Key events
3rd over: Pakistan 4-0 (Shafique 0, Saim 4) Shafique pushes nervously at a lovely delivery from Leach that beats the edge and turns towards first slip. He’s beaten again later in the over. Leach, who is very experienced at bowling on bunsens, has started with back-to-back maidens.
2nd over: Pakistan 4-0 (Shafique 0, Saim 4) Shoaib Bashir shares the new ball, so you can forget my hunch. His first turns extravagantly, albeit from well wide of the left-handed Saim’s off stump. Saim top-edges a sweep over the head of Smith for two, then waves a couple more through the covers.
1st over: Pakistan 0-0 (Shafique 0, Saim 0) Leach starts with a maiden to Shafique, including one beauty past the edge and another that draws a thick inside edge.
So, who takes the new ball? I have a hunch it might be Root and Leach, with Bashir to follow. We’re about to find out.
“Noman Ali has quietly hit the 50-wicket mark in Tests, and you wouldn’t even know it, he’s been slipping them into his pocket like loose change,” says Zain Malik. “A genuine workhorse, he’s been grinding through the overs with zero fuss, like he’s just running errands. Off the field, though, Noman’s personality is anything but low key. He’s the guy who probably believes he could bowl a marathon and then knock out a fifty before tea, always reminding folks that he’s an all-rounder, at least in his own mind.”
He’s the Ernie Wise to Sajid’s Eric Morecambe, isn’t he? The three wickets he took – Crawley, Stokes, Smith – were all proper batters and all came at key times. Stokes felt particularly important. That was the moment a drama turned into a crisis for England.
WICKET! England 291 all out (Bashir c Shan b Sajid 9)
Sajid Khan finishes the job with his seventh wicket. Bashir scuffs a sweep to midwicket, where the captain Shan Masood takes a good catch above his head.
Sajid celebrates in the usual style and leads the team off. His figures are quite remarkable: 26.2-1-111-7.
Pakistan lead by 75 runs. On this pitch, that’s a helluva lot.
65th over: England 290-9 (Leach 24, Bashir 9) Leach spoons Noman just over the head of midwicket and scampers back for a second. There’s a run-out referral but he’s fine.
This is now England’;s highest partnership since the collapse started with the wicket of Joe Root last night: 28 from six overs.
65th over: England 287-9 (Leach 21, Bashir 9) Bashir gets down to sweep Sajid firmly for his first boundary. Cricket is a ridiculous game: last week Harry Brook scored a triple century, this week he’s no better with the bat than Shoaib Bashir.
“Might one say that that England have let Noman (and Sajid) put asunder?” says Tom Hopkins. “They’re exposed, sitting ducks.”
65th over: England 281-9 (Leach 20, Bashir 4) Leach is batting really well here. He slog-sweeps Noman for four more, with the man in the deep not picking the ball up, then charges down to hack a single behind square.
This pair have added 18 useful runs. It’s too early to stick a Union Jack flag in the window but they’ve given England a snifter of hope.
64th over: England 274-9 (Leach 14, Bashir 3) Bashir just about survives another over from Sajid. Spare a thought for Zahid Mahmood, the third spinner, who has bowled only six overs and has had to watch Sajid and Noman clean up. He must feel like Tony McCarroll.
“Just how important is body language in Test cricket,” says Zain Malik. “Coming into day eight, Rizwan chirping, Sajid strutting, ‘thaapis’ all round, Potts, who had given Salman quite the sending off being bowled through the legs. What a comeback from Pakistan. The purge seems to have paid off.”
63rd over: England 272-9 (Leach 13, Bashir 2) Leach slog-sweeps Noman brilliantly for a one-bounce four to move into double figures – and bring England’s deficit down into double figures. He does really well to not only keep out a grubber but also crack it through the covers for two more.
“Should Pakistan win this match, the strategy of playing two Test matches on the same pitch may become standard,” says Krishnamoorthy V. “Why not extend it to the third match and see how it turns out?”
62nd over: England 265-9 (Leach 6, Bashir 2) England have pulled off some astonishing come-from-behind victories in the Bazball era. If this win this it’ll be right up there because the pitch is only going to get worse.
“Sajid is going from strength to strength, his variations in speed totally outfoxing Carse,” says Colum Fordham. “I can’t believe he’s been overlooked for the last few years, despite taking eight wickets against Bangladesh three years ago. Add to that his joyous celebrations and wonderfully moustachioed look and Pakustan may have struck gold.”
In defence of the selection committee (see preamble), his record apart from that 12-for v Bangladesh hasn’t been great. But he looks a good bowler and clearly has the personality to thrive at this level. Like Shane Warne and a few others, he’s a fast bowler trapped in the body of a spinner.
