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Living the dream, 100 percent
Rehan Ahmed is talking to Mike Atherton. A dream debut? “Yes, 100 percent,” he says, smiling and chewing gum.
“You started to get that leg-spinner going a bit,” says Atherton, “and so the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan would have really pleased you?”
“Yes, 100 percent,” he says again. “I’ve been working on this for the past couple of months. Just a little side twist.”
Back in the studio, Stuart Broad reiterates his point about the timing of that five over. “It was a match-winning spell.”
Are you worried about your position as a nighthawk, Ian Ward asks. Wide games with game. “The definition of a nighthawk isn’t necessarily how many runs you put on the board, it’s style. My back foot wouldn’t go that way [when Rehan played his best stroke, the inside-out cover drive]. Hit rate above a hundred, that’s a tick. Getting out of a hack, that’s a tic.”
Time to shut me down. I have to go back for the second half tomorrow, but that will only happen if there is a monsoon. England are back on top, thanks to their new boy, and Jim Wallace will be with you at 5am (UK time) to see if they can seal the deal. Thanks for your company, correspondence and nonsense about Geoff Boycott. And Merry Christmas! I hope it’s as much fun as watching this England.
Updated at 12.55 GMT
You’re stumps! The day belongs to Rehan
17th over: England 112-2 (Duckett 50, Stokes 10) Ben Duckett hasn’t had much of a strike of late, but he has it at the start of this over Nauman and uses it to sweep a single and get to another of fifty . If it wasn’t for Harry Brook, he would be the player of the series. Stokes adds a run for four, and then the umps call it a day. Azhar Ali leads the Pakistan team on the eve of his retirement. He didn’t run today but he got a good standing ovation.
The day, however, belongs to a player at the other end of his Test career: 18-year-old Rehan Ahmed with a bullet. He took five wickets in no time and ensured that England are now favorites for a historic whitewash. And he did it with a big smile.
Updated at 12.36 GMT
16th over: England 107-2 (Duckett 49, Stokes 6) Joel Wilson whips out the light meter, perhaps worried he’ll be hit by a flying bat. Abrar manages to overcome one over conceding only two. It’s not easy to see why Stokes has been promoted here – the right and left were going well, and Ollie Pope is not to be missed.
Updated at 12.29 GMT
15th over: England 105-2 (Duckett 48, Stokes 5) Spins again at both ends as Nauman returns, and Duckett has fallen. By himself! oh dear Stokes then gets a big hit, so big that his bat flies to square leg. Everything is happening.
“Afternoon Tim, everyone,” says Rod. “Question: Is England having too much fun? I mean, it’s supposed to be a job… Yours, unhappy with the job.”
14th over: England 101-2 (Duckett 47, Stokes 3) And the next nighthawk is… Ben Stokes! He dances to his first two balls, taking two easy ones and then, as Abrar tricks him in mid-air, a jammy single. There are, in theory, eight overs remaining, and England need 66.
Wicket! Rehan Ahmed b Abrar 10 (England 97-2)
Boooo! Rehan aims for the corner of the cow and misses. He may have got carried away after playing a superb shot, an inside-out cover and hitting his last first, reaching double figures.
England’s Rehan Ahmed looks at his shattered wickets. Photograph: Fareed Khan/AP
Updated at 12.27 GMT
13th over: England 93-1 (Duckett 46, Rehan 6) Facing the seam, Rehan decides it’s time to invent a new stroke: the cover forehand, played with a touch of ballet. He also escapes.
“Good afternoon Tim,” says V Krishnamoorthy. “I’m still nursing the broken arteries from last night and now I’m going to break them again. 3-0 to Pakistan in Pakistan. AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !”
12th over: England 92-1 (Duckett 46, Rehan 5) And he follows up his first five for with his first four! Off the first ball of this innings, too – he just cruises down the track and lifts it to mid-on. On today’s evidence, he has the right confidence.
It’s Rehan!
Stokes offers another surprise: Rehan Ahmed, who comes in at No. 3, like the night hawk.
Wicket! Crawley lbw b Open 41 (England 87-1)
Abrar drives a straight, Crawley misses a sweep, Joel Wilson’s finger goes up. There is a delay while the review throws a replay of… a different ball. “No, ‘it’s the sweep!'” says the fourth ump, before confirming that he is indeed out. A spring of comfort for Pakistan.
Abrar Ahmed celebrates in the growing darkness. Photograph: Fareed Khan/AP
Updated at 12.13 GMT
11th over: England 87-0 (Crawley 41, Duckett 46) Babar, looking understandably tired, calls for a review as Crawley hits Wasim outside leg. Not even close. Then he goes for another, a better call as Crawley misses a yorker and gets hit on the back foot but is going down. Having the best batsman as captain is proving a bad idea, not for the first time in Test history.
