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45th over: Pakistan 135-3 (Shakeel 43, Babar 31) Babar leans in to drive Stokes through point for a couple.
44th over: Pakistan 132-3 (Babar 29, Shakeel 43) Shakeel comes down the pitch once again and slaps Leach straight for four. Time for the left-armer to have a rest?
43rd over: Pakistan 126-3 (Shakeel 38, Babar 28) Babar sees off six Stokes deliveries.
42nd over: Pakistan 126-3 (Babar 28, Shakeel 38) Some real flair from Shakeel, who gets the wrists working to flick Leach away for four through the leg side. And then a run-out chance as Shakeel starts running down the wicket while Babar is stationary – but Ahmed at cover fails to pick up the ball.
An astute observation from John Bartholomew: “Is Brook the next big thing, superstar batsman after Root and Cook, future England captain, etc etc? He has the right vowels in his name. Surely that is the clincher.”
41st over: Pakistan 118-3 (Shakeel 32, Babar 26) Babar is on the move. Stokes is a touch too full and the right-hander leans in to caress the ball through the covers for another boundary. A big forward defence follows to lay out the statement: he’s in.
40th over: Pakistan 113-3 (Babar 22, Shakeel 32) Leach races through for a maiden.
39th over: Pakistan 113-3 (Shakeel 32, Babar 22) Stokes continues, and Babar lands a boundary with the final ball of the over, nailing the cover drive. He’s struggled for fluency so far today but that shot could be the one that gets him going.
38th over: Pakistan 108-3 (Babar 18, Shakeel 32) Shakeel dances forward and chips down the ground to the left of mid-off to collect four. Just for a second, he looked in a bit of trouble – but it’s excellent placement in the end.
37th over: Pakistan 104-3 (Shakeel 28, Babar 18) Stokes is getting just a bit of movement away from the right-hander, and he gets Babar to throw his hands outside off, the ball flying past the outside edge on its way to Foakes. One then tails back in, so there’s definitely a bit of reverse in the air.
36th over: Pakistan 104-3 (Babar 18, Shakeel 28) Babar clips to the leg side for a single after a string of blocks. Shakeel is watchful, too.
35th over: Pakistan 103-3 (Babar 17, Shakeel 28) Ben Stokes decides to have a go himself, so Rehan Ahmed must continue his wait for a bowl today.
34th over: Pakistan 100-3 (Babar 14, Shakeel 28) So it’s Leach to continue after lunch, and he concedes just a single to begin with.
Yes, it was quite sad to see Azhar go without scoring. But as you’re alluding to, he can, at the very least, say it was a Bradmanesque finish.
Morning @tahahash, this match is speeding on, and it’s great to see Leach bag all three so far (though I’d love more for Ahmed). A slightly sad end for Azar, but we all know many greats have got 0 in their last innings. This partnership and Rizwan will be key to the Test.
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) December 19, 2022 Rob Lewis from Istanbul checks in: “How are you finding it on OBO duty now you’re becoming a regular? I hope the early mornings aren’t doing your head in too much, but you seem to be coping just fine.”
Thanks Rob, I’m loving it. But I will almost certainly be heading back to bed for a nap once I wrap things up here.
John Starbuck writes in: “England to be batting by tea, perhaps?”
That’s ambitious, I’d say. Babar’s still finding his way in this innings but I’ve got a funny feeling he’s on for a big one today.
Lunch – Pakistan are 99-3, leading by 49England’s morning, I reckon. The two Pakistan openers got off to a good start, quickly erasing the remaining deficit. But Jack Leach intervened spectacularly, taking three wickets in the space of two overs, including that of Azahar Ali in his final innings as an international cricketer. Saud Shakeel and Babar Azam have helped with the recovery, but there’s still plenty of work to do after the break.
33rd over: Pakistan 99-3 (Babar 13, Shakeel 28) Wood sprints in to bowl at Shakeel, with two men positioned close by at midwicket. I think we know what’s coming. But the quick bluffs midway through the over, attempting a yorker that is bunted away. And that’ll be lunch.
32nd over: Pakistan 99-3 (Shakeel 28, Babar 13) Leach twirls away and Shakeel keeps ticking things over.
31st over: Pakistan 96-3 (Shakeel 25, Babar 13) Mark Wood returns for a go with a ball that has shown a hint or two of reverse swing.
30th over: Pakistan 93-3 (Shakeel 23, Babar 12) Leach goes up in appeal after Babar comes down the track to play a forward defence – pad first? Stokes decides to go upstairs.
It is pad first, but Babar’s far too down the pitch so it’s umpire’s call on impact.
29th over: Pakistan 91-3 (Babar 11, Shakeel 22) Robinson briefly moves away from line and length to get the bouncer in, and he manages to nail Shakeel on the helmet. That brings a break in play but the batter is all good to continue.
Brian Withington writes in: “Been a bit delayed with wrapping presents but ‘twas good to hear Lord Gower bringing the same engaged rapier wit to the Sensodyne infomercials as he does to his cricket commentary.”
Hear, hear – it’s been pretty great to hear David Gower back on comms this series.
28th over: Pakistan 90-3 (Babar 10, Shakeel 22) Leach continues, with Babar and Shakeel knocking it about to pick up four off the over.
27th over: Pakistan 86-3 (Shakeel 19, Babar 9) Babar throws his bat outside off, but Robinson beats it with a ball that jags slightly away. Lovely lines from the quick to the right-hander. There’s a bit of reverse swing starting to show as well, with Robinson getting the ball to tail in late.
