Pakistan v England: second men’s cricket Test, day four

Key events

Carse survives! I was sure that would have gone on to hit the stumps but it turned a mile and would have missed leg! Sajid has to wait for his 10-for.

Carse is given out lbw on the sweep! Another hopeful review…

Zain Malik is thrilled with what he’s seeing:

The mighty Bazball of the entertainment industry, stumbling, tumbling, sweeping, and reverse-sweeping its way into absurdity on a crumbling wicket. Yet, you’ve got to hand it to them: the unshakable commitment to entertain, the relentless intent to win, to figure things out with flair. It took Pakistan a mid-series crisis task force, a pitch courtesy of malfunctioning rollers and industrial-strength fans, a cleansing of the eleven, and an all-or-nothing mentality to finally bring England to their knees on Day 9 in Multan. Good to see Pakistan clawing back to victory. It felt like this moment would never come.

Sure there’s the entertainment factor, but England’s approach makes a degree of sense. Sweeping is one way to combat the spin and when it works, like when Stokes nailed a sweep before the Smith wicket, it looks great.

But you’re right, there’s always a degree of risk.

WICKET! Smith c Shan b Noman 6 (England 88-6)

Smith falls to the sweep! Noman tosses it up and with the field open on the leg side Smith takes the bait. It catches the top edge and flies straight in the air and into Shan’s safe hands at mid-on. The end is nigh.

22nd over: England 88-6 (Stokes 18)

Get a load of this stat!

England scored 1034 for their first nine wickets in this series and since then have lost 13 wickets for 162.

— Dave Tickner (@tickerscricket) October 18, 2024

21st over: England 83-5 (Stokes 17, Smith 2) Big turn as Sajid continues to slow it down through the air. He’s also tossing it up, inviting the English to make the play. Stokes gets a couple of singles with paddles and Smith sweeps more firmly for a single of his own.

20th over: England 80-5 (Stokes 15, Smith 1) Stokes has a smile on his face. We know he’s a man for a crisis but this is surely too much even for him. He continues reverse sweeping and gets a single from a full toss. Smith is off the mark first ball with a single from a cut shot. A penny for Brook’s thoughts. As Brian Withington says, he should have stuck with the sweeping plan.

WICKET! Brook lbw Noman 16 (England 78-5)

Another one down! Brook eyed up a half-tracker from Noman and went down to hammer it into the leg side with an aggressive pull. But Noman had pushed it through much quicker and it skidded off the surfacem barely getting above knee height. Brook left his back leg dangling in front of his stumps and three reds means he’s gone on review.

Brook is pinned on the crease and he’s surely out! They review, but this looks plump to me.

19th over: England 77-4 (Brook 16, Stokes 13) Stokes is nailing the reverse sweep. Good fielding in the deep prevents the boundary and another sweetly struck reverse finds the man on the rope so they settle for two and one respectively. Brook swishes at a reverse but doesn’t nail it after Stokes shovels a couple to fine leg. I can’t recall Stokes scoring a run from a shot that wasn’t a sweep of some kind so far.

18th over: England 68-4 (Brook 16, Stokes 8) Stokes hammers Noman for four with a reverse sweep in front of square. That went to where extra cover would be. One turns sharply from back of a length outside off stump and whizzes past the leg stump and they pick up three extras. Brook then scythes a drag down off the back foot through cover to get three more before Stokes sweeps for a single. England are showing they’re not going to just sit there and take it.

17th over: England 61-4 (Brook 13, Stokes 3) It’s all sweeps. A few reverses, a few conventional ones, but it’s all brooms from the England batters. That forces Sajid to slow his pace down even more in an attempt to find a bit of grip and the top edge of the bat. Stokes collected two singles either side of the wicket while Brook managed a single himself and a couple off the last over that looped off the bat over two catchers behind square.

NO! Brook survives!

Not sure why they reviewed to be honest. That cleatrly bounced in front of the fielder. Sajid has to wait a little longer to bring out the trademark celebration.

Pakistan review for a catch at backward short leg! Did it carry?

Brian Withington is not feeling confident:

Good morning Daniel

Chasing 97 on this would be tricky; 197 bordering on improbable; 297 is frankly ludicrous. And as I write that Root gets given hip before wicket thanks to umpire’s call on line.

Enter Ben Stokes with minimal form but maximum ticker.

It would be the best run chase of this McCullum/Stokes era, no doubt.

16th over: England 56-4 (Brook 10, Stokes 1) The England captain gets off the mark with a reverse sweep from his first ball. Brook sees out the rest of the over without much fuss. But that’s all about the major scalp of Root. This will be a major test for the England batters from here.

