Flintoff puts England on top

The sight of Andrew Flintoff celebrating a crucial wicket is one the cricketing world has grown accustomed to over the last year or so, and once again he made all the difference today, taking 3-46 to leave the match in an intriguing situation, with all three results possible.

71 runs was the difference between the sides at the start of play, but Shahid Afridi bowled Giles and Hoggard fairly early on, and by the time 11 Steve Harmison joined Shaun Udal at the crease it was 63 runs. With a 50 plus advantage for Pakistan looking likely, Udal and Harmison shared a 47 run partnership which could prove vital in the context of the match. Both played some good shots, notably Harmison who reverse-swept Danish Kaneria at 4, but their fun ended when a calamitous mix-up left Harmison well short of his ground, Shahid Afridi whipping off the bails with glee.

A mere 16 runs was Pakistan’s advantage, just 1 less than at Karachi 5 years ago, which this match is beginning to bear a striking resemblance to. Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt negogiated the period before lunch with relative ease.

Flintoff struck in the first over after lunch, Shoaib Malik’s poor footwork cgiving an easy catch to Ian Bell at cover. As he has done throughout this series Younis Khan looked assured at the crease and was authoritative against Ashley Giles, and he began to build a solid partnership with Butt. But Darrell Hair’s extra-vigilant stance on protecting the pitch following the antics of Afridi led to Salman Butt being given a harsh first warning for running on the pitch.

He may have look assured, but an attempted flick to leg off Hoggard proved Younis Khan’s downfall, although TV replays have shown he may have been unlucky. Butt played sensibly, not taking any risks and duly brought up his 50, his 2nd of the series. Attempting a quick single off Shaun Udal he was warned again for running on the pitch, a dead ball was signalled and the batsmen were made to go back. What happened next may have been a loss of concentration following this, or just a coincidence, but the fact is that Butt tried to play a ball that kept a little low, it struck him in line and umpire Hair had no hesitation in raising his finger.

On his way out, Inzamam had a word with Hair about the warnings he gave Butt, but it was obvious this was not affecting his batting. Along with Mohammad Yousuf, he played out the overs to the tea interval, with a crucial final session awaiting both teams.

The pair, Pakistan’s most experienced batsmen batted watchfully, with no obvious intent of an attempt to win the match. The chance of a draw was soon slashed by Andrew Flintoff however. An inswinger found the edge of Yousuf’s bat, and the ball cannoned into the stumps. This brought the explosive Shahid Afridi to the crease, in good touch after his 92 in the first innings. Flintoff produced another inswinger, this time uprooting the off-stump of the crowd’s hero, sending Boom Boom Afridi back for a first ball duck. The crowd were not pleased at this, and many showed their discontent by leaving the stadium.

What they missed was Inzamam holding the innings together once again, and Kamran Akmal edging one to Geraint Jones with extremely poor footwork. Following the keeper’s dismissal Rana Naved dealt with Harmison’s last 2 balls, which would prove to be the last two of the day as the umpires offered them the light, bringing another eventful day to a close.

Pakistan 462 all out
Inzamam Ul-Haq 109, Shahid Afridi 92, Mohammad Yousuf 78
Steve Harmison 3-85, Ashley Giles 2-85

England 446 all out
Ian Bell 115, Kevin Pietersen 100, Geraint Jones 55
Shahid Afridi 4-95, Rana Naved 2-63

Pakistan 183-6
Salman Butt 50, Inzamam Ul-Haq 41*
Andrew Flintoff 3-46

Pakistan lead by 199 runs with 4 wickets remaining