26th over: Pakistan 86-3 (Babar 9, Shakeel 19) Babar clips for a single off Leach’s first ball to bring Shakeel back on strike. After a dot, the left-hander sees some hang time on the ball and comes down the track for a lofted off-drive to the boundary. He’s looked a very tidy player all series has Shakeel, and Leach isn’t causing him too much bother here. Maybe time for a Rehan googly?
25th over: Pakistan 81-3 (Babar 8, Shakeel 15) Babar shows off a graceful clip, finding a gap in the leg side off Robinson to pick up three.
24th over: Pakistan 78-3 (Babar 5, Shakeel 15) Shakeel picks up a couple off Leach.
23rd over: Pakistan 76-3 (Shakeel 13, Babar 5) Robinson rattles through another over, conceding just one.
22nd over: Pakistan 75-3 (Shakeel 12, Babar 5) Shakeel nails another sweep off Leach, swatting the ball away for four.
21st over: Pakistan 70-3 (Shakeel 7, Babar 5) Ollie Robinson gets his first over of the innings, and a Shakeel single is the only punishment off it. Time for some drinks.
A nice touch from England after Azhar was dismissed.
20th over: Pakistan 69-3 (Shakeel 6, Babar 5) A lovely, lovely shot from Babar. He shimmies down the pitch and smothers the spin by clipping Leach through midwicket for four.
19th over: Pakistan 65-3 (Babar 1, Shakeel 6) Wood continues to sprint in, and Babar manages to get off the mark with a single.
Azhar Ali says goodbye.
18th over: Pakistan 64-3 (Babar 0, Shakeel 6) Stokes decides to pack his fielders close around new man Saud Shakeel – but the left-hander responds well, nailing a sweep for four off his second ball. One then keeps low, too low for Foakes as well, as it runs away for four byes.
WICKET!! Shafique lbw Leach 26 (Pakistan 54-3)Carnage! Leach has his third in six balls, getting the ball to beat Shafique’s forward press and strike the front pad. The batter doesn’t bother with a review; that looked very, very out. Leach is running through Pakistan!
17th over: Pakistan 54-2 (Shafique 26, Babar 0) After a bright start to the day, Pakistan are suddenly up against it again. Once again, Babar, their star man, has to step up.
WICKET!! Azhar b Leach 0 (Pakistan 53-2)Here comes Azhar Ali for the final time in international cricket. He gets a few handshakes from the opposition on his way in. But… now he’s gone! The right-hander plays all around a sharp Leach delivery, trying to flick through the leg-side, and is bowled for a duck. The England players go and shake hands with him once again, and his teammates form a guard of honour as he walks off. A fantastic Test career comes to an end.
16th over: Pakistan 53-2 (Shafique 25, Babar 0)
WICKET!! Masood b Leach 24 (Pakistan 53-1)Oh dear. Masood tries the reverse sweep but only manages to get a bottom edge as the ball rattles the stumps.
15th over: Pakistan 53-0 (Masood 24, Shafique 25) Masood pulls Wood away for a single before Shafique collects four more, picking out a gap between two fielders behind square. The two openers have been excellent so far this morning, cutting the deficit in quick time. Pakistan now lead by three.
14th over: Pakistan 48-0 (Masood 23, Shafique 21) Jack Leach is on for a twirl, replacing Root. It’s a tidy start before he goes slightly short with the final ball of the over; Shafique punches off the back foot through the covers for four.
13th over: Pakistan 43-0 (Masood 22, Shafique 17) Wood continues to fly in and send them short. But my word this pitch is dead, with barely any carry as the ball eventually finds Ben Foakes’ gloves. Shafique nails a pull from the penultimate ball of the over, the ball whacking short leg’s shoulder before falling just short of Ben Stokes at square leg. Ollie Pope, the man hit, seems like he’s OK.
12th over: Pakistan 41-0 (Shafique 15, Masood 22) Two slips in for Masood as Root continues from around the wicket. He tosses one up and Masood comes down the pitch to whack it all the way for six! The left-hander is showing his Yorkshire teammate very little respect this morning.
11th over: Pakistan 35-0 (Masood 16, Shafique 15) Mark Wood has the ball from the other end and immediately enters bouncer-mode. Shafique tucks away for a single off the third ball and Masood gets one himself with a controlled pull.
10th over: Pakistan 33-0 (Shafique 14, Masood 15) Masood pushes at the first ball of the day and gets a thickish edge that runs away for four. The next shot is a more convincing one – Root is short and Masood punches through the off side for four more. And then Root beats the bat with a sharp off-break! Masood then collects his third boundary of the over, coming down the track to drive over extra cover. A very entertaining start to the day.
Right then, let’s get going. Joe Root’s got the ball.
Azhar Ali will almost certainly walk out to bat in Test cricket for the final time today. It’s been a truly stellar career, but also a massive shame that most of it has clashed with Pakistan having to make the UAE their home. This is just his 10th Test match in Pakistan. I hope he gets a decent ovation when he makes his way out there.
Here’s a better catch-up from yesterday:
PreambleHello, folks! Sunday saw a 23-year-old showcase his sporting prowess to the world with a truly scintillating individual performance.
Yes, that’s right, Harry Brook was at it again, hitting his third century of the series as England put up 354 to grab a 50-run first-innings lead. He’s special, this kid – and the Test numbers are quite something right now: six innings, 480 runs @ 80, SR: 92.13, 1 half-century, 3 tons.
Pakistan’s openers Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood managed to see off nine overs before the close of play, surviving against that famed new-ball duo of, um, Jack Leach and Joe Root.
I’ll be back in a bit – as ever, send in your thoughts, queries, song requests, etc.