England suffered a chaotic second day in Multan, watching Pakistan pile up 556 to take control of the first Test before their response was undermined by a worrying thumb injury for opener Ben Duckett.
It was a day where almost everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the tourists, who lost captain Ollie Pope for a duck to a world-class catch moments after he volunteered to head up the innings in Duckett’s absence.
Zak Crawley’s run-a-ball 64 not out allowed them to reach stumps in better shape at 96 for one but there is much still to do to salvage their position.
A pivotal umpiring decision went against them as they were fighting hard in the afternoon session, Chris Woakes completing a one-man relay catch at long-off only for his efforts to be ruled out amid suspicions that he had nudged the boundary as he reclaimed the ball.
Replays were inconclusive but third umpire Chris Gaffaney sided with batter Salman Agha, who compounded English frustration by going from 15 at the time to make a vital 104 not out.
When Pakistan’s innings finally came to a close after 149 gruelling overs under the Punjabi sun it should have been a moment of hard-won relief but instead it was marred by more ill-fortune.
In the act of catching number 11 Abrar Ahmed at slip, Duckett took the initial impact directly on his left thumb – gamely hanging on to the ball but immediately signalling an injury that raises alarm bells.
Most infuriating for England was the fact that Duckett should never even have been exposed, Abrar surviving a botched stumping by Jamie Smith and a dropped catch from Gus Atkinson in the previous few minutes.
With the left-hander suffering a possible fracture and in no position to begin strapping on his pads, Pope stepping up from number three and lasted just two balls as events continued to spiral.
Opting to go on the offensive, Pope middled a pull off Naseem Shah and would have counted on four morale-boosting runs until Aamer Jamal produced a sensational one-handed catch leaping up at midwicket.
The stand-in skipper departed for the pavilion ruefully, having failed to score on the same flat pitch that gifted centuries to Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood and Salman.
England are not in uncharted territory – they have won twice after conceding 500 in the ‘Bazball’ era – but it will take a special performance to turn the tide here.
Pakistan had controlled the first day of the series thanks to a double-century stand between Shafique and Masood, but three wickets in the evening offered their opponents a measure of optimism.
Neither really advanced their cause in a cagey morning session, worth 69 runs and two wickets, though nightwatcher Naseem occupied the crease for 81 infuriating deliveries and helped himself to three sixes against the English spinners.
He went on to become Brydon Carse’s first Test wicket, springing a trap at leg-slip, and Jack Leach added Mohammad Rizwan for a duck.
At 420 for six, Woakes thought he had produced the moment of inspiration needed to turn the tables. Diving backwards and arching his back he intercepted Salman’s big hit down the ground, released the ball as he landed out of bounds and gathered his own flick up on his way back. It was an excellent piece of work from the 35-year-old but the footage was not conclusive enough to persuade Gaffaney it was clean.
Salman, awarded a six rather than paying with his wicket, cashed in gleefully with 10 fours and two more sixes as he motored to a fluent century.
England were fading fast but chipped away, Carse getting Jamal lbw with one that kept low, Shoaib Bashir taking out Saud Shakeel’s off stump and Leach bowling Shaheen Shah Afridi.
But the chaos was about to begin. First Smith juggled a stumping that he could have taken in slow motion, then Atkinson fluffed a straightforward chance at midwicket. The misses did not cost many runs but it did keep them in the field long enough for Duckett to come a cropper as Abrar slashed at an unexpected bouncer from Joe Root.
Pope should be commended for volunteering to face the new ball after more than five sessions leading in the field but his short stay, and the brilliance of Jamal’s handiwork, merely continued a painful passage of play.
Things were simpler for Crawley as he flourished on his return from his own broken finger.
He showed wonderful timing in his first innings for over two months, reached his half-century in 55 balls and hitting 11 boundaries.
He was joined by Root, who scored 32 of the 71 he needs to overtake Sir Alastair Cook as England’s leading Test run-scorer and is well placed to take the record on day three.
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