A gritty and disciplined fightback from England today, but Pakistan still in a position of strength. A poor day today from England's attack and saving this Test could have got so much harder, but as it stands, while we're still in a degree of trouble we are not out of this Test.
Thought the bowling unit today were very patient and rewards were gained in small doses, the wicket by Swann of Misbah at the tail-end of the day was a big scalp. Misbah is not the biggest entertainer with bat in hand but he must be commended for his consistnecy, reliability, and downright refusal to give his wicket away. He doesn't impose himself on the opposition but maintains a very cool temperament and today played an effective role. I do think the run rate can cause issues, but England generally bowled excellent areas today.
Hafeez was very good, positive when the delivery allowed and looked very organised. Had a let-off with Bell's shy at the stumps and Tremlett's dropping of a difficult chance, but apart from those mis-judgements he was solid.
Trott took the vital wicket of Younis who was looking very ominous from England's point of view. Did a decent fifth bowling job today, nice shape through the air and got seam off the deck that clearly surprised Younis.
The thing that concerned me after the first session (probably more the first hour) was the length we bowled. I appreciate early in the day when the ball was relatively new we looked to pitch it up and see what we could get out of it. But I felt we over-pitched too frequently, Taufeeq and Hafeez were able to drive easily and I hoped we'd pull the lengths back after lunch. The length debate is an interesting one as everyone has different views on the best length for our bowlers to bowl on this track.
Thought we got it pretty much spot on for much of the day though. Interestingly this second new ball is still swinging in orthodox fashion and it's around 25 overs old. Hopefully it'll still swing tomorrow morning and we get things wrapped up early before too much further damage is done.