Pakistan v England: Third Test day four as it happened

Cook gets well forward to ball one before shouldering arms to numbers two and three. He wants a run off the fourth but it's well fielded at square leg and he's wise to opt against it. The last ball keeps low and beats the edge. Ominous.

Left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman is given the second over of the day and Strauss gets the first run of the day with a tickle to a surprisingly deep mid-on. Then a big appeal from stumper Akmal for a caught behind down the leg side, but he appeals for absolutely everything and Steve Davis gives him short shrift.

You'll notice we've "pinned" England 324 target to the top of the commentary, just to keep the eyes firmly focused on the prize. Strauss gets a rapid single on the leg side, but Cook is yet to add to his overnight 15.

Strauss looks a bit unsure whether to go forward or back to Rehman and gets hurried into a shot. Then he gets it spot on, striding to the pitch and caressing through midwicket for a boundary. A single each off the last two balls and England are ticking along nicely.

TMS stat man Andrew Samson confirms the 42nd lbw this series, one short of the record for any series. The disappointing thing is that Strauss had been getting forward so well to the spinners there, but he stayed right back and paid the penalty. There's another stifled appeal off the last ball of the over but Trott was struck outside leg stump.

Trott gets forward and Rehman appeals, but Misbah is not even entertaining using a review on that one. Then Trott judges the length well and clips past mid-on for two before repeating the shot with a bit more uuumph and getting himself four.

Cook may be older than Sachin was when he reached 6,000 runs but the Englishman has actually got there one match faster than the Indian legend. Cook tries a pull shot off Gul but it comes off the toe end of the bat and gets himself a single. I like the call for wartime-style rallying cries. Feel free to pepper us with a few of those. Forward March...

It's crucial for these two to keep rotating the strike and they do exactly that in taking a single each off Rehman. Stiff upper lip boys.

There's KP on the balcony, padded up and nervously pulling at his ears as he watches the action. Maiden from Gul, I think he'll be replaced by a spinner soon.

Big Al Cook doesn't look entirely convincing against Rehman but he's hanging in there. The ball seems to have a magnetic attraction to Azhar Ali at forward short leg at the moment, the last ball of the over boucning up and striking him, and saving some runs in the process.

Right on cue, Saeed Ajmal is introduced for his first over of the day and Trott gets an inside edge that rolls past the stumps for two. Three more single from the over and England are on the move again.

Are the stars aligning for England? They are certainly getting plenty of assistance from the Pakistan fielders. Trott nurdles a single to the leg side, Cook blocks five and out comes 12th man Steve Finn with a message for Trott. One of our wartime slogans perhaps?

Two spinners, two determined batsmen fighting for survival. Ladies and Gentlemen I give you Test Cricket. It's all a bit attritional until Rehman overpitches a touch and Trott clips one firmly through the on side for four.

One boundary follows another as Cook cuts the first ball of Ajmal's next over to the fence. Then he repeats the shot a couple more times but picks out point on each occasion.

Cook misses a sweep and Akmal whips the bails off. The third umpire is going to have a look at that one ... but his toe is just inside the line. By the way I've just notice Umpire Davis has an extraordinarily deep dimple on his chin. It almost looks as if he's had an accident with a biro.

Michael Vaughan is convinced the ball isn't turning nearly as much as it was in Abu Dhabi. That's the glass half-full interpretation anyway. Trott persists with his front foot method to keep out a Rehman maiden.

England have stopped picking up the singles and it is incredibly tense out there in the middle. Trott gets a bit hurried by Rehman but manages to get some bat on it. That's five maidens on the trot.

A true test of Kevin Pietersen's mettle this, with the vultures circling. I've cleared out our inbox ready for the influx of abuse if he gets out early. "You can almost feel the nerves clanging in his body" says Henry Blofeld on TMS. He's fidgety as usual, desperate to get off the mark, but his first to balls are of the dot variety.

Ten minutes until lunch and Cook is in survival mode. Pakistan have a stranglehold on this innings again, with Rehman sending down yet another maiden.

Pietersen gets off the mark with a paddle-sweep of Ajmal over his shoulder for a single. then Cook gets a thick inside edge on a doosra and collects one more.

I'm going to tell it how it is. Kevin Pietersen looks deeply troubled out there, with runs incredibly hard to come by. He tries to force Rehman through the covers but picks out a fielder.

