Key events
Show only key events
Please enable JavaScript to use this feature
Here comes Pakistan!
England declares! Pakistan need 343 to win
dreamy Achievable Start the game.
Tea England 264-7 lead by 342 runs
35.5 overs: England 264-7 (Livingstone 7) Crazy days, crazy batting, crazy runs. The umpires call for tea with the fall of Brook, whose scorching innings led the way and whose future looks assured. England lead by 342. I guess they’ll try for another fifty in the quick time after the break?
WICKET! Brook b Naseem Shah 87 (England 264-7)
Gilbert Jessop smiles and turns. Brook takes a powerful swing, misses and hears the death rattle. Walks, with 87 from 65 balls, 3 sixes and eleven fours. And 240 in the 181-ball match.
35th over: England 260-6 (Brook 85, Livingstone 6) Mohammad Ali returns, a run full of trepidation. But Harry Brook does with a slower ball, which he goes to collect but ends up on the back like an overturned beetle. He smiles to himself, and why not: with 85 off 62 balls, he is closing in on Gilbert Jessop’s 1902 record for the fastest century off 76 balls. Livingstone runs with a limp.
34th over: England 253-6 (Brook 84, Livingstone 1) Jack is in danger after two sixes in a row, Livingstone slides the first ball for one, then Brook takes another boundary as the ball slides through the fielder on the rope. The pace of execution approaches seven and a half and everything seems like a frantic dream.
WICKET! Jacks c Imam ul Haq by Salman 24 (England 248-6)
Jacks loses a hand behind his back, scrapes the moon, before the ball rolls back to extra cover where it is caught safely. Tasty, rushed, debut, 24 from 13 balls.
33rd over: England 229-5 (Brook 79, Jacks 6) Fastest Test century by an Englishman now within striking distance of Harry Brook as Liam Livingstone beats the shade in the dressing room, only 17 Mahmoud. A straight six to each batsman and a powerful cover from Brooks.
32nd over: England 218-5 (Brook 68, Jacks 6) Salman gets more tap, a wham over length from Brook before the bowler of the moment Jacks connects with a reverse sweep.
Updated at 09.37 GMT
31st over: England 209-5 (Brook 63, Jacks 2) Brook takes a turn driving down the pitch and is almost undone by a leaping Rizwan. Then he delivers two incredible shots: a charging stroke over the on-side boundary for six, and then a ferocious sweep. I have a feeling Stokes didn’t tell him to play the toss.
Updated at 09.36 GMT
Fifty for Harry Brook!
30th over: England 198-5 (Brook 52, Jacks 2) With a tap of his boots, Brook reaches his fifty. without effort England’s most secure debutant since Root. is it fair
Updated at 09.36 GMT
29th over: England 192-5 (Brook 50, Jacks 0) A brace of maidens for the long-suffering Zahid Mahmood as England suffer a pre-tea wobble.
Updated at 09.36 GMT
WICKET! Stokes c Saud Shakeel b Zahid Mahmood 0 (England 192-5)
Stokes takes an age to depart, giving a slightly bemused Brook two paragraphs of instructions, after an ugly third ball to cover.
WICKET! Root c Imam ul-Haq b Zahid Mahmood 73 (England 192-4)
Too much of a sweep for Root who out of nowhere spins the ball around the corner into the hands of Imam who expects him to catch it as it falls backwards.
28th over: England 192-3 (Root 73, Brook 49) Root and Brook end the over with a chat after Brook audaciously sweeps Salman for four more.
Updated at 09.36 GMT
27th over: England 185-3 (Root 71, Brook 44) Brook starts the over with a lead over Mahmood, but ends it with a smooth chocolate straight shot and a quick and effective sweep. He’s not having a bad second test.
26th over: England 175-3 (Root 70, Brook 35) Babar steps in for his fourth bowler, Salman Agha, who sends some breaks around the wicket. Root maintaining his conventional stance but sweeping backwards with the nonchalance of someone wiping down the kitchen counter. The advantage is 253.
25th over: England 168-3 (Root 65, Brook 33) Under a blue sky, Mahmood steps in, five singles are eased.
“I am completely blown away by what Eng is doing here,” Krishna writes. “It’s one thing to do it at home (like they did last summer) and it’s easier to do it all when you’re chasing a down total. But to keep playing like that when you can lose is … amazing. Hats off to McCullum and Stokes to drag Test cricket into a new era, and possibly save it into the bargain. One last thought though: will they/can they do that against Australia? especially in Australia? But whatever happens, I think an old paradigm has been overthrown and (hopefully) Test cricket will never be the same again.”
24th over: England 163-3 (Root 63, Brook 31) Root practices some left-handed shots, just because he can, but opts to face right-handed. And this is a midwife dream movie for four. Meanwhile, his Yorkshire team-mate Harry Brook drives impeccably through the covers for another four. Tick-tock, the runs are piling up and the declaration is galloping across the horizon.
