By Bagpuss
December 6 2005

So she sees the end and reports on it. Now there is masochism for ya - from Day 4 until the unglorious end! Will it read any better from someone there rather than via the radio? I very much doubt it but the little extra bits make it well worth reading.

DAY 4

Not really sure what would be the best case scenario today. An England win to level the series must surely be beyond hope. I cant see Pakistan risking a sporting declaration, they willprobably bat well into the afternoon given the opportunity.

The pitch seems about as unhelpful to the bowlers as it was yesterday. Harmison. Plunkett and then Flintoff give it a go but nothing much to encourage. Yousuf passes 200 (347, 24/1) in the 131st over, this is followed by the Pakistan 500 a few overs later. There are no ballboys around the boundary today - they seemed to disappear yesterday afternoon and apart from a brief appearance by a select few at start of play this morning there has been no-one patrolling the boundary, meaning the England fielders are chasing leather to an even greater extent. I go in search of ballboy picket lines as an excuse to switch to the (sunny) end of the ground.

Proves to be a successful wicket walk as I manage to persuade five men with guns to let me back in the ground at the other end to discover Yousuf has finally departed. Out slogging Udal caught at long on by the newly acquired safe hands of Pietersen. Out for 223, it is churlish for me to remind everyone he was dropped on 16 but what the heck I'm going to anyway. Such is life. S**t happens.

Inzamam decides his arm is up to a little gentle exercise and resumes his innings. Think he rather likes the look of this strip for a bit of a bat. He adds ten runs to his starting figure of 35 to pass 8000 career test runs ( the second Pakistani to reach this figure). In the 144th over he reaches 50 (66, 6/1) immediately after Kamran Akmal passes 150 (240, 13). Akmal is the next wicket to fall as Pakistan push on in search of quick runs, caught at midwicket by Vaughan off Flintoff for 154. Naved joins Inzamam, he proved in the Faisalabad test he is no mug with the bat and he is happy to try to match his captain flaying the ball around the ground. Pakistan reach 600 runs in the 146th over and still they bat on. Inzamam seems intent on adding a third consecutive hundred to the two he scored in Faisalabad but his old faults get the better of him and in pursuit of a quick single he is run out by Vaughan's direct hit. No need for the third umpire. Inzamam falls three runs short of his century, scored off just 101 balls. The declaration is immediate though I have some sympathy for Naved who was scoring quickly and was left on 42 not out. I haven't checked if he has a Test 50 on his CV but think it unlikely. Pakistan are a daunting 348 runs ahead of England's first innings total. Four England bowlers have reached their 'centuries' and Harmison has bowled 43 overs in this innings, the most he has ever been called upon in an England shirt. And his reward a single wicket.

Today for the first time on this tour we are playing Test cricket on a Friday. To allow for Friday prayers the lunch interval is delayed by half an hour and then extended by 20 minutes. So England have at most a couple of overs to bat before lunch. This is reduced to one over, allowing for Shoaib Akhtars ever extending run up. Oh and for the little matter of the fall of a wicket when he gets Trescothick lbw with his second ball that is quick, full and straightens. England are 0-1 which becomes 501 as lunch is taken after the single over, Vaughan 4 and Bell 1.

After lunch Vaughan and Bell continue the task of seeing off the new ball from Akhtar and Naved. Managing quite well until Vaughan is deceived by a slower ball from Akhtar which he lobs back to the bowler. 30-2 in the 7th is not good. Trying to remember Pakistan were 12-2 at the start of their innings but it is not much comfort. But Collingwood seems to have gained confidence from his first innings and soon settles with Bell. The 50 is up in the 11th over and the better news is Akhtar has to take a breather and is replaced by Sami. Malik comes on in the 20th for Naved, nothing too dangerous from him, nor Kaneria who replaces him in the 24th. But meanwhile Akhtar has his second wind and is letting fly from the other end - and hits Bell on the forearm. Several minutes pass as the physio checks him out but Mr Bell is obviously made of sterner stuff than the Pakistan captain as he continues the vigil.

The 50 partnership is reached just before tea - which today is taken at 3.30pm. Confused? You bet. But the score is a little more promising 84-2 with Bell 42 and Collingwood 22. After tea the lights are on but there will still be only about 40 minutes of play possible in this final session. Bell is still troubled by the arm but reaches 50 in the 31st over. As the light draws in Inzamam brings Akhtar and Naved back into the attack and I amuse myself by trying to think of apt tunes for Bill the Barmy Army trumpeter to play. Much amusement is caused by the rendition of 'You're So Vain' to accompany Akhtar bowling the 35th over. Unfortunately the umpires called a halt to proceedings one over later so Mr A was not able to bowl to The Birdie Song. Will have to wait until tomorrow. Meanwhile England are 121-2 overnight, Bell 60 and Collingwood 37. 23 overs were lost from todays play - I am not sure which team would have been making most use of the extended lunch interval for prayers. But at an estimation I think England will have about 70 overs to survive tomorrow to save this test.

