Harry Brook has made yet more history for England, striking another stunning century against Pakistan to help earn his side a crucial first innings lead and break a 38-year-old record held by the legendary David Gower.
Brook has scored three consecutive hundreds in three Tests and has now made a total of 468 runs in the series, breaking Gower's 1984 record for the most runs scored by an Englishman in a single Test series in Pakistan. Brook came to the crease after Ollie Pope was bowled for a well-made 51 by an excellent ball from Abrar Ahmed and, with England 98-4, he and Stokes had a crucial role to play to overturn a 206-run deficit.
And with the pair in the midst of a burgeoning partnership, Brook was involved in an awful mix-up with his skipper after lunch when he began to run a third, only to change his mind and turn back after Stokes had started charging down the wicket.
Both players ended up at the same end, with Brook only just grounding his bat before Stokes to leave his captain high and dry. Stokes did make sure to give Brook a thumbs up before walking off in an attempt to ensure he remained focused on the task at hand and not the mix-up.
And Brook was able to do just that, reaching yet another hundred off 133 balls to help England secure a crucial lead, adding 117 for the sixth wicket alongside the returning Ben Foakes who provided some crucial support.
Pakistan had enjoyed a good morning session, reducing England to 58-3 after Nauman Ali dismissed both Ben Duckett and Joe Root in consecutive deliveries. Pope looked good as he scored an 11th Test fifty, but was outfoxed by Abrar shortly after reaching the milestone.
His dismissal then saw Brook take centre stage and, aside from the Stokes run-out, he once again looked imperious before getting pinned lbw by debutant Mohammad Wasim. Foakes also looked assured as he scored a crucial 64, edging England into a 50 run lead with both Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson also playing entertaining cameos.
England were ultimately bowled out for 354, giving them a short nine over burst at Pakistan's openers at the end of the day. Despite the best efforts of England's spinners, Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood safely navigated their way to the close of play, having reduced England's slender lead to just 29 runs to help set up what should be a fascinating end to a brilliant series.
Here are five talking points...
Root's golden duck
England's batting has relied on Root scoring the bulk of the runs for far too long and while he will be disappointed with his own form this series, it is hugely important for England that they have managed to beat Pakistan without their star man scoring a hundred.
When Root was dismissed by Nauman for a golden duck in Karachi, it was just the third occurrence in his Test career and means he now has the lowest average of any of England's specialist batters this series, having scored 125 runs at 25.
He has made just one fifty in five innings so far and Stokes and McCullum will be delighted to see young players like Brook, Duckett and Pope leading the scoring charts for England ahead of a bumper 2023 which includes a home Ashes series.
Pope's remarkable turnaround
Having been axed by England at the start of the year after a horror Ashes series, Pope has enjoyed a remarkable turnaround in fortunes. While he was part of the squad that toured the West Indies in March, he did not play a single game and appeared to have fallen behind a rejuvenated Jonny Bairstow and Dan Lawrence.
However, that series ushered in a new era for English cricket and Pope was quickly earmarked as someone who would play a key role, with new skipper Stokes backing him to make the problem number three spot his own despite never having batted there before in first-class cricket.
It was the kind of gamble Stokes has routinely taken since becoming captain and it is one which has certainly paid off, with Pope now averaging 43.12 in the role after 17 innings this year, having now made five half-centuries and two hundreds.
Brook breaks more records
Not only has Brook broken Gower's 38-year-old record for the most runs scored by an Englishman in a series in Pakistan, he can also celebrate enjoying the most prolific start to a Test career of any England batter in history.
Brook has remarkably scored 480 runs in his first six Test innings, surpassing KS Ranjitsinhji who scored 418 in his first six innings back in 1897. The 23-year-old has looked utterly sublime in Pakistan and enjoyed a remarkable start to his Test career.
"Harry Brook is the only batsman who looks in control," Pakistan legend Waqar Younis said on BBC Test Match Special. "Throughout the whole series he has not had any issues. He is very positive and scores runs quickly."
Stokes' horror run-out
The only blot on Brook's innings was his involvement in Stokes' dismissal, leaving him high and dry to be run out for 26 after starting to run a third before changing his mind. By the time Brook had turned back Stokes was already halfway down the pitch and they both ended up at the wrong end.
Remarkably both Stokes and fellow captain Babar Azam have been run out in this Test, just the third time that has ever happened, and Stokes showed his leadership by giving Brook a thumbs up as he walked off in an attempt to mask his frustration.
"You could see Stokes is frustrated, but he has taken that split second to calm the situation down," former England spinner Alex Hartley said on BBC Test Match Special. "That's good captaincy."
Underrated Foakes shows his worth
After missing out in the first Test due to illness and seeing Pope retain the gloves for the second Test, Foakes could have been forgiven for wondering where he stood. Despite Stokes repeatedly describing him as the best wicketkeeper in the world, Brook's stunning start to his Test career and the looming return from injury of England's summer hero Bairstow mean Foakes' position in the side is far from secure.
He is undoubtedly a master behind the stumps and his batting has been solid yet unspectacular in a team which has been regularly creating history under Stokes and McCullum.
However, after a typically excellent display with the gloves on day one, Foakes scored a crucial 64 to earn England a first innings lead after sharing a big partnership with Brook. It was an understated yet hugely important knock and, while it may not be enough to keep him in the side such is England's strength in depth at the moment, it was a timely reminder of his quality.
