BUMBLE ON THE TEST: Ben Stokes’ entertainers are keeping eyes on Test cricket amid football hysteria

BUMBLE ON THE TEST: Ben Stokes’ entertainers are keeping eyes on Test cricket amid football hysteria and another thrilling finish could be on the cards… but seeing Gareth Southgate’s side lose to France was heartbreaking – the ref was nuts!

  • Ben Stokes’ leadership was on display in day three of the second Test in Multan
  • Imam-ul-Haq brings back memories of his uncle, former captain Inzamam
  • Stokes’ placed his faith in Jack Leach and has been rewarded for his trust
  • The Three Lions were unfortunate to be dumped out of the World Cup in Qatar

England secured a late wicket to recover what was an otherwise difficult third day of the second Test in Multan. 

After struggling throughout the day, Jack Leach secured a pivotal wicket when Imam-ul-Haq’s drive was caught by Joe Root in slip. Ben Stokes’ side will now head into the final day of the Test with victory in sight but far from assured. 

Sportsmail’s David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd picks out his talking points following day three of the second Test of England’s tour of Pakistan.

England secured a vital wicket to round off an otherwise mixed third day in Multan

ANOTHER THRILLING FINISH INCOMING? 

It’s another cracking Test. I talked about the need for these teams to entertain while a football World Cup is going on for the sake of Test cricket and, led by England’s spirit of enterprise, they are doing just that. Ben Stokes captaincy has been bang on again but it will be tested on the fourth day. It could be another thrilling finish…..

MEMORIES OF THE KING OF MULTAN

Imam-ul-Haq's involvement brought back memories of his uncle, former Pakistan captain, Inzamam(right)

Imam-ul-Haq’s involvement brought back memories of his uncle, former Pakistan captain, Inzamam(right)

Seeing Imam-ul-Haq batting brought back memories of his famous uncle Inzamam. What a player he was. The king of Multan! And he was treated like one in his home city. When I was there in 2005 Inzy would walk slowly to practice, sit in a wicker chair by the nets and only get out of it to bat. He wasn’t one for wasting energy….

JACKS THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB 

The promotion of Will Jacks to No3 from seven reminded me of something Colin Cowdrey said many years ago. We were chatting about captaincy and Colin said ‘never change the batting order.’ It seems to me Jacks was a sacrificial lamb. I could understand Ollie Pope dropping down the order after doing so much keeping but it was crying out for Joe Root to move up a place..

JIMMY TOOK HIS CHANCE 

Jimmy Anderson made the best of an unfamiliar role to bowl Mohammed Rizwan

Jimmy Anderson made the best of an unfamiliar role to bowl Mohammed Rizwan

What a delivery from Jimmy Anderson to bowl Mohammad Rizwan. Jimmy had to wait to get his hands on that ball and I can’t imagine he’s been the fifth bowler England have used too often. But I like Stokes throwing the new ball here to Jack Leach. It’s what other teams have done in those conditions over the years and it’s good to see England being pro-active in that way…

STOKES KEEPS LEACH FEELING INVOLVED 

What it does is get the spinner into the game rather than turning to him after 20 or 30 overs as if you were captaining from a pamphlet. And that’s important for Leach. You can’t use him as an after-thought because he’s not the most confident lad. You have to involve him and Stokes since taking over has always given Jack the feeling that he belongs…

PAKISTAN WITHSTAND LOSS OF THEIR CAPTAIN 

We have said during this Test that Babar Azam is now right up there with the Pakistani greats but Ollie Robinson seems to have got his number and bowled him again with another beauty. The Australians would always say ‘get the captain and the rest will fold.’ But Pakistan didn’t fold on the third day and have given themselves a chance…

WORLD CUP HEARTBREAK FOR THE THREE LIONS 

Gareth Southgate's side found themselves at the mercy of poor officiating in their heartbreaking World Cup defeat

Gareth Southgate’s side found themselves at the mercy of poor officiating in their heartbreaking World Cup defeat

What a choker the football was on Saturday. It was flipping heart-breaking. England were the better team! And goodness me what about that referee? Where have they found him from? I’ve been around a long time and I never criticise officials. But I’ll make an exception for that bloke. Brazil is famous for its nuts and he’s one of them…

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