KP gets forward and an inside edge scoots away for a single. Cook gets one round the corner, and then Rehman appeals for lbw, but Pakistan have used up their reviews and that wouldn't have been out anyway with the ball missing leg stump.

Ajmal turns one sharply across Cook but he reads it and isn't tempted to play a shot. Boycott tries to lift the tedium with an anecdote about his uncle Algie, who used to hide his cigarettes behind the oak tree. He fails.

Pietersen is on the charge. He scampers down the track and hammers Rehman over his head for four. Steve Davis has to duck too to avoid the ball lodging in his chin-dimple [see 0731]. Pietersen goes even bigger off the last ball of the over, smashing Rehman into the stands for a maximum to take England past 100!

Lovely bowling by Ajmal as Cook gropes at a flighted off-spinner and is well-beaten. Henry Blofeld wants a piece of our wartime theme, describing Kevin Pietersen's pair of boundaries as "great blows for freedom."

KP pushes a nice little single into a gap to move to 13 from 28 balls. That keeps him on strike to Ajmal, and he nervously prods away at a maiden over.

Careful Stephan old son, if Cook gets out soon, you will be accused of major mockerillos. Rehman sends one down the leg side and it skews off the pad down to long leg for two leg byes. Cook plays for turn and gets done like a kipper by one that goes straight and keeps low.

England are scoring at under two runs per over, which means if they are to win, we could well be playing until after tea tomorrow. They collect an above-par three from Ajmal's latest to move to Nelson 111-2.

KP, soft hands, tickled off the inside of the blade for two down to long leg. Then some textbook defence for the rest of the over.

Eoin Morgan gets off the mark off the last ball of the over with a tickle into the leg side. These two have been horribly out of form, but can they produce at the final time of asking?

Morgan is literally surrounded out there, like a petty thief caught in the act. He's doing his best to wriggle free and manages to squirt two off Rehman through extra cover.

Younus Khan's catch to remove Cook was truly splendid by the way, reaching high to his left to pluck the ball out of thin air. Ajmal is trying his luck from the wicket, with three men in close-catching positions. Bell gets one round the corner, then Morgan paddle-sweeps for a single and Bell rounds things off with an inside edge that trickles to deep square leg.

Morgan's scores thus far this series are 24, 14, 3, 0 and 10. And he's taking on a very risky single here ... but they are home as the throw misses. Just. Bell gets a single to point, then Morgan flicks a rare bad ball out to deep square leg for two.

Looking at the scorecard, the biggest frustration for England here will be the fact that all four of their batsmen got in, but could not go on and make a really meaningful score. There's a shot in anger from Morgan, swept in front of square, and the ball beats Asad Shafiq to the rope.

Don't count your chickens Michael. Bell is all over the shop and that is being very generous. He looks like Phil Tufnell out there. First Ajmal turns one back into him, beats the bat and the ball files off the pad to short leg. Then the doosra fizzes the other way and Bell almost falls over as he gropes after the ball like a drunken man reaching for an uninterested maiden.

Shall we lose the "England's target to win is 324" banner? Nah, let's keep it there, reminds us just how low they have fallen, and right now this is looking like another heavy defeat. "If Morgan comes through this he deserves a medal" says Vaughan as the Dubliner survives another fiendishly testing over from Rehman, who has bowled unchanged all day.

Whisper it quietly but Eoin Morgan is looking quite good out there. Ajmal tosses one up and he plays a controlled on-drive which flies into a gap and gets him his second four.

Bell paddles one behind the wicket for a single, and Morgan works one down to short fine leg to take the partnership to 26.

Tremendous shot from Morgan and he takes a single step down the track and smashes Ajmal for a straight six with very little backlift. Vaughan says the only other England player who could have played that shot was Marcus Trescothick. Then a reality check as the next ball turns sideways past the outside edge.

Bell's series: 51 runs at 8.5. In 2011, he scored 950 at 118. Work that one out. His dismissal came off the last ball of the over so Morgan has the strike to the tireless Rehman. A single on the leg side and Matt Prior keeps out his first two balls.

Stuart Broad gets right across his stumps and only an inside edge saves him from being trapped lbw first ball. Then he deflects a lifter off his hips and picks up two runs. Tea is in 10 minutes - can these two survive?