WICKET! Root lbw Noman 18 (England 55-4)

Umpire’s call and Root has to go! He went low to Noman and stretched a long way forward to reach that sweep. He missed it and it went on to hit his hip. It pitched outside the off stump and would have gone on to hit the top of off. Crucially though it made contact with him just about in line with the stumps. Had the umpire given him not-out he’d still be batting. That leaves England in a deep hole.

Root has been given out lbw on the sweep! He reviews. Did it hit outside the line? That’s the only thing that can save him here.

15th over: England 53-3 (Root 16, Brook 10) Brook is not going to simply stand there and take it. He’s fighting back and unfurling a wonderfully belligerent reverse sweep that finds the backward point fence. A conventional sweep gets him a single after a a punch through mid-off brings him two. A leg-bye from a rather ugly hack from Root will keep him on strike.

14th over: England 45-3 (Pope 16, Brook 3) Brook is off the mark with a cute paddle for two down to fine leg. He then picks up a single to hog the strike. Noman is slowing it right down, allowing the ball to bite in the pitch. He’s perhaps bowling a touch too full though.

Russ Weedon has also contributed with a heroic intervention.

For all you overseas OBO followers:

https://www.youtube.com/live/vu72PJVMp3k?si=puwbtsADfCR0bqDE

13th over: England 41-3 (Root 15, Brook 0) Early success for Sajid who is a joy to watch. Root brings out the reverse sweeps. They look a little ungainly but he manages to get one away for two before working a single off the final ball off his legs. Pope will be spitting bile at the thought of his dismissal.

Zaph Mann is our hero, supplying the TMS overseas link.

Can someone confirm if this works:

https://www.youtube.com/live/vu72PJVMp3k

“Is it time for a reprise of the Stokes/Leach partnership?”

They’ll need something special from here, Matthew Doherty.

WICKET! Pope c&B Sajid 22 (England 37-3)

So soft from Pope! He lunges at a full ball and tries to drive it. I’m not really sure where he was attempting to hit it but the bat turned in his hand as he came down on the ball on an angle and it loops back to Sajid who takes a simple catch and celebrates in style.

12th over: England 37-2 (Pope 22, Root 12) Noman is full from through and around the crease. Pope presses forward and sort of prods at it as he defends. One’s landed a little shorter which gives it the opportunity to spin past the outside edge and lift off the seam. The final ball is over pitched and Pope can squeeze it through the covers for a single.

Noman Ali to open the day.

Ian Ward wonders what the odds are on a Popr unfurling a sweep to the first ball.

The players are getting ready to take the field.

Mike Atherton reminds us that this is effectively a ninth day pitch. Remember this is the same strip they used for the first Test, which is bonkers when you think about.

Jeremy Boyce is our first correspondent of the morning:

“Not sure what all the anxiety about the England innings is all about ? According to the latest Quantum Cricket theories (B McCullum/B Stokes) they will either be all out for under 50 (copyright 2024 India) or have this lot biffed off in time for a big lunch.”

Boom or bust. It’s a helluva way to play!

Anyone got the overseas link for TMS?

You’d be helping out a whole lotta folks if you do.

As any journo will tell you, it’s normally not a good sign when the team sends out a coach to handle the post-play media duties.

Is this a sign that England are rattled? Not sure. Either way, it was their assistant coach, Paul Collingwood, who fronted up last night and emphasised the “belief” in the camp that they can haul down this mighty target.

Some reading for all you early risers:

South Africa knock out Australia in the T20 World Cup – one of the great upsets of our time:

India are bundled our for 46 against New Zealand. The Black Caps are currently building a first innings lead past 150 in Bengaluru:

The ECB bans transgender women from competing in domestic cricket:

Preamble

Daniel Gallan

Ladies and gentleman, we have a game on our hands. Pakistan’s double strike in the gloom last night, where they knocked over both of England’s openers, has them on the front foot. But if Baz’s ballers have taught us anything it’s that we should never write them off.

England need a further 261 to win to go along with the 36 runs they already have on a pitch that’s starting to misbehave. That they only managed 221 all-out in the first dig puts the task in context.

This would be a record chase in Asia, eclipsing the 209-5 England achieved back in 1961 when an unbeaten 66 from captain Ted Dexter’s saw his team home in Lahore. Back then England were in a similar hole at 17-2, so in a way they’re ahead of the game!

Wishful thinking as far as the tourists are concerned, especially with the wonderfully moustachioed Sajid Khan waiting to cause chaos with his twirly off-spinners.

Whoever win it should be a treat and I’m excited to bring you all the action.

Get in touch if you’ve got something to say. I welcome all contributions.

First ball scheduled at 6am BST.

Bits and bobs til then.