PAK VS ENG, 1ST TEST - DAY 3

Alastair Cook denies Pakistan a familiar script

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Alastair Cook scored a fighting hundred in England's attempt to eat into the deficit against Pakistan. © Cricbuzz

A public holiday in the UAE brought more people to the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium on day 3 of the first Test here in Abu Dhabi than there had been on the first two days combined. But the influx expected after lunch never materialized, and even those who did come - mostly to support the nominal home team - left disappointed and uninterested. Prior to this, most obviously against Australia at the same venue last year, Pakistan's ability to take control of the game had resulted in bigger crowds in the evenings than should reasonably be expected here.

But the resistance from Alastair Cook and England meant that a day which started with Pakistan aiming to lay foundations for their fifth win in six at this ground finished with them realising what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a typical day in the UAE.

The template Pakistan wanted to follow was what they'd achieved here last year. Against Australia the third day started off with the visitors one down after Pakistan had put up 570 over the first two days; they managed to bowl the remaining Aussies out in just 62 overs on the third day.

A few days later, they did the same to New Zealand: having conceded 566, the Kiwis started the third day with all of their first innings wickets in hand. They were bowled out with nine overs to spare in the day. A combination of fatigue and the propensity of the batsmen in those teams to attack helped Pakistan in achieving their aims. That never looked like happening today though. From Moeen Ali doing his best Chris Tavare impression to Ian Bell following the Nietszchean ideal of struggling but surviving, England coped better against Pakistan than most teams have done here. Meanwhile, Alastair Cook once again laid claim to being the finest all-conditions batsman of his generation.

After the day's play, Cook - for once in his life actually looking weary - talked about how this wasn't the sort of wicket where you could attack but had to "trust your defence." And there are few who are more adept at a rearguard than him.

For five hours, Cook played nearly everything along the ground, seldom taking a risk but rarely being in trouble while defending too. The contrast with both Moeen and Bell - despite their fine innings - was stark. While never really looking like he'd be beaten by Pakistan's army of left armers, the England captain took it upon himself to keep the scoreboard ticking. Cook scored on 30% of the balls he faced, by comparison his two partners for most of the day, scored on less than 20% each. The hundred was Cook's eighth in Asia - the joint most (alongside Kallis) for a non-Asian batsman in the continent.

It also meant that he has now scored a hundred in every nation he's played in. Ian Bell, talking about his captain, later said, "When I watch him against spin, his defence is incredible. The way he works out his angles, for left-handers the rough outside their off stump can be tricky, but it was a masterclass today; how to defend, how to come down occasionally to chip over midwicket but also sweep from a full length."

Pakistan meanwhile, were left to rue missed opportunities. The wicket of Moeen Ali, about 40 minutes before lunch, gave them a jolt and what followed was Pakistan at their choking best - in the 8.4 overs following that wicket, the bowlers conceded only 6 runs as Ian Bell looked more at sea than a merchant ship. In that passage of play, was one of the two chances Pakistan will ponder over - Shan Masood unable to hold on to a difficult chance when Ian Bell was on 1 off 16. Lunch, allowing time for a change in strategy and a break in momentum, helped England take control of their innings again.

Pakistan's biggest concern, even more than the absence of Yasir, was what is usually the gripe of visiting teams here. Mushtaq Ahmed refused to say that his spinners, who bowled 52 wicket-less overs today, had failed saying, "Of course, we missed Yasir as he is suited to this pitch because he is someone who has over-spin and can spin it big. But we did not expect this behaviour from the pitch either. It has played slowly and not like it behaved in the series against Australia and New Zealand.

This is a slow pitch and it allows the batsman to adjust even if he is beaten in line and length, and on top of that we missed a couple of chances too. If we had not dropped those chances we would have been in a better position with them four or five down at least." Mushtaq, in fact, went as far as to say that on a day when Pakistan took only three wickets he was "satisfied" with how his bowlers had performed.

The pick of the lot, quite obviously, was Wahab Riaz. Despite his reservations with the new ball, he remains the leader of this pace attack, and today, with 15 overs of brute - occasionally wayward force, he once again showed why he deserves that status. He ended the day as he had started it - bowling short, bending his back, troubling the batsmen, and consistently hitting the 90mph mark. On a pitch which may seem like the anti-thesis to his style of bowling, his persistence was exemplary. A third of his deliveries in this innings have been short of a good length - a higher percentage than any of the England bowlers, including even Mark Wood.

Unfortunately for them, Pakistan and Wahab might have to go through all this again tomorrow. With the two best English batsmen at the crease now, Pakistan may be running out of questions to ask on this pitch. One thing left to answer, though, is how much Fawad Alam dropping Alistair Cook on 147 off the bowling of Zulfiqar Babar is going to cost them. If it's anything close to what Bell's failures cost England on the first two days Pakistan are in for a long ride.

© Cricbuzz