Matt Prior makes room for himself and clobbers Rehman through the covers for four as the Barmy Army unite in a rendition of the achingly appropriate "Living on a Prayer". Prior has obviously decided to be aggressive here and he scores another four via a late cut.

Broad picks a yorker off his toes and it scoots out for a single on the leg side. Prior is doing his best to seize the initiative back as he moves to nine off 10 balls. Meanwhile, I'm told England have only ever been whitewashed six times before in a Test series of three or more, always by wither Australia, the Windies or India.

Umar Gul to resume the attack for Pakistan, though I don't think they've taken the second new ball (which is available). He's bowling to Stuart Broad, who - for once - is batting in a short-sleeved shirt, without an armguard. I heard Shaun Pollock explain once that there's a team rule in South Africa that their bowlers all have to wear armguards, without exception... Broad and Matt Prior help themselves to a single apiece, while Broad aims a fierce pull across the line at Gul but connects with thin air. Another aggressive stroke brings him four with a lofted drive over mid-off. A two through mid-wicket takes the rangy Notts paceman into double figures. Gul switches to bowling round the wicket, and Broad rounds off a positive over for England by steering a single to third man.

Abdur Rehman's marathon 37-over spell - he's been bowling all day - is finally ended as Saeed Ajmal returns to the attack. Broad has two rehearsals at sweeping the off-spinner, but finally connects firmly and that's four through square leg. Another sweep is in the air, but safe, and they run a single to Gul who's grazing down at long leg, the favoured position of many an opening bowler. Prior is a bit fidgety before facing Ajmal, but he rocks back and cuts another four! Not a bad couple of overs!

I'm suddenly filled with naive optimism about a century stand here, it would most certainly be "game on" after that...

Graeme Swann is the new batsman, collar up Cantona-style, but he's the non-striker as they ran on the catch. Prior slashes a four through third man, he has 22 from 15 balls and that's 200 up for England. A careful dab to short third man brings him a single. Still only two slips in for Swann, who tries to help his first ball down the leg side and they jog through for a leg bye. Prior drives the last ball straight to short extra cover.

"We're down to the dead men now," says Blowers by way of a weclome to James Anderson. But Jimmy survives his first two balls to see out the over.

Prior pushes Cheema's first ball for a single, and Anderson gets off the mark with an edge to third man. This has been a pretty miserable tour for England and an almighty reality check after the twin-glories of Ashes in Oz and Indian summer. Sigh.

Inevitably the conversation in the TMS box, and here for that matter, is turning to selection from Sri Lanka. Vaughan reckons if any of the young batsmen blossom in the one-dayers they should be given a chance in the Test arena. Boycs says Ravi Bopara deserves another chance as the next cab off the rank kind of thing. Three more to Prior off Gul.

'Rainman' Rehman is back to torment the England batsmen for perhaps the last time. Prior uses some width to slash two on the off side, then clatters one behind square for four. Then Rehman fires one into the leg side rough and it trickles past Akmal's leg for four byes. Quite an over.

Jimmy always says he can bat, now would be a great time to prove it. Gul aims one at his pads, and Jimmy flicks through midwicket for three to leave England needing exactly 100 runs. Probably a bit optimistic bolding that up, but I've done it now. Prior gets a single to cover to move to 35.

Umar Gul is gunning for his five-fer here - can Prior oblige? Almost. A hook shot comes off the toe end of the bat and flies towards the vacant mid-off area, before landing safely. Four one-dayers and three T20s to come after this. They should be fun with Shahid Afridi added to the spin mix.

Anderson flicks off his wrists for a single, Prior does likewise on the off side, and Anderson gets another past short leg. Let's look ahead. If, and it remains a humungous if, England can hold out until 1300 GMT, Pakistan will probably choose to take the extra half hour in a bid to force a victory.

Monty looks eager to get out there and join his Sussex colleague Prior. Rather ominously, his bat looks about 25 years old. He connects with his first ball and sends it very close to the outstretched palms of short legs. Then Monty hits a single to keep the strike. Handy.

Monty gets off strike in madcap fashion as he tips and runs and Prior only just beats the throw from square leg to the striker's end. Prior has a cross-batted swipe but doesn't connect and we limp on.

Another good over for England! Prior slices two through third man, then punches a single to long-on. Then Monty carves a couple through midwicket and another two past mid-on. Hang on a minute...