Harry Brook moved England steadily into series-winning pole position by making sure Pakistan will have to make the biggest total of the game in the fourth innings if they are to win.
That is a highly unlikely outcome on a pitch that has already offered far more to the bowlers than the last especially for bespectacled spin twins Jack Leach and Abrar Ahmed who both celebrated milestones on day two.
For Leach, his 4-98 helped make him the 13th left arm spinner to take more than 100 Test wickets for England, while Abrar duly grabbed 10 wickets in the match after taking three of the five to fall in the second innings by the close of day two.
And Leach admitted his tally of scalps is more than he ever thought possible when he started out on his cricketing journey. “If you’d told me when I was a kid that I’d get 100 wickets I’d have laughed at you,” said Leach.
“I can’t really believe it. It feels like a lot and it is something I never thought would happen, so I guess I need to try and get to 200 now. I knew I needed one to get there in this game and the boys were really happy for me when I got there.”
Abrar should have had an 11th had Babar Azam not dropped one of the easiest catches you will ever see at mid-wicket, but he could still yet add to his tally with England hoping to push the target out of sight on day three.
They had Brook’s classy half century to thank for their dominant position after being reduced to 155–5, showing his full range of ability by playing low risk cricket, until he felt he could open his shoulders.
For all the inventive ways that England have pushed Test cricket forward over the past nine months and especially in the last week in Rawalpindi, they have not lost complete sight of the traditional skills that are still fundamental to the game.
Both Brook and Ben Duckett showed their more calculated sides as they both went past fifty and made sure England would have a total to bowl at. Their style is fresh, bold and it is fun to both play and watch for sure, but once Pakistan sniffed an advantage there were signs of a willingness to reign in the more adventurous elements when the time was right.
This was the slowest of the four innings that England had played so far on the tour and showed that they had other gears to go with the all out attack that has been their hallmark. Expectations might have been a little different at lunch with England having enjoyed their best ever session with the ball in Pakistan, taking eight wickets for the first time.
Leach led the way after Ollie Robinson had got rid of Babar with a beauty that tailed back into him and through the gate as he attempted a drive. From there Leach took the next three wickets to fall as the Pakistani batsmen either succumbed trying to hit him to the boundary or, fooled by spin they weren’t expecting.
Joe Root and Mark Wood both chipped in with two wickets apiece as Pakistan had somehow slumped from 158-3 to 179-9, before Faheem Ashraf was the last man out with his side still 79 behind. Stuart Broad, watching at home on paternity leave, was looking forward to seeing how England would explode into life 2nd time round.
“With a big lead on this pitch, I think we could see BazBall in fast forward in England’s batting innings, if that’s even possible,” Broad posted on social media. But for those hoping to see non-stop fireworks, England actually produced something reassuringly different, albeit still positive as they built towards a strong position by the close.
