Pakistan beat England by 152 runs to level series: second Test, day four – as it happened

A picture


Simon Burnton’s piece has landed so that’s my cue to get outta here.Congrats to Pakistan and their spin-twins who “humbled” England’s batters.A thoroughly entertaining Test comes to a swift end which means it’s all to play for when they meet for the decider in Rawalpindi next Thursday.We’ll be back to bring you all the action and hope you’ll join us then.Thanks to everyone who contributed across the Test.

You all turn an already fun job into an absolute joy!Catch you next time…So, was it just the pitch that proved decisive? Not a chance, declares Ben Bernards:English OBO readers coming across like the Indian spectators when watching an opponent play well.Silence, sourness, lack of respect for the opposition.Carve the game up to suit their own ends and when occasionally losing, out come the excuses.ClassssssicI don’t think any sober English fan would blame the pitch, but there’s no doubt it played a major role in this one.Here’s Pakistan’s captain, Shan Masood who has his first win as skipper:The first one is always special.

it’s come after some hard times, some rough times.For the boys to step in, to work together, to come up with a strategy to pick up 20 wickets, that’s the most important thing.You have to applaud the group.They’ve been hungry.[Not winning at home for 1,000 days] creates hunger.

It’ll be special for everyone because it’s come after tough times,We’re just glad that we were able to put plans in place,A strange of strategy for us,We tried going with green seamers against Bangladesh,You have to look at the opposition and what the ground offers you.

We thought why not try to do something.Noman and Sajid coming in, it’s never easy.They seemed like two seasoned campaigners.But it’s a collective effort.Everyone has a part to play.

Reckon they’ll pick him for the next Test?Pakistan have won their last three Tests with Noman Ali in the side and lost their last six without him in the sideHow good is Test cricket? And how good is a series going down the wire?The teams playing a three-test series should be contractually bound to lose one each of the first two tests so that the third test is not a dead rubber.Well done England for doing so.Seriously, that was a great test as it challenged the players’ techniques on both sides and in all departments of the game.Kudos to Pakistan for winning and now all eyes are on the Rawalpindi pitch.Hear, hear Mike Daniels.

Saji Khan gets the player of the match award.Even though he ended with nine wickets, and Noman Ali bagged 11, that’s the right call.His seven-for in the first dig certainly turned the match.Plus a handy 22 with the bat played a role in his team’s second innings.This is not the first time two spinners have take all 20 wickets in a match!Thanks to Chris for reminding me that Jim Laker (19) and Tony Lock (1) combined for all the Aussie scalps back in Manchester in 1956.

Zain Malik, erudite as always, leaves us with this:It is remarkably rewarding to be a fan of the Men in Green.They represent an aura of their own, no matter then eleven they field on the day, the now almost cliched mercurial ways, the defying of all odds, triumphs from rock bottom.When the going gets tough and it has been tough in the recent public memory, it seemed like the good old days would never return.But here they are, the plan has worked.Bazball has been countered, the honour of Multan restored, the series levelled.

No matter what you say about how this win was gathered, this was a win at all costs game.A game that has done well in giving Pakistan another chance to restore home dominance.To reclaim their place as a force to be reckoned with.Well done, mate.Enjoy the win!Here’s Ben Stokes:It was obviously going to be a massive task for us because of how much was going on in the wicket.

We knew that chasing the toal down, we knew we had to go out there with a method as individuals and as a batting unit.If you look at the guys who had success it was the ones who put pressure on the spinners with s weeps and reverse sweeps.It was incredibly tough conditions to try and eke that out.There was always a ball with your name on it.It was about chasing the total down, not eking it out.

It was always going to be a big toss turning up on a day six pitch before a ball was bowled.But we felt we were still in the game.You have to give credit to Pakistan.They put a good score on the board.Ben Duckett’s hundred was incredible and then we lost some key wickets at the end of day two which is when I thought the pitch started doing a bit.

When you’re ahead of the game, like Pakistan were, you can start putting your foot down.So you’ve got to give them credit.A tough ask for us, but taking the game on as we did today was the only way we were going to do it.It was always going to favour whoever won the toss.I always call tails and I won’t be saying anything different next week!I thought we were always there.

A lot going on.Spin, no spin, some bounce.I’m sure that’s better for spectators than just watching the ball go straight.Did England lose because of the pitch? Because they were below par? Because Pakistan were excellent?All three says Asad Ahmad.He’s not wrong:The toss was undoubtedly a major factor in Pakistan’s win.

