs. Root splinters the toe of his bat as he mistimes the drive but perseveres with it, and why not after all it has done for him? Having driven Jamal for two through point and cover driven for three, though, he calls for a replacement.
06:50 AM BST
OVER 112: ENG 550/3 (Root 203 Brook 171)
Three singles off Salman’s over, the second of which marked the 300 partnership.
06:48 AM BST
OVER 111: ENG 547/3 (Root 202 Brook 169)
Brook decides Jamal has to go, laces up his dancing shoes, takes to the floor, chasses down and whacks a drive over his head for four. Jamal goes back of a length to try to push him back next ball but gets the line wrong and Brook flicks it off his pads for four beating Rizwan’s left hand and headlong dive. After Brook cuts for a single, Root pulls another short ball for two.
06:42 AM BST
OVER 110: ENG 536/3 (Root 200 Brook 160)
Root tries three reverse sweeps in succession off Salman but only nails the middle of them, skelping it for two. Two balls after that he connects with a tap off his pads from deep in his crease, almost a French cricket stroke for a single nudged fine to bring up his sixth Test double century and the first by an Englishman in Pakistan since Ted Dexter in 1961-62.
A commendable effort from Joe Root, who brings up his sixth Test double ton 🏏#PAKvENG | #TestAtHome pic.twitter.com/bKA1Htup8D
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 10, 2024
Brook also reverse sweeps and middles his attempt, brooming it in front of square! They run three.
That is Joe Root’s sixth double hundred putting him clear in second place for England to Wally Hammond, who made seven. Root was tied with Cook on five. Root looking refreshed this morning, after a good night’s kip. One press box colleague worked out that he ran 5.3kms yesterday (which isn’t as far as thought). He has now run 80 singles, 20 twos and eight threes.
06:36 AM BST
OVER 109: ENG 530/3 (Root 197 Brook 157)
Aamer Jamal replaces Naseem Shah. One average he is 7mph slower and Brook, already batting outside his creasee, comes even further down the pitch to play a Pietersen flamingo flick over midwicket for four. No movement at all for Jamal, allowing Brook to play him late and confidently, looking for gaps.
06:32 AM BST
OVER 108: ENG 525/3 (Root 196 Brook 153)
After three overs from Shaheen, Masood turns to his second spinner Salman Agha in the absence of Abrar. He beats Brook with the arm ball that skids past the outside edge. Brook taps the next ball for a single through point, Root crouches back into his crease to slap a cut for three and Brook drives through cover for two. No fireworks but seven off the over regardless. Elite milking.
Ramiz Raja, who was ousted from his executive role with the PCB, says Pakistan soil is not vibrant enough to produce a modern Test pitch and drop-ins have to be the solution.
06:27 AM BST
OVER 107: ENG 518/3 (Root 192 Brook 150)
Lovely shot from Brook after being beaten by one that kept low outside off and another that nip-backed sharply from back of a length. Naseem, who has kept running in and deserved more, then tries to find that spot on a good length that has been guilty of variable bounce but it sits up nicely and Brook flays it through cover for four to bring up his 150.
06:25 AM BST
OVER 106: ENG 514/3 (Root 192 Brook 146)
Just the single off Shaheen’s footsore 22nd over. Some signs of the pitch starting to give bowlers the odd encouragement with the ball shooting low very occasionally.
Irrespective of provided conditions at Multan stadium. England team is on driving seat having more chances to win due to positive intent & better game plans. On same pitch if batting equal no of overs England team wil have 175+ runs to play for win. Team Pakistan can only play…
— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) October 10, 2024
06:20 AM BST
OVER 105: ENG 513/3 (Root 192 Brook 145)
Poor old Abrar Ahmed – with whose name TMS elicited a few guffaws yesterday, ‘Should the captain whip Abrar off?’ – is ill and has had to go to hospital. Small mercies after 35-0-174-0.
Oh my word! Babar has dropped a sitter at midwicket! Poor Naseem. If it weren’t for bad luck he’d have none at all. Root flicked a fullish ball off middle straight to midwicket and the former Pakistan captain shelled it. An absolute dolly.
And Root adds insult to injury by smearing the next ball through cover for four.
"An absolute dolly!"
