Ben Stokes is expected to come back into England's side for the second Test against Pakistan, with the all-rounder returning to his peak fitness.

England captain Stokes has been out since the start of August with a hamstring injury but was seen in the nets bowling at full pace ahead of the next Test, which starts on Tuesday in Multan.

Former team-mate and bowling coach James Anderson says Stokes is firing on all cylinders as he prepares to return.

"He looks great. He has worked really hard on his fitness and looking as strong as I've ever seen him," Anderson, England's all-time leading wicket-taker, said to BBC Sport on Sunday.

"He's had a good bowl in the nets and looks good to go."

Anderson acknowledged that managing Stokes' workload could work favourably for England, who will expect spinners Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashar, as well as part-time option Joe Root, to do most of the bowling.

"When we're talking about Ben's workloads and his bowling, it might play into our hands with that, with the spinners potentially playing more of a part," Anderson added.

England did not miss Stokes in the first Test, battling to victory by an innings and 47 runs despite conceding 556 to Pakistan in the first innings last week.

Joe Root's stunning 262, coupled with Harry Brook's remarkable 317, led the fightback before left-armer Leach took 4-30 from just 6.5 overs in Pakistan's final-innings collapse.

Questions remain whether the same pitch will be employed in Multan, where cracks were already showing, instead of a new surface.

"Going off the last game, we did see it go up and down, mainly down, towards the back end," Anderson continued.

"The cracks started opening up. I'm no groundsman, but I don't think you can make cracks go back together that easily, certainly in three days.

"You'd expect it to do something off the cracks and with it being dry and hot again, you'd expect the spinners to play more of a part.

"We don't know what we’re going to get. It could be another pitch, or they have repaired this one really well and it's flat again."

Lee Carsley's ambitions for the permanent England role remain unclear, acknowledging the position "deserves a world-class coach" after Sunday's win in Finland.

The Three Lions responded to Thursday's defeat against Greece with a 3-1 victory in Helsinki as Jack Grealish opened the scoring before second-half goals from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice.

That made it three wins in four games for Carsley as the interim England boss since Gareth Southgate left the role following July's Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain.

Thomas Tuchel has emerged in recent times as the frontrunner to take charge of England, and Carsley suggested his side need management from someone who has silverware to their name.

"I've not really thought much about it. I keep saying the same thing. My remit was six games and I'm happy with that. This is a privileged position," Carsley said when asked about his full-time ambitions on ITV.

"I'm really enjoying it but I didn't enjoy the last two days. I'm not used to losing in an England team, I don't take losing well.

"People are always going to try and put their chips on one side. I'm in the middle. My bosses have made it clear what they need from me.

"This job deserves a world-class coach who has won trophies and I am still on the path to that."

England underwhelmed in a 2-1 defeat to Greece on Thursday but Carsley was delighted with the response.

"We were looking for a reaction, that was a big thing," he added. "I think they've shown that they respond well, in the best way. I thought we were a lot better.

"We played a lot more controlled, we had massive possession, created a lot of chances, but I think we can still do better.

"The way they set up, they were well organised. Not a lot of space, we had to create that space, but if you have as much possession as we did then you're always going to get a chance."

England put their Greece setback to one side and returned to winning ways in their Nations League campaign after easing past Finland 3-1 in Helsinki on Sunday. 

Lee Carsley's men were stunned by a 2-1 defeat at home to Greece on Thursday but responded well three days later as Jack Grealish fired England into the lead in the first half.

Trent Alexander Arnold's stunning free-kick 16 minutes from time was followed up by Declan Rice's close-range effort to make sure of victory, with Arttu Hoskonen netting a late consolation for the hosts.

Angel Gomes' neat flick released Grealish into the box after 18 minutes, with the Manchester City midfielder netting his fourth international goal, and second under Carsley, by sliding low into the bottom-right corner.

Finland responded well with Fredrik Jensen firing over before Benjamin Kallman tested Dean Henderson, who was making his first England appearance since 2020. 

The hosts continued to cause England problems after the break and should have gone level when Kallman's cross picked out Jensen, only to see his effort blaze over the crossbar.

