England 222 for 4 (Taylor 74*, Bairstow 37*) trail Pakistan 234 by 12 runs
As the third Test hardened into a battle of wills and wiles, England were hauled into a position of relative strength by a maiden Test half-century from James Taylor. His unbeaten 74 helped take England to within touching distance of Pakistan's first-innings 234 at the close and bound together a hitherto porous middle order on a pitch that yielded every run grudgingly.
It was hard going but England were determined not to squander the gains achieved by their bowlers on Sunday. A surface that had threatened mayhem - as least by recent UAE standards - on the first day was increasingly cowed, a slow outfield providing a further obstruction to scoring. This England team may not appear adept at grafting but they dutifully buckled down to add 218 runs from the allocated 90 overs.
As the third Test hardened into a battle of wills and wiles, England were hauled into a position of relative strength by a maiden Test half-century from James Taylor. His unbeaten 74 helped take England to within touching distance of Pakistan's first-innings 234 at the close and bound together a hitherto porous middle order on a pitch that yielded every run grudgingly.
It was hard going but England were determined not to squander the gains achieved by their bowlers on Sunday. A surface that had threatened mayhem - as least by recent UAE standards - on the first day was increasingly cowed, a slow outfield providing a further obstruction to scoring. This England team may not appear adept at grafting but they dutifully buckled down to add 218 runs from the allocated 90 overs.