 

DAY 5

Start the day with a round of "guess when lunch and tea will be taken". The PCB may inform us that the official close of play tonight will be at 5.42pm, or whatever, but sure as eggs are something you eat well cooked out here the sun will go down and the light will fail at 4.30. Seventy overs then. Perhaps we can request an extended lunch interval, to listen to the Archers or something.

Seventy overs. Eight wickets left. Thats one wicket every 10 overs and one left over. No problem. Bell and Collingwood set out to survive their ten over quota. Shoaib Aktar and Kaneria set out to deny them. Sami comes on for Akhtar in the 44th over and hits Ian Bell on the same arm as Akhtar got the previous evening. Getting quite a collection of bruises there. The 150 is up at the end of the 50th over. The overs later 180 - the 150 partnership, 200 in the 64th. Inzamam has tried all five bowlers at his disposal, there have been a couple of close calls on the lbws but Bell and Collingwood survive to lunch at 201-2 off 65 overs (Bell 88, Collingwood 76). The pitch is not breaking up and apart from a few keeping low nothing much of concern.

After lunch Kaneria, who has been bowling around the wicket for much of his morning spell, switches back to over the wicket. With his third ball of the first over after lunch he deceives Collingwood with a leg break and Raza takes the catch. Out for 80, match total of 176, this test class number 4 owes England nothing (have I grovelled enough yet?) 205-3. 12.44 pm. Dont panic Mr Mainwairing, about 40 overs left and seven wickets which works out as ... one every 6 overs.

Head in hands moment as Pietersen tries extravagant sweep of first ball he faces from Kaneria and every Pakistani in the ground joins in the appeal. But not out. Not to worry though there will be another coming along in a moment and there is no doubt when in his next over Pietersen prods the ball to Raza. 212-4. Flintoff removes the Ipod from his ears and makes his way out to the middle. He could probably have left the machine running on play and got back to hear the end of the same track as he is completely flummoxed by a Kaneria googly and is bowled first ball. 212-5. There is another big appeal which 20,000 spectators join in for the hat trick ball - Jones survives.

End of over. But no time to relax as Akhtar is storming in form the other end to fox Bell with a slower ball and get him lbw, hitting the back foot. Possibly an edge - I have no idea one of the cameramen seemed to think he was unlucky. Bell gone for 92, and unless Harmison goes on to make his maiden Test double hundred he will be England's top runmaker this series with 213 runs - not bad for someone who may not have played the first game of the series were it not for the Battle of Wounded Knee.

It is 13.01pm, England have lost 4 wickets for 7 runs in 17 minutes of chaos. No longer bothering with the mathematics here. Shoaib Akhtar can smell blood and the only question is if he can last more than his usual 5 over spell to polsh off the tail.

He hits Shaun Udal on the arm, bringing the physio out to administer whatever magic sprays he has left over from treating Bell. An armguard arrives - did he really think it was a good idea to face Shoaib Akhtar without one, or perhaps more likely he didn't have enough time to get dressed for the occasion. Probably thought he'd have plenty of time to finish his post-lunch chai.

Akhtars fifth over - the 71st of the innings. Will this be his last - maybe, as two no-balls mean he has to bowl an eight ball over. The reward of one more run on the total is immaterial as whoever is facing gets a couple of bonus balls at the end of the over. The umpires arm does not save Jones as Akhtar gets him lbw - nor does the huge inside edge but the umpire is not about to stand in front of this runaway train and the finger goes up. 227-7. Plunkett lasts just three balls before he becomes Akhtar's fifth victim with one of those bonus balls - another lbw. 227-8

Respite? Sami replaces Akhtar in the 73rd. All going swimmingly till the last ball of the over when Udal edges to Butt. 248-9 and Kaneria applies the fatal thrust, a googly first ball of the next over bowls Hoggard. Pakistan have taken eight England wickets in the space of a little over an hour, for 43 runs in less than ten overs. They have won their first Test series in two years.

Hmmm. Pub, methinks.

Then on to the one dayers and the mighty Blackwell - we all hope Baggers!