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Magnificent Moeen punishes Pakistan for lapses
- Updated: August 11, 2016
Pakistan 3 for 1 (Azhar 0*, Yasir 0*) trail England 328 (Moeen 108, Bairstow 55, Sohail 5-68) by 325 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details
Moeen Ali once again demonstrated the power that resides in England’s allrounder-laden middle order as he stroked his way to a brilliant counterattacking 108 – his third Test hundred and his second match-defining score in as many innings – to rescue his side from a familiar top-order collapse in the fourth Investec Test.
By the close of the opening day’s play at the Kia Oval, England had seized control of a contest that could yet propel them to the top of the world Test rankings, if results elsewhere go their way. Left with three overs in which to go for broke before the close, Stuart Broad prised out Pakistan’s most obdurate find of the tour, Sami Aslam, lbw for 3, as England inched closer to their coveted clean sweep of series wins against all Test opponents.
But, with Wahab Riaz back in the Pakistan side and restored to the fire-breathing hostility that had secured the spoils in the last Test series between these sides before Christmas, they had been required once again to take the scenic route to the ascendancy.
The first delivery of Moeen’s innings summed up the challenge that England faced shortly after lunch, as he arrived at the crease to join Jonny Bairstow with his side floundering on 110 for 5 after winning the toss under overcast skies, and on a livid green pitch that looked more threatening than it actually turned out to be.
Wahab – with three wickets, one drop and a no-ball reprieve already to his name in the first eight-and-a-half overs of a typically vigorous onslaught – greeted the incoming Moeen with a scorching bouncer that tailed into the left-hander and sconed him so hard on the badge of his helmet that it rebounded clean into the hands of backward point.
Pakistan, at this stage, were swarming as only they can when that whiff of cordite hits their nostrils. But Moeen’s refusal to be flustered is a trademark of his game, and in the course of two vital and urgently-paced stands – 93 for the sixth wicket with Bairstow and 79 with England’s man of the moment, Chris Woakes – he first shored up the foundations of England’s innings before taking the game away in the final session from a tiring Pakistan attack.
Sohail Khan once again emerged as Pakistan’s stand-out wicket-taker, with 5 for 68 in 20.4 toiling overs, but Pakistan’s fielders were unable to match the application of their bowlers. Mohammad Amir proved especially luckless in his best spell since his return to Test cricket as a genuine opportunity to roll England aside inside two sessions hit the turf with a thud.
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