England have secured some heart-stopping draws in recent history and nearly did it again, but this time they were facing a world-class legspinner
Andrew McGlashan in Dubai26-Oct-2015For the second time in just over a week a Test match came to a thrilling conclusion as the overs ticked away. On this occasion light was not the issue, instead lower-order defiance. The defiance ran out before the overs.As the tense finale approached, Sarfraz Ahmed’s screeching behind the stumps again grew into desperation. In Abu Dhabi it was in the hope that England wouldn’t score their last few runs, but this time it was cries for the crucial last wicket. Bat-pad catches fell short, others were dropped. Appeals were roared, and declined. By now Pakistan had no reviews left. Hands were on heads although Misbah-ul-Haq, outwardly, remained calm.In Abu Dhabi, the Pakistan fielders could barely have been further from the bat, here they could barely have surrounded England any tighter. Except for the man crucially stationed at cover, Zulfiqar Babar, who intercepted Adil Rashid’s drive, a shot that would have been more at home in last week’s run chase.From start to finish this was a far better Test than the first because the pitch was fairer. There was more pace and bounce (although these things are all relative) and it started to turn earlier, yet probably turned less sharply at the end than had been the case in the final throes of the first match. Such are the game’s quirks.When it comes to getting bums on seats, Test cricket is in a rut outside of England and sometimes Australia, even if there are caveats that apply to this series in the UAE. Yet for all the fours, sixes, and records that were on show in Mumbai yesterday as Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers demolished India, there was a drama in the final stages of this match – as with many that have ended similarly tightly – that cannot be manufactured.Six down at lunch, eight down a tea. England had no right to get so close to survival. The comparisons to Auckland in 2013 and Cardiff in 2009, where they had been seven wickets down at tea, were valid except for one key fact. New Zealand and Australia did not possess a world-class legspinner.England’s No. 10, Mark Wood, batted almost two hours for 29•Gareth Copley/Associated PressThe innings also rekindled memories of England’s defiance against Sri Lanka at Kandy in 2003. Michael Vaughan was seventh out for a seven-and-a-half-hour 105 but Chris Read and Gareth Batty (there’s a good pub-quiz question) saved the day against Muttiah Muralitharan. If England had saved this match they would have surpassed the 140 overs of that fourth innings, which is their record in Asia. It would have been the greatest escape.Perhaps Yasir strained a little under the weight of expectation to wrap up England’s tail, but he did produce two magnificent pieces of bowling: a googly to remove Jonny Bairstow (albeit aided by a poor shot) and a delightful, Warne-esque leg-break with dip towards leg stump which turned to find Jos Buttler’s outside edge. The scene was set up for him to run through the rest. Yet it appeared his opposite number could defy him as Rashid produced another final-day act of character.This has been a difficult Test match for Rashid at the bowling crease. Again, the toss was lost which meant he was operating when the pitch offered least, and then he had to bowl in the second innings when facing a huge deficit. Both are roles to which he will have to adapt if he wants a long career but there is nothing wrong with hoping for a little leg-up at the start.So this, as with his 5 for 64 in Abu Dhabi to follow his 0 for 163, was a display of immense fortitude, but also skill. With a first-class average of 35.50 his credentials to bat at No. 8 are as good as a team could ask for (well, since England’s last Test series, at any rate), but walking in before lunch few would have imagined he would be there with half an hour of play remaining. Especially after the hack he had played against Yasir in the first innings, an integral moment of the slump that ultimately cost England the game.Shadows lengthen as Wahab Riaz makes a late bid for victory•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesThis time, though, he played late and straight, stretching well forward in the manner of Joe Root and getting low in the crease to smother the ball. He left well, too, although whether he picked everything his fellow legspinner tossed up is a moot point. Only he will know what when through his head as Yasir tossed the third ball of his 41st over outside off with a packed ring of close catchers.All that hard work undone in one moment. Recovering from that disappointment will be another test of Rashid’s character. Yet, however well a No. 8 can bat, they should only really be the safety valve, not the go-to-man for either major runs or major defiance. England’s middle order was exposed for the second time in the match and, with the exception of Ben Stokes’ 57 in the first innings at Abu Dhabi, for the third time in the series.Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler faced 178 deliveries between them, Rashid 172 on his own. England have made regular reference to the first 30-40 balls of an innings being the most important, but even though Bairstow and Stokes comfortably exceeded that figure (and even Buttler faced 26 deliveries) they rarely looked comfortable. Batting on a fifth-day pitch is not meant to be easy – although Mark Wood also showed what was possible – but something must be done for Sharjah because at the moment that there is too much for others to carry.Still, England’s problems can be shelved for now. It is 63 years ago to the day since Pakistan achieved their first ever Test victory, against India, in Lucknow. does not report how Fazal Mahmood, their first great fast bowler, who claimed 12 wickets in the match, celebrated when he trapped Shah Nyalchand lbw to complete the innings win. However, it is probably safe to assume it was not by leaping into a slide on the outfield as Yasir did, soon to be engulfed by his team-mates. He was expected to make a difference and, just in the nick of time, he did.