England’s dramatic late collapse in Multan leaves them facing an uphill task in second Test against Pakistan – despite Ben Duckett’s superb hundred

England’s hopes of another series victory in Pakistan were on hold after a breathtaking collapse on the second evening of the second Test.

At 211 for two in reply to 366, with Ben Duckett scoring a superb century in testing conditions, England were on course. But Pakistan’s non-stop spin attack on a pitch by now into its seventh day demanded buckets of concentration and skill – and England were not up to the task.

In 18 balls that changed the complexion of the series, they lost four prize wickets – three to the luxuriantly moustachioed off-spinner Sajid Khan – and they were grateful when Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse got them to the close without further damage.

At 239 for six, England still trailed by 127, and will bat last on a surface unlikely to improve. No wonder Shan Masood and his team looked as if they had won the lottery as they left the field.

Every other Test England’s Bazballers play seems to throw up questions about their greatest win or most stunning comeback. But victory from here, even against a team as brittle as Pakistan, would take the cake.

Pakistan picked up four quick wickets as England succumbed from 211 for two to 225 for six

The moustachioed off-spinner Sajid Khan was England’s chief tormentor with four wickets

Earlier, Ben Duckett had scored a stunning hundred, the fourth of his impressive Test career

Their breathless demise began with Joe Root, fresh from his record-breaking 262. Attempting to sweep Sajid, he could only drag the ball on to his stumps via his back boot, and trudged off for an unconvincing 34.

In his next over, Sajid induced a big drive from Duckett, whose thick edge settled in the hands of Saim Ayub at slip. And five balls later, Harry Brook – six days after his triple-century – went back to force an off-break through the covers and, surprised by sharp turn, was bowled middle and leg. It was the dismissal that may have convinced Pakistan this Test is theirs.

When Ben Stokes’s first Test innings since late July got no further than a single, an inside edge off slow left-armer Noman Ali ballooning off his pads to Abdullah Shafique at short leg, England had last four for 14. Since their previous nine wickets had yielded 1,034 runs, this was a U-turn as dramatic as any performed on the local roads.

It seems that re-using the same surface for back-to-back Tests, unleashing a small army of spinners, then winning the toss isn’t such a bad recipe. Who knew? It’s why the WinViz predictor gave Pakistan a 64% chance of victory between Stokes’s incorrect call at the toss and the game’s first ball. That moment, with the coin in the air, may yet prove more crucial than any.

England’s late demise was less than Duckett deserved, after batting with typical impishness in circumstances as testing mentally as they were physically.

‘Getting to the hundred was more relief than anything,’ he said. ‘I’ve felt in good form for the past year, and sat there and spoken about wanting to score hundreds, so it’s nice to get over the line.

‘But I’d be surprised if it doesn’t spin more and more. I feel like the game’s going to move forward. We know they can crumble, so the pressure is over to them.’ Asked how many England might reasonably chase in the fourth innings, he smiled: ‘On that pitch, the less the better.’

Duckett once claimed to have 10 sweeps in his locker, and he seemed to use them all during his 114, a fourth Test century, in an innings in which no one else has made even a third as many.

At times it felt like a game of two ends, Duckett toying with the bowlers while the bowlers toyed with his team-mates. Zak Crawley somehow reached 27 before Pakistan reviewed a faint edge off Noman. And while Ollie Pope hinted at fluency during his 29, the off-break from Sajid which breached his defences sounded an ominous message.

England’s collapse shed a different light on Pakistan’s painstaking first innings, which chugged along at three an over but used up crucial time, denying their opponents a chance to bat before the pitch began to misbehave.

Even so, England’s bowlers stuck to their task. And, once again, the way was led by Carse and Jack Leach, who bagged seven between them, with Carse confirming his status as the series’ most dangerous seamer, and Leach its most dangerous spinner.

Carse has been a revelation out here, and continued to strike when his team needed it. He removed Mohammad Rizwan for 41 in the day’s third over, having threatened to dismiss him countless times on the first evening. And, with the first ball after tea, he bowled Aamir Jamal for 37, ending a stubborn ninth-wicket stand with Noman of 49.

Duckett batted with typical impishness in conditions as testing mentally as they were physically

England’s collapse leaves them facing an uphill task to win this game on a deteriorating pitch

Pakistan were unsurprisingly cockahoop at the close of play after their impressive fightback

Earlier Jack Leach (left) and Brydon Carse (right) were the pick of England’s bowlers

In between, Leach had Sajid driving to Crawley at short extra cover, before ending Pakistan’s long innings by persuading Ali to hoick to deep backward square.

England may argue that performances out here have limited relevance to the Ashes, and they have a point. But the contrast between Leach and his Somerset colleague Shoaib Bashir, who ousted him as the No 1 spinner in India in February, has been pointed.

While Leach, on his return to the side, has 11 wickets in this series at 27 each, Bashir has two at 120. And when Stokes needed wickets yesterday, it was to Leach he turned.

The other Pakistani wicket fell to Matthew Potts, who bustled in with skill and heart, and only slightly spoiled the effect by giving Salman Agha a send-off after finding his outside edge on 31. By stumps, only one team were laughing.