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• Duckett leads tributes to 'extremely humble' Root after making England history

  Ben Duckett hailed "extremely humble" Joe Root after watching his team-mate become England's all-time leading Test run-scorer on day three against Pakistan.

  Root needed 39 entering Wednesday's play in Multan to break Alastair Cook's record, and he surpassed that target with ease, ending the day unbeaten on 176 alongside Harry Brook.

  In his 147th Test outing, Root drilled Aamir Jamal's delivery in the blistering heat to overtake Cook's previous record of 12,472 as England closed to within 64 runs of Pakistan on 492-3.

  Duckett partnered Root for the historic moment and led the tributes at the end of play.

  "He is extremely humble," Duckett, who recovered from a broken thumb to make 84, told Test Match Special. "It doesn't feel like you're sat around greatness. 

  "He's just hungry for runs every time he goes out bat for England. It's incredible to be in the same dressing room as him and long may it continue."

  Root now has 12,578 runs in 146 matches, which has seen him bat in 268 innings in total, with his tally consisting of 35 centuries, 1,355 fours and 44 sixes.

  The 33-year-old is up to fifth on the all-time list of run scorers across all nations, with only Rahul Dravid (13,288), Jacques Kallis (13,289), Ricky Ponting (13,378) and Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) ahead of him.

  England batting coach Marcus Trescothick added to Sky Sports: "We're lucky enough to sit and watch history being made as a man goes on to be the leading run scorer in his country.

  "The way he goes about it, the work he puts in and continues to strive for greatness all the time. He's been superb and think will continue to be superb for a number of years yet."

  Amid all the fanfare for Root, England will enter day four looking to create some history of their own.

  The tourists have never conceded as many as Pakistan's 556 and gone on to take a first-innings lead.

  "The pitch is not doing a great deal at the moment and to be in a position where we can say we can get [a lead of] 150-200 is an incredible effort," Duckett added. 

  "The morning session will be important and if we can limit the damage, we can kick on in the afternoon."

• King, David optimistic Soca Warriors will be at their best against Cuba in must-win Nations League fixtures

  With momentum by no means in their favour, Trinidad and Tobago’s interim Head coach Derek King and captain Aubrey David are optimistic that the Soca Warriors might have saved their best for last as they face a must-win situation against Cuba in their upcoming Concacaf Nations League encounters.

  Rooted at the foot of Group B in League A with a point, the Soca Warriors will have to take Cuba’s scalp in hostile territory on Thursday and again in the Twin Island Republic on Monday to not only improve their chances of progressing to the quarterfinals, but more importantly, avoid relegation to League B.

  Jamaica and Nicaragua are set for a top-of-the-table clash as both head the standings on four points each, with Honduras (three points) and Cuba (two points) in close proximity. French Guiana, also on a point, round out the group.

  After suffering a 0-4 loss away to Honduras in their opening fixture, Trinidad and Tobago were expected to rebound at home against French Guiana. Instead, they were held to a goalless stalemate, and that has left them in their current predicament.

  

  Still, King is hopeful that the addition of experienced midfielders Joevin Jones, Kevin Molino, and others will turn their fortunes and prove rewarding where securing six crucial points is concerned. 

  “The guys are fully aware of the task at hand; we had discussions, and we all know that we need six points. But let us focus on this very important game first. We have to go out there and give it our best shot and get three points to go back home with,” King said in an interview with TTFA Media from the team’s base in Cuba.

  “We had a locally-based team training for two and a half weeks, so we decided that we would go with some of the locally-based players and add some foreign-based players who were not with the team before. I think the guys we added would bring some kind of experience to the unit we have at this point. 

  “They are senior men to the team. They have played overseas as well, professional players. So, I think it's good to add their knowledge with this bunch. They will add some quality to the team as well, so we must go out there and give it our best,” he added.

  Meanwhile, David, who is charged with marshalling the Soca Warriors defensive line, is mindful that Cuba will also fancy their chances of progressing and, as such, are not going to be a walkover.

  “Cuba has a lot of foreign players; they have players who play in Costa Rica, in Guatemala, and the USA as well. Basically, they have a young team, but they’re willing to fight. They’re hungry and want to prove themselves because they’re at home,” David assessed.

  “So it’s just for us to be together and execute our game plan so that we can leave here with three points.

  “We have a lot of young players as well, and some with quality. I think they stepped up in the last Nations League; we saw a lot of them jumping onto the international scene and making a big impact, so it’s just for them to continue on that momentum,” he noted.

• Root makes history as England dig in against Pakistan

  Joe Root led England's fight against Pakistan as he scored an incredible century to become their all-time leading run-scorer in Tests on day three.

  Despite their rocky start out in the field, England are firmly back in the contest thanks to Root and Harry Brook.

  Root started the day on 32, picking up alongside Zak Crawley, with England at 96-1 as they began the long chase.

  It looked like it might stall as Crawley was caught by Aamir Jamal for 78, but Ben Duckett (84), who was okay to bat despite injuring his thumb yesterday, steadied the ship once again.

  Root made history with a sublime drive for a four, before then bringing up his 35th Test century as he batted through the intense heat to reach 176 not out.

  When Jamal pinned Duckett for lbw, Brook arrived with his own century, getting 141 as England pushed to finish the day at 492-3, now only trailing Pakistan by 64 runs.

  The tourists have never conceded as many as Pakistan's 556 and gone on to take a first-innings lead, but they have put themselves in a position to do just that on day four.

  Data Debrief: History maker

  Going into this Test, Root needed just 71 runs to overtake Alastair Cook's all-time record of 12,472, but he more than surpassed that.

  At the end of day three, he is now on 12,578 in 147 matches, batting in 268 innings in total. His highest score in that time came against Pakistan (254), while his tally of 176 not out is his highest tally in the host country.

  Root now has 35 centuries and struck 1,355 fours and 44 sixes.