However, the Three Lions' individual quality shone through, with Alexander-Arnold sending a fine effort beyond Lukas Hradecky in the 74th minute, with Rice then turning home Ollie Watkins' cross shortly after. 

There would, however, be no clean sheet for Henderson upon his return to the England line-up, with Hoskonen heading home from a corner to take the gloss off an otherwise comfortable display.

Data Debrief: England back on track

England remain unbeaten in 13 meetings with Finland (W11 D2), the most times they have faced an opponent without ever losing.

The Three Lions are also now unbeaten in their last six away games in all competitions (W5 D2), last having a longer such run between March 2013 and October 2015 (12 in a row).

Carsley is the fifth manager to win both of his first two away games in charge of England after Walter Winterbottom (1946), Glenn Hoddle (1996), Sven-Goran Eriksson (2001) and Roy Hodgson (2012).

In Grealish and Rice, this is the first time the same two players have scored in back-to-back England away games (also vs. Republic of Ireland) since Bukayo Saka and Tammy Abraham in October and November 2021 (v Andorra and San Marino).

Lee Carsley revealed he did not formally apply to become the next England manager and wants "no regrets" over his time as interim boss.

Gareth Southgate left his position as England manager following their Euro 2024 final defeat in July, with the Football Association (FA) turning to Carsley for the Nations League fixtures.

He has won two of his three games so far, following up back-to-back wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday.

With the return trip against Finland in Helsinki next up for the Three Lions, Carsley admitted prior to the game that he did not apply for the job during the application process earlier this year.

"No, I didn't apply for it," he told talkSPORT. "Because hopefully… I have been doing the U21s, and I am really happy with my job.

"I am an employee of the FA, and I was asked to take the senior team, which is a privilege. It was the proudest moment of my career.

"I am in a really fortunate position in that I am on the inside and I can see how much potential this team's got. It is one of the best jobs in world football.

"There aren’t many jobs where you’ve got a chance of winning. I believe the coach that comes in has got a really good chance of winning, and we deserve the best one that's out there."

Carsley was aiming to become the first England manager to win his first three competitive matches in charge since Fabio Capello in 2008, before Greece claimed their first-ever win over the Three Lions.

The 50-year-old selected an experimental line-up against Greece, fielding five attacking players, but no recognised striker, leaving the side unbalanced,

Harry Kane missed that game with a knock but is expected to return for the trip to Helsinki, having scored twice when they met them in September.

There was widespread criticism of the team after the full-time whistle, but Carsley says he did not want to play it safe during his time as interim boss.

"I think the reaction [to the loss against Greece] is fair enough. You have to respect people's opinions. We didn't perform as well as we can on the night, and I would expect a reaction [against Finland]," Carsley said in his press conference.

"I think it's something that I'll look back on in maybe two or three months and, you know, be better for it.

"I wanted to give this job my best shot for the three camps that we spoke about. I didn't want to have any regrets.

"It's important we do try something different at times. I think I'll be a better coach for that."

England have confirmed that Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Liverpool's Curtis Jones have withdrawn from the squad ahead of their Nations League clash with Finland on Sunday. 

Saka was replaced by Noni Madueke in the 51st minute during England's shock 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday after picking up an injury in his right leg.

It only adds to Mikel Arteta's injury worries ahead of facing Bournemouth next Saturday after Martin Odegaard was injured on international duty for Norway last month. 

Saka has enjoyed a fine start to the Premier League campaign, scoring two goals and laying on a further seven assists in the Gunners' opening seven games. 

The England international has also created more chances (27) than any other player in the division, with his nine goal involvements a total only bettered by Chelsea's Cole Palmer (11) and Manchester City's Erling Haaland (10). 

Lee Carsley will also be without uncapped Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, who was added to the Three Lions squad earlier this week, but has since withdrawn due to a personal commitment. 

Jones earned his first call-up in May as part of Gareth Southgate's provisional 33-man squad for Euro 2024, but did not make the final cut.