61st over: England 262-9 (Leach 5, Bashir 0) This England collapse is one for the books: they were 211 for 2 yesterday evening. It’s vaguely reminscent of Headingley 1992, only without the reverse swing. And the eventual England victory.
WICKET! England 262-9 (Smith c Saim b Noman 21)
Nine down. Smith’s first big shot is his last, a miscued straight drive that is comfortably taken by Saim Ayub at mid-off. It was nicely bowled by Noman, who sensed Smith was coming and tossed the ball right up.
60th over: England 256-8 (Smith 20, Leach 0) We see batters bowled behind their legs all the time, but rarely between them.
Leach plays and misses at his first two balls. The ball is starting to bite again and, difficult as it is, Jamie Smith surely has to go into Qiana Joseph mode now.
WICKET! England 256-8 (Potts b Sajid 6)
Potts is bowled between his legs! He got in a bit of a tangle, playing back when he should have been forward, and the ball turned sharply to go between his legs and into the stumps. Sajid has six and England are in all sorts.
59th over: England 252-7 (Smith 20, Potts 2) A lot rests on Jamie Smith here now. Does he go into T20 mode now, or play normally while Potts – who is a decent batter – is at the crease? For now he’s content to work Noman off the pads for a single; then Potts hacks a drive past leg stump for another.
58th over: England 250-7 (Smith 19, Potts 1) Sajid celebrated his five-for by getting on all fours to kiss the pitch. He has an eight-for in Tests, against Bangladesh in Mirpur, but this is his first five-for on home soil.
“On behalf of the 66 musicians associated with The Fall I would like to record our collective displeasure about being referenced in your apology to the Pakistan Men’s National Selection Committee,” says Brian Withington. “We are a tight knit collective that does not deserve such association.
“In the words of the late great Mark E. Smith: ‘If it’s me and your granny on bongos, it’s The Fall’.”
If you see your granny, thank her for this.
WICKET! England 248-7 (Carse c Shakeel b Sajid 4)
Five wickets for Sajid Khan! Carse comes down the track to play an extravagant flamingo shot, but he doesn’t get enough on it and Saud Shakeel takes the catch at long on.
57th over: England 248-6 (Smith 18, Carse 4) Still no big turn, no big shots either. Smith and Carse are proceeding with caution, which is understandable after the mayhem they experienced last night.
“Sajid is great isn’t he?” says Gary Naylor. “Exactly the attitude Pakistan needs. Rizwan also looks like he’s enjoying himself. I know it’s only vibes, but vibes matter.”
They sure do. Totally agree about Sajid’s personality; he has such expressive eyes too. I’m surprised his record is so modest as he looks a pretty good bowler who puts a lot on the ball.
56th over: England 246-6 (Smith 17, Carse 3)
Carse is not out As you were, outside the line. Not even umpire’s call.
Hang on, this is closer than I realised. I think it hit him on the backside, rather than the front pad, so this could well be out.
Pakistan review for LBW against Carse
Smith misses a sweep off Sajid, who goes up for LBW. Outside the line. Carse does likewise later in the over and again the umpire says not out. Pakistan are reviewing it but, although it was closer than the Smith appeal, it looked outside the line.
55th over: England 244-6 (Smith 16, Carse 3) Noman Ali starts with a maiden to Jamie Smith. England will be encouraged that there has been no extravagant turn in the first couple of overs.
54th over: England 244-6 (Smith 16, Carse 3) Brydon Carse is dropped! It was an extremely tough chance to the bowler Sajid, who threw his hands up in self-preservation when Carse smashed the ball back at him. All he could do was push it over his shoulder.
Smith works the ball around more serenely to score four of England’s five runs in the over.
Sajid Khan is going to open the bowling. England will hope the heavy roller dulls the pitch for an hour or two, which would allow them to get somewhere near Pakistan’s first-innings score.
The players are ready to go. Big first hour coming up!
The state of play
England will resume on 239 for 6, still 127 runs behind, after losing four wickets in an exhilarating final hour that changed the mood of the whole series.
That’s a big deficit on an crumbling pitch, especially as England have to bat last, so the morning session could be pivotal. It feels like England need to get to within 50 of Pakistan to have a realistic chance of victory.
Pakistan Men’s National Selection Committee: An Apology
Between 13 and 16 October 2024, The Guardian published a series of articles which made erroneous observations about the group selecting the Pakistan men’s cricket team:
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That in the last four years the selection committee has had more members than The Fall.
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That their pivot from a pace-dominated bowling attack to picking seven spinners was less a volte face, more a volte farce.
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That replacing Pakistan’s best player with an uncapped 29-year-old was the essence of madness.
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That you could leave them alone in a brewery for 48 hours and they would emerge sober, whistling Happy Go Lucky Me.
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That they are unable to distinguish between their elbow and their hindquarters.
This was a collective failure of process and we apologise for any offence caused.