Duckett takes four more with this square unit of his. The lights are on now, joining some wintry sunshine, and the refs have turned off the counters. England’s celebrations may have to wait until tomorrow.
10th over: England 80-0 (Crawley 38, Duckett 42) Just when it looks like they’ll get them in singles, Duckett spies a bit of width from Faheem and plays a four, then does it again! England need 87 more.
9th over: England 70-0 (Crawley 37, Duckett 33) Wasim keeps it tight. I’m not sure what went wrong here, but the run rate has dropped to just under eight.
“Tim,” says Kim Thonger, “to finish off Geoffrey, in this remarkable new era of cricket we’re in, can we redesignate his famous off-stump space The Exclamation Runner?” Haha.
8th over: England 67-0 (Crawley 36, Duckett 31) Buoyed by this change, Babar makes another one, replacing Nauman with Faheem Ashraf, so it’s seaming at both ends. His envelope is only good for three, which is like throwing a maiden in any normal pair of trial works.
“Presumably the best way to avoid being caught in a fifth-day wicket,” says Janet Stevens, “is to not let the match go to the fifth day?” Ha. “Merry Christmas Tim and all OBO colleagues – Janet in France”. Thank you and Merry Christmas to you too.
7th over: England 64-0 (Crawley 35, Duckett 29) Babar Azam is not a dynamic captain, but even he sees the need for a change here. Abrar is removed and he turns in the form of Mohammad Wasim. It helps a little, but Duckett, unfazed, plays a clip for four with good timing.
England need 103 more. “What an impressive performance,” says Mike Atherton, “on these flat, unresponsive pitches, to bowl Pakistan out every time.”
“England (men and women) have played some pretty decent cricket in 2022,” says John Starbuck. “I hope there will be at least a two-page spread about it in the Guardian before 2023.”
Updated at 11.46 GMT
Fifty collaboration!
6th over: England 58-0 (Crawley 34, Duckett 24) Crawley takes a superb shot – an inside-out offside, threaded into a slender gap. And this is the fiftieth association, with 28 balls. He celebrates by going airborne with a traction, not elevated, but skimmed in half.
Englishman Zak Crawley plays a shot during the third day. Photograph: Fareed Khan/AP
Updated at 12.12 GMT
5th over: England 48-0 (Crawley 25, Duckett 23) Crawley, facing Abrar, sweeps with great finesse, as if to say, “It’s not all biffing, you know.” The graphics make a small compilation of the best shots in this post and caption it “Powerplay”. Test cricket is a lot of fun now.
Something for your family to frame
Updated at 11.41 GMT
4th over: England 41-0 (Crawley 20, Duckett 21) Duckett takes the reverse sweep and gets four, but this one is better from Nauman, who uses his experience to manage some points. Still, Duckett is 21 from ten balls, Crawley 20 from 14. Can anyone get a comment from Geoff Boycott?
Updated at 11.35 GMT
3rd: England 34-0 (Crawley 19, Duckett 15) Duckett faces Abrar for the first time today. Does it take a couple of balls to install? He doesn’t, just hits him for four. Crawley sees it and beats it with a drive, very Pieterse and a straight drive. They are being done at 11 and more.
Updated at 11.35 GMT
2nd: England 21-0 (Crawley 11, Duckett 10) Anything Crawley can do, Duckett can do too, in his own way – not driving, but sweeping and shooting. First he plays a pull for four to Nauman Ali, very accurately placed between short and mid-wicket, then a sweep for four more. Another sweep could have brought four more had it not sunk into Shafique’s knee at short leg (ouch!) and gone for a single. Crawley then joins in on the supermarket sweep with a paddle for three. They’re going to get it tonight!
“That last wicket,” says Daniel Howell, “‘c Brook b Rehan’. I wonder how often we’ll see that over the next decade or so…”
Updated at 11.31 GMT
1st over: England 8-0 (Crawley 8, Duckett 0) Not even Stokes’ England can score 167 in 80 minutes, can they? They seem to be thinking about it. Abrar Ahmed opens the bowling again and Crawley, who fell in front of him for a duck in the first innings, doesn’t let that bother him – he goes down the track and slots the first ball for four, before adding cover drive for four more. Then there’s an LBW call and a review, but Crawley is so down that the impact is the umpire’s call, so he survives.
“Seven below,” says Kim Thonger. “993 to go! Well done Rehan.”
“Congratulations to Rehan!” says Michael Friend. “What a performance. Imagine how proud Shane Warne would have been. He…