3rd Test: England vs Pakistan at Sharjah

4 without loss

Stumps , day 1

1.5
Yasir Shah to Ali, FOUR, whoa! Darted outside off, Moeen fetches it from there and powers a slog sweep

One-bounce to the midwicket boundary.
 

Very good effort by the lads today and the tactics of frustrating the life out of the Pakistanis with steady bowling from Stuart and Jimmy worked.


Moeen has to make this opportunity count and 100 lead could be telling.


Was so surprised to see such turn on day 1! Yasir may get it to turn square!


Come on England square it up.......

Oh Moeen, what are you doing. Horrible. Horrible. This is why he has no business opening the batting. Far too loose. With Ben Stokes not likely to bat, this is going to be a very crucial hour now.

An excellent recovery and morning session for England as they advance the score to 87/1.

Yasir Shah gets Cook again for the third time in the series and Pakistan have a big breakthrough straight after lunch. England need to hold firm. They can't afford a collapse similar to the second Test in Dubai. England 90/2.

England in real trouble as Root goes for 4. What a catch by Sarfraz behind the stumps. A brilliant piece of work. England 97/3. With Stokes almost certainly unable to bat and Samit Patel having dislocated a finger, Bell needs to come up with a big, big innings.

Bell beaten all ends up by a perfectly flighted delivery from Yasir and Sarfraz completes a nifty stumping. England 139/4, although with no Stokes, effectively 5 down and all their hard work on day one is coming undone.

Another very good day for England. They showed some real fight and determination to reduce the deficit to 12 runs with six wickets in hand. After Moeen gave his wicket away early, Cook and Bell laid the foundations, though when Cook and Root - England's two most consistent run scorers - were out in quick succession, there were fears of a collapse similar to the one in Dubai that ultimately lost them the Test. Taylor and Bairstow calmed the nerves and have put England in a very handy position.

Taylor deserves a special mention for his maiden Test fifty. He was a class above everyone else today. He played the spinners with great aplomb and his running between the wickets and rotating of the strike were masterful.

Current partnership  : 83 runs, 29.2 overs, RR: 2.82  (Bairstow 37, Taylor 44)

England trail by 12 runs with 6 wickets remaining in the 1st innings !

Taylor departs for 76. A big early wicket for Pakistan. Rahat Ali has been the pick of Pakistan's bowlers so far. England still trail by 6.