But had England batted better in their 1 innings and taken their catches in Pakistan’s second they could have won the match.The win is down to a mixture of winning the toss, good cricket by pakistan and a subpar performance by england.One for the statisticians:“I wonder if Pakistan’s spin duo taking all of the wickets and bowling nearly 88 per cent of all the balls bowled by one side has happened before in a Test match?”Great question Iain Chambers.Here’s the list of two bowlers taking all 20 wickets in a match.This might be the first time this has been done by spinners.

Was the result made inevitable by the pitch?75 between first and second innings, 70 between second and third, 77 between third and fourth: neat illustration of deterioration of the pitchNoman ends with 8-46,A sensational haul!Peter Salmon writes in:Hi DanielHad this Dylan lyric in my head all Test match about Noman Ali and it only gets more aptStay free from petty jealousies Live by Noman’s code And hold your judgment for yourself Lest you wind up on this roadPakistan will be delighted with that win but what does it mean for the series?Matthew Hobbs raises an interesting point:Good morning DanJust to add to Daniel’s point below, once the dust (ahem) settles, I wonder what this victory truly means for Pakistan beyond the sheer relief of getting over the line? They’ve won in such unique circumstances - a week-and-a-half old pitch, a match-specific team packed with spinners - and yet the shoe could have so easily been on the other foot should the toss have gone against them,If the teams arrive in Rawalpindi in six days’ time and the pitch doesn’t turn, or Pakistan lose an important toss, I’m not really sure how much confidence they would take winning in this manner,This Test has been wonderful fun to watch but I suspect England will fancy their chances in the decider,Bashir is out first ball! Another plopped catch for Abdullah as Noman bags two in two balls.

England capitulated in a session, losing eight wickets for 108 runs, mostly scored through reverse sweeps.Noman was excellent and finishes with eight in the innings and 11 in the match.England all-out for 144 (Potts 9*)Noman has 10 for the match! Leach reviewed but I’m not sure why.That was clearly an inside edge onto his pad.The catch was a gimme at forward short leg as it plopped into Abdullah’s hands.

Wonderful bowling.Slowed almost to a standstill through the air, that little wait compelled Leach to prod at it with his hands.Will Noman leave one for his mate to also get a 10-for, or will he gobble it up himself?33rd over: England 144-8 (Potts 9, Leach 1) That’s a tremendous stroke from Potts who plays a reverse sweep as well as any top-order batter.Sajid hasn’t quite been at it today.32nd over: England 138-8 (Potts 4, Leach 0) It’s a race to 10 wickets.

Sajid and Noman both have nine with only two wickets left.Who will get there first?England in Noman’s land! The left-armer has a sixth as Carse attempts a huge hack down the ground but can only meet it with the edge of the toe of his bat.It goes straight to slip where Salman pouches it safely.Carse reviews, unsure if he did indeed make contact with it, but the spike is clear.He’s got to go!Win the toss, win the match?It’s an interesting question Daniel Forster:Not wanting to deny this Pakistan credit for a determined and skilful performance against a backdrop of 6 defeats and administrative chaos, but I am I really the only person thinking that this the most extreme example I can recall of a match where winning the toss pretty much guarantees winning the game? The pitch behaved well for a day and a half, then rapidly became hard to play on then almost impossible to play on.

Batting 2nd and 4th on this pitch and winning looks nigh on impossible...Not the first time, Dan, but certainly a prime example of how difficult it is chasing in Asia on a turning track.31st over: England 138-7 (Carse 27, Potts 4) Shows what I know.

Potts nails a sweep that screams away for four.Or maybe I do know what I’m talking about as this was off Sajid – not Noman – who has struggled a bit from around the wicket today.30th over: England 133-7 (Carse 26, Potts 0) Noman is the more threatening of the two bowlers.He’s been brilliant.And with two slips and a man at silly mid-off, he’s always in the game.

Potts doesn’t look capable of getting him off the square and instead is happy to block with soft hands.An inside edge off the lasts over save him from an otherwise plumb lbw shout.29th over: England 131-7 (Carse 24, Potts 0) Sajid has to wait for his 10th wicket as Carse survives a review for lbw.Earlier he mashed a mighty six over midwicket with a hefty hoik.He’ll continue to resist.

But for how long?Carse survives.Hit him outside the line and would have spun beyond leg stump.Pakistan lose the review.Shan Masood reviews for an lbw shout against Carse.Could be close….

28th over: England 125-7 (Carse 18, Potts 0) That was a truly ignominious end for the England captain with his his bat spiralling away towards midwicket as he was stumped.Great bowling from Noman who slowed it right down through the air.Potts, the new man, had to contend with three slips lurking in wait.England are fighting with bravery, but the end is inevitable.“Personally I fail to understand why Test cricket is doomed,” says an optimistic Jeremy Boyce.

