Harry Brook survived in bizarre fashion when the ball hit his stumps – having also made contact with his helmet – but did not dislodge the bails.

Brook defended the ball carefully under his eyes, but saw the ball spit back up off the surface, gently hitting his grille and spinning backwards through his legs.

As Brook scrambled to locate the ball, it hit the base of the stumps, but not powerfully enough to dislodge the bails. Brook flashed a big smile at Aamir Jamal, recognising his good fortune.

The conditions in Multan have been incredibly batting-friendly, with Pakistan racking up 556 in their first innings, before Joe Root led England’s response with his 35th Test century.

But a bowler would at least expect to take a wicket when the ball hits the stumps. Jamal was not so lucky when bowling to Brook, who had been faultless for his first 75 runs. He then went on to make his sixth Test century.

It was a bitter moment for Pakistan because on the whole, chances were few and far between on a very flat Multan pitch, in stifling heat.

A wicket fell in each of the first two sessions of day three, but only when well-set batsman fell suddenly after big partnerships with Root. Zak Crawley inexplicably picked out midwicket, where Jamal took a juggling catch, early in the day.

Crawley’s innings represented a strong return from the broken finger that kept him out of the series against Sri Lanka, but was also the fifth time he has fallen in the seventies in 2024, a year in which he has failed to make 80.

Duckett defied a hand injury of his own, having dislocated his thumb fielding on the second evening, to make 82 before being pinned lbw by Jamal.