Just when England appeared to be paying a high price for the lacklustre display in the field that has plagued them for much of this first Test, up popped Ben Stokes to provide another twist to a compelling start to this series.
Pakistan, brilliant with the ball to take what looked like a decisive lead of 107, seemed sure to inflict a sixth successive defeat on England in the first Test of a series when they doubled their advantage for the loss of five second innings wickets.
But it was then that Joe Root, with probably his last throw of the first Test dice, turned to a man who has not bowled since hobbling off mid-over towards the end of a second Test against West Indies he virtually won on his own.
Ben Stokes took two wickets as he returned to bowling to lead the comeback against Pakistan
Stuart Broad was also influential on leaving Pakistan on 137 for eight at stumps on day three
Stokes however had been part of a sloppy fielding display which threatened to derail his side
Stokes has been a peripheral figure since suffering the thigh injury that has forced him to since play as a specialist batsman and wreaked havoc with England’s balance.
Even yesterday he shelled another catch when, in his eagerness to contribute, he dived across his captain at slip and dropped Abid Ali off a steaming Jimmy Anderson.
But once he got the ball in his hand again, with Root running out of options, it did not take long for Stokes to make something happen, pinning Mohammad Rizwan lbw and then switching ends to produce a beauty to send back Shaheen Afridi.
It was another appearance by Mr Incredible as Stokes ended a terrific third day with figures of two for 11 off four overs and, with Stuart Broad returning to trap Shadab Khan in between Stokes strikes, Pakistan had crashed to 137 for eight. Game very much back on.
Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah claimed four for 66 as England were bowled out for 219
Pakistan, 244 ahead with two second innings left, are still favourites, with Old Trafford sure to provide more turn and bounce for Yasir Shah today, but Stokes and England have just given themselves a sniff of what would be a notable triumph.
Not that victory would totally answer the questions that have been raised for England so far in this match. Notable among them being quite what role Jofra Archer has in this Test attack.
Archer raised eyebrows when he said at the end of the second day that ‘this is not a pitch where you bend your back’ and questioned whether Naseem Shah could maintain the 90 mile per hour pace that marked his first appearance in England on Thursday.
Well, Naseem kept on charging in yesterday morning, even though in fairness his pace was slightly down, and Old Trafford continued to be what it invariably is – exactly the sort of pitch where a bowler is rewarded for putting his back into it.
Fellow spinner Shadab Khan was also among the wickets, picking up the final two scalps
Really, Archer should be doing what we saw him do at Lord’s last summer and in white-ball cricket – bowl in short sharp 90 mph plus spells – and Root should have been confident in turning to him to do the job that a half-fit Stokes eventually did late in the day.
Instead Archer has bowled only five overs in the Pakistan second innings, admittedly a little pacier than his first innings effort, and remained on the periphery himself. It is all a bit of a mystery but what is clear is that, from over-bowling him last winter, Root seems now to be under-bowling a cricketer of rare gifts. Or at least not gaining the maximum from him.
There was frustration, too, for Anderson who was denied his first wicket in the second innings of any Test this summer by Stokes miss. And Dom Bess bowled far too many loose deliveries on a surface that perfectly suited Pakistan’s two spinners.
But Broad, again in hard hitting form with the bat, and Chris Woakes were excellent as no Pakistan batsman was able to make the half century that would surely have given them a match-winning advantage.
Ollie Pope’s 62 was as good as any before he was dismissed by a snorter from Naseem Shah
Earlier England’s hopes of achieving anything like first innings parity disappeared the moment the 17-year-old Naseem took his first Test wicket in England.
And what a brute of a delivery it was that reared up at Ollie Pope and rendered him hopeless to stop the ball ballooning to gully just when he was threatening to turn what was an extremely skilful 62 into a repeat of Shan Masood’s match-defining century.
It was just reward for a mightily impressive introduction to England for a bowler called ‘Lillee Shah’ in the field by his vocal team-mates and whose smooth action has already also been compared to Richard Hadlee and even Fred Trueman. No pressure then.
England had Stuart Broad to thank for two tail-end stands which added 49 to the hosts’ total
The only sour note struck by Naseem, who hit Woakes with a nasty blow on the helmet immediately after dismissing England’s young star, was his slightly over-zealous celebration close to the face of Pope. Let’s put that down to youthful enthusiasm for now.
There is nothing youthful about the 34-year-old Yasir but he remains a huge threat, particularly on a pitch like Old Trafford that offers him bounce, and the leg-spinner then took over to extinguish any chance England had of matching Pakistan’s 326.
Yasir started by bowling Jos Buttler with an attempted leg-break that went straight on, the first of his three wickets for four runs in 27 balls as England fell significantly behind Pakistan without really batting badly.
After Broad had removed Masood Bess took his first wicket by dismissing opener Abid Ali
There was support for Yasir in the form of fellow wrist-spinner Shadab Khan who took the remaining two wickets, only spoiling his excellent all-round contribution so far by dropping Stuart Broad on his way to an unbeaten 29.
Five England wickets fell for 60 after the first break as their post-lunch blues struck for the third time in three days of this first Test. Perhaps questions might have to be asked of the Old Trafford chef as something is disagreeing with England’s stomach for the fight.
England will perhaps have to forgo their lunch today because they will need to fight if they are going to become only the third side to chase more than 200 to win a Test in Old Trafford’s long Test history. But thanks to Stokes they are still in with a chance.
Chris Woakes also chipped in with a couple of wickets to stall the progress from the visitors