23rd over: England 153-3 (Root 58, Brook 26) Thanks Jim! Wood and Overton pull out drinks, Overton towering over the Lilliputians. And, hey, Joe Root decides to bat left-handed, sweeps and the ball falls through the hands of Naseem Shah. Two balls later he returns to his more typical position and sweeps back Mahmood for four.
22nd over: England 145-3 (Root 51, Brook 25) In which Joe Root collects his 83rd Test fifty! Pure class. Speaking of which, Tanya Aldred is here to take the reins of the OBO and guide you through the second half of what promises to be an exciting day. Thanks for your company, especially in the wee hours. See you tomorrow for the final shots. Bye!
21st over: England 141-3 (Root 47, Brook 25) Ten runs off the over as Zahid struggles to stem the flow. Harry Brook treats him with disdain as he wobbles down the court and stomps a long ball down the ground.
20th over: England 131-3 (Root 43, Brook 19) Naseem Shah is in the attack and is giving it his usual gusto, the fine head of jet black hair bobbing up and down as he moves forward. Root and Brooks turn and push. England by four runs.
19th over: England 127-3 (Root 40, Brook 18) This is more of the same! Nine escapes from Zahid, including a ferocious cover from Harry Brook. England’s lead is up to 209.
18th over: England 118-3 (Root 37, Brook 12) Things settled down for an over with just a Joe Root single from Ali. England’s run-rate drops below seven for the first time in this innings.
17th over: England 117-3 (Root 36, Brook 12) Brook hits Zahid for another four to mid-wicket. The young Yorkshire lad looks to be in good shape.
16th over: England 111-3 (Root 35, Brook 7) Six runs milked by Ali without breaking a sweat.
Good morning Em Jackson!
“Good morning James, good morning everyone,
If England somehow manage to conjure up a lead of 350 (the lead is around 175 as I write) and agree to fall short (probably again, remember the claims of 750 on Day 2?), then they lose, as we look at the shenanigans of this release. in this light?
I admit, that might be pessimistic…but if Pakistan could chase down 350 in one day, it would be a drama.”
This game is boiling hot Em. FWIW I think the ground is fine, it’s flat of course, but all three results will still be possible on the last day. Admittedly, this could be more due to England’s prolific scoring rate, which means the game has still had a chance to progress.
15th over: England 105-3 (Root 30, Brook 6) Brook gets off the mark with a smashing six at mid-wicket! Zahid fell short and Brook was on it in an instant.
14th over: England 96-3 (Root 27, Brook 0) Harry Brook joins Root at the crease. England lead by 177.
Nicholas Gates uploads an email:
“In response to Adrain Patterson’s lovely Shakespearean effort and having been following the play while on a school trip to the Christmas markets in Aarchen, Germany, I thought I might lamely add, ‘Happy Jack ‘ by The Who as a fitting musical tribute to Jacks. “Brilliant debut”.
Updated at 08.24 GMT
Wicket! Crawley ct Mohammad Rizwan b Mohammad Ali 50 (England 96-3)
Crawley makes his fifty and then takes a feather on a short ball and has to crawl! Rizwan was safe behind the stumps but had to be checked to reveal the incriminating spike of the DRS.
13th over: England 91-2 (Crawley 48, Root 25) Test debutant Zahid Mahmood is on his way and off to a good start, just one run away from his first over.
12th over: England 90-2 (Crawley 47, Root 25) Pakistan start to leak runs, there have been 44 since lunch. Zak Crawley plays a cover of an elegance that seems to purr all over the place. Nasser describes it as “exquisite” and it really was, worth seeking them out later. Joe Root gives Babar more to think about by sliding the final ball of the over for four more. Ten off the end.
11th over: England 80-2 (Crawley 42, Root 20) Great over! Crawley plunders two boundaries off Naseem’s first two balls, all long levers and timing, looks excellent – loves playing against Pakistan. Joe Root then plays an outrageous reverse scoop that flies wide for four over the keeper! 14 races, underway…
Updated at 08.06 GMT
10th over: England 66-2 (Crawley 33, Root 15) Shot! Crawley plays a Pietersen-style flamenco through mid-wicket for four!
9th over: England 58-2 (Crawley 28, Root 12) Ahh, that’s lovely from Root, a delicious late slip for four from Naseem Shah, silky hands from the Sheffield man.
Adrian Paterson has been dipping his pen and delving into his sonnets:
“Jim, like an English bed without sleep. Innsbruck Academic I’m trying to celebrate Will Jacks remarkable debut performance working on Shakespeare’s Sonnet 128. I’m not doing so well, being just this side of very inappropriate. Maybe some less polished OBOs can help, as a lot of the lines about “sweet fingers” and “dead wood” (dead bat, or maybe batsmen that are out) seem…