Pakistan Rising

After three days of thrust and parry in Dubai, Pakistan may have delivered the knock out blow in a manner typical of their last 18 months of Test cricket.

After Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson had swept them aside with a plethora of lbw decisions and had them 7-53 at lunch on the first day, it has been one dogged exchange after another. Their scattered hopes of a clean sweep of the series were pushed aside until first Asad Shafiq led the tail in a mini revival to be all out for 99 and then, with Kevin Pietersen at his dominant best and Andrew Strauss like a big ship swaying at anchor, the spinners strangled England from 2-64 to claim four more wickets in twenty overs before stumps.

On the second day, the much vaunted English tail collapsed but with little surprise. If the batsmen found Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman a mystery, the bowlers may as well have been 13th century scholars trying to read binary. Dismissed short of lunch, Anderson and Monty Panesar removed the openers before the break with Pakistan still trailing. Cometh the hour they say and if that be true then Azhar Ali was the man. A robust character, he has struggled to establish himself in the Pakistan side but with Misbah-ul-haq's support he has grown into the No 3 role. There is nothing flash about him - in fact, he is a dour batsman, more in keeping with the English war of attrition models of the fifties and sixties: a man of which Boycott would be proud to claim parentage. However, Pakistan, for too long the flamboyant stroke makers who gave games away by their desire to attack, have been transformed into hard nosed men and the batsmens' first innings capitulation would have irked them badly.

Azhar Ali made a slow 157

Azhar took nearly thirty innings for his first century and scores his runs so slowly - at less than 40 runs per hundred balls - that games might end before three figures are reached. Soon after lunch, with Azhar on 1 after a mere 30 deliveries of what would be a 442 marathon, Broad speared one straight and through him and a huge appeal was turned down. Believing in the possibility of an inside edge, Andrew Strauss ignored a review. Azhar batted for another eight hours. There was no hurry, theirs was only the job of batting until Pakistan led by enough to win.

Younis Khan, a man whose talent withered several times as he refused the nurture of money lenders and book makers and their slippery promises and did not play rather than play on their morally bankrupt terms, is more flexible in his approach to beating an opponent. Capable of the abstenance of stroke play Azhar Ali was applying, he also enjoys making runs so his part in this recovery held more shots and endeavour but the combination proved frustrating for an English side desperate to atone to its Fleet St masters. The batted the day out, with Pakistan back in front and then on until drinks of the the third day's first session when Younis was trapped by the energetic Broad. The big blond appeals as loudly for the first as he does the last, believing them all plumb. 216 had been added and Pakistan's lead was handy. It was his only false stroke, whilst Azhar had been favoured by the the DRS exasperating Swann's lbw appeal at 70 and by Swann himself, ,who dropped a hot chance at second slip on 84.

The resourceful Younis Khan
punished the Englishmen

Misbah joined Azhar to raise another 87 and the lead was nearly 300 but when Misbah left, the rest followed in just 22 overs. Panesar and Swann were the executioners, Monty collecting another bag of five. Azhar was out second last after an innings which lasted seven minutes short of nine hours and was the scaffold on which a win has likely been constructed. England bowled and bowled and bowled but to no avail because Azhar just batted and batted and batted.

With time removed from the equation, Strauss and Cook came out looking to make a start on what will be a miracle. For England to make 324 in the fourth innings against the two most dangerous spinners in world cricket - certainly the deadliest pairing - seems beyond them. They have no batsmen in form and only Trott and Cook can be expected to find something extra. The mention of the word "doosra" is enough for Ian Bell to start taking his pads off and sit in the corner with only his sucked thumb as consolation.The start was solid but Pakistan made a rare mistake when Taufeq dropped Cook in the slips after Umar Gul surprised him with lift and movement on the off stump. It would have been a bonus wicket.

Its hard to see any escapes for England on a wicket which is already turning. Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman have the scent and are only ten wickets form providing Pakistan with a series whitewash. You won't find many who would have predicted that.