“You can keep all your instant stuff, it’s like finding a bargain in the sales.Or eating cheap instant noodles You go for it, then later you realise it wasn’t what you really wanted so you flog it off to a bidder at a car boot sale/order a pizza.Strictly Come Cricket it is not.It is something to be appreciated over time, like a Twin Peaks/Downton Abbey boxed set, beautifully presented and with twists and turns (?!) at every moment.Maybe they should make David Lynch president of the ICC?”Stokes loses his bat and loses his wicket! Having just crunched a reverse sweep for four, England’s skipper comes charging out of his crease and takes a hefty swipe at the ball
recentSee all
A picture

Care home chain Care UK sold to US property investment company

One of Britain’s largest care home chains, Care UK, has been sold to an American property investment company, the Guardian can reveal, in a deal that comes as private providers lobby the government for a greater role in the NHS.Care UK, which operates more than 150 residential homes for older people, has been the subject of sale speculation since 2018.The private equity firm Bridgepoint Advisers, which paid £420m for the company in 2010, had previously tried and failed to sell the chain, which employs about 10,500 staff and was founded in 1982. It said in its 2019 accounts that it had spent £2.5m on financial advice for an “abortive” sale process

A picture

UK firms in ‘significant financial distress’ hits record levels; Gold rises over $2,700/ounce – as it happened

A record number of UK firms are fighting for their financial survival as the uncertain economic outlook hits business confidence.Restructuring specialist Begbies Traynor has reported that there were 632,756 UK businesses in ‘significant’ financial distress in the third quarter of this year – a 32% rise compared with a year earlier.Significant’ financial distress increased in almost every one of the sectors covered by the latest Red Flag Alert survey.It rose particularly rapidly among utilities companies (+19.3%), food & drug retailers (+10

A picture

Quit if you don’t like our office-working policy, Amazon executive suggests

A senior Amazon executive has suggested that staff who do not like the company’s new five-days-a-week office-working policy should quit.The head of the tech company’s cloud computing business told an internal meeting that if employees did not support the change they could look for a job elsewhere, according to a transcript reviewed by Reuters.Matt Garman, the chief executive of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) unit, said nine out of 10 workers he had spoken to supported the policy, which is effective for all office-based staff from 2 January, barring those with exceptional circumstances.He indicated that anyone unhappy with the retreat from home-working should leave. “If there are people who just don’t work well in that environment and don’t want to, that’s OK, there are other companies around,” said Garman, in the comments reported by Reuters

A picture

AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery reaching ‘tipping point’, says watchdog

Child sexual abuse imagery generated by artificial intelligence tools is becoming more prevalent on the open web and reaching a “tipping point”, according to a safety watchdog.The Internet Watch Foundation said the amount of AI-made illegal content it had seen online over the past six months had already exceeded the total for the previous year.The organisation, which runs a UK hotline but also has a global remit, said almost all the content was found on publicly available areas of the internet and not on the dark web, which must be accessed by specialised browsers.The IWF’s interim chief executive, Derek Ray-Hill, said the level of sophistication in the images indicated that the AI tools used had been trained on images and videos of real victims. “Recent months show that this problem is not going away and is in fact getting worse,” he said

A picture

New York Liberty 80-82 Minnesota Lynx: WNBA finals Game 4 – as it happened

First, the glass-half-empty way of looking at it …Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu struggled. A lot. They finished the game shooting 10-for-36. From 3-point range: 0-for-9. Stewart still had a double-double with 11 and 11, including six offensive rebounds

A picture

New Zealand beat West Indies by eight runs: Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final – as it happened

New Zealand are into their first Women’s T20 World Cup final since 2010 after withstanding an all-round onslaught from Deandra Dottin to claim a tense eight-run win over the West Indies.Dottin shone to dump out England in what was effectively a quarter-final this week and claimed four for 22 as New Zealand put up 128 for nine after deciding to bat first on another clammy evening in Sharjah.After New Zealand spinner Eden Carson claimed the wickets of Qiana Joseph, Shemaine Campbelle and Stafanie Taylor, and captain Hayley Matthews holed out off Lea Tahuhu, the Windies were on 55 for four in the 11th over.Dottin, though, muscled three sixes in an over off Tahuhu to bring the equation down to 34 off 24 balls, only to then top-edge a sweep off Amelia Kerr to depart for 33 off just 22 deliveries.West Indies needed 11 off the last five balls but Suzie Bates, bowling her first over of the tournament, held her nerve, castling Zaida James to ultimately seal victory for the White Ferns