Joe Root DROPPED by Babar Azam 😬 pic.twitter.com/InkxpjbBCI— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) October 10, 2024
Press police escort was 20 minutes late this morning so only just made it for the first ball of the day. Looks like Joe is intent on playing a few shots. He has just gone past 20,000 international runs with that four off Shaheen Shah Afridi.
06:15 AM BST
OVER 104: ENG 506/3 (Root 186 Brook 144)
Naseem had a catching cover but Shaheen has a catching midwicket in there for the balls he angles in from round the wicket. When he overpitches on that angle, Root closes the face to skelp an on-drive through midwicket for four. The left-armer adjusts his line to fourth stump and Root eases a drive through cover for two. Both batsmen are moving smoothly this morning after ice baths, gels and assorted treatments.
06:11 AM BST
OVER 103: ENG 500/3 (Root 180 Brook 144)
No movement in yet for Naseem Shah but he, too, is bowling back of a length. Brook tucks a single off his pads and Root opens the face to run two down to third man. One slip, gully and short cover and he finds short cover with a well-timed drive, Saud Shakeel diving to his left to stop it at full-stretch.
When Naseem drops too short, Root cuffs a pull for a single and Brook, squared up slightly, flicks one off middle and leg to pinch the strike. Oh no he doesn’t. It was a no ball and Root burgles the strike back with his own square-leg flick. Nothing to that over and yet England calmly took six from it to bring up 500.
06:05 AM BST
OVER 102: ENG 493/3 (Root 176 Brook 142)
Aggers has brought his euphonium with him and is playing Jerusalem in the absence of the trumpeter. Brook slices a drive deliberately through point for a single. No movement there but he manages to get one to nip back through Root’s guard and beat the inside edge by a gnat’s and the off bail. It’s a good line to Root, left arm swing from round the wicket and back of a length. Good over. Root defends but not with the middle of the bat.
06:02 AM BST
The players are out
Harry Brook twirls his Gray Nicolls in his hands and takes guard to Shaheen Shah Afridi.
05:23 AM BST
Preview
Good morning fellow members of the revolt against Morpheus and welcome to live coverage of day four of the first Test from Multan which England start on 492 for three, only 64 behind Pakistan’s seemingly mammoth total and with seven wickets and two days in hand. Joe Root, cramping repeatedly and running like a man on stilts, nevertheless carried his bat through Wednesday to make 176, putting on century stands with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett and currently 243 with Harry Brook, the highest England partnership in Pakistan. Oh, and in his own low-key way, touchingly paying tribute to the late Graham Thorpe when he made history, he became England’s leading Test runscorer to go with his record for the number of outfield Test catches by an Englishman. Now he needs only 635 more Test wickets to hold all three...
Once England passed 400, talk turned pretty quickly in the commentary box towards the tactics that they should adopt today to try to force a victory. The consensus seemed to be ideally to carry on batting at the rate they have been going at – and let’s not forget that Jamie Smith can be as innovative a dasher as Harry Brook – and try to build a lead of 200 and then try to exploit Pakistan’s nerves after their defeats by Bangladesh that caused such fierce condemnation.
It seems ridiculous to talk of totals of 700+ but I suppose the rank state of this pitch for bowlers makes it feasible. Indeed to confirm Tom Jones’ assertion, such gargantuan scores are not that unusual anymore – of the 25 innings of 700 or more, 17 have been in this century: three in Sri Lanka, three in India, three in West Indies, two in Australia, two in Bangladesh, one in Pakistan, one in Zimbabwe, one in New Zealand and one in England (at Edgbaston in 2011).
If Naseem Shah manages to find a bit of luck to accompany his skill and perseverance and Aamer Jamal keeps plugging naggingly away, Pakistan could peg England’s ambitions back. But given what’s gone before and their inability to stem the flow of runs, I fear this graveyard for bowlers will claim more home victims today.
I don’t know if Jason Gillespie wields any real power as Pakistan’s head coach as regards the regional cricket associations and their pitch preparation but as a wonderfully big-hearted and skilful fast bowler, he needs to be advocating for quicker pitches to suit his considerable pace resources. It’s too late for this Test and next week’s second match on the same moribund square, but for the good of Pakistan cricket, they can’t keep playing on these roads. It’s demoralising for bowlers and a lotus land for batsmen.