The 23-year-old was part of the Young Lions side that won the 2023 European Under-21 Championship under Carsley, scoring the only goal in their 1-0 win over Spain in the final.

Harry Brook has all the attributes needed to become England's best ever batter after his sensational knock against Pakistan, so says James Anderson. 

Brook became the first England batter in 34 years to score a triple-century when his side thrashed Pakistan by an innings and 47 runs in their first Test of the three-match series. 

In the same Test, Root scored 262, and in doing so he passed Alastair Cook's previous England best of 12,472 career runs, placing him fifth on the all-time list. 

Brook's career-best knock of 317 took him to 1,875 runs in 19 Tests and 31 innings ahead of the second encounter in Multan that starts on Monday. 

The 25-year-old has a chance to become the fastest Englishman to 2,000 Test runs, beating the 22 matches and 33 innings of Herbert Sutcliffe in 1928.

And Anderson, who is England's all-time leading wicket taker in Test matches, showered praise on Brook, likening him to Kevin Pietersen. 

"He's on the way to being in the top three that I've played with," Anderson said on his Tailenders podcast. 

"It's Root, Pietersen and him. He's definitely got all the attributes to overtake them.

"He's just got everything. Without trying to big him up too much because he's still really early in his Test career.

"I do think that he's got the perfect amount of each of those two and that's what will make him the best that we've ever had."

Pietersen scored 8,181 runs when his 104-Test career ended in 2014, 170 fewer than Brook has managed after 19 Tests as a comparison.

England's stunning 823-7 declared was their highest total in Test cricket since 1938 as they took a 1-0 series lead against Pakistan on Friday.

The 556 England conceded in Pakistan’s first innings was the highest total any team had overturned to then go on and earn an innings victory.

Brook and Root shared a partnership of 454, England’s highest of all time for any wicket and the fourth-highest by any Test pair.

"The thing that's really similar between Joe and Harry is that they love batting," said Anderson. "They literally couldn't care less what format it is. They just want to bat.

"They want to have fun doing it. As much as Harry's the younger player and will be learning loads from Rooty, I still think Rooty learns from him as well.

"Joe's one of those sorts of players that wants to keep developing and bettering himself, and he does watch other players and try to add bits to his game.

"I'm sure he's doing that with Harry."

England stand-in captain Ollie Pope has hinted that Ben Stokes could return to the team for their second Test match against Pakistan in Multan, starting on Tuesday. 

With Stokes still nursing a hamstring injury, England cruised to an emphatic innings victory against Pakistan at the same venue in the opener, inspired by the brilliant batting performances of Harry Brook (317) and Joe Root (262).

The win by an innings and 47 runs, which came early on the fifth day, saw the tourists become the first team in Test cricket history to concede more than 500 runs in the first innings but still end up winning the match by an innings.

Asked about team news for the second of the three Tests on the tour, Pope let slip that Stokes could be involved.

“I don’t know. I'm actually not 100 per cent sure,” he added.

“He's been training really well this week. He's as keen as ever to get playing again, so fingers crossed he's all good.”

Pope has deputised as England captain after full-time skipper Stokes suffered a hamstring injury in August which saw him miss the home Test series against Sri Lanka.

The 33-year-old was included in the England squad for the Pakistan tour and was expected to return for the first Test, but failed to recover in time as the visitors scripted cricketing history in Multan. 

Cole Palmer will be among the very best players in the world if he continues on his current trajectory, believes the forward's Chelsea team-mate Marc Cucurella.

Palmer enjoyed a magnificent debut campaign in 2023-24 after swapping Manchester City for Stamford Bridge, with his 33 Premier League goal involvements (22 goals, 11 assists) the most of any player.

After impressing for England at Euro 2024 – where he came off the bench to score in their 2-1 final defeat to Spain – Palmer has picked up where he left off this term, registering 11 goal contributions (six goals, five assists) to once again lead the charts.

He became the first player in Premier League history to score four goals before half-time in a single game versus Brighton and Hove Albion in September, when he scooped the competition's Player of the Month award.

Palmer also won England's Player of the Year award for last campaign and Cucurella, who was a key part of the Spain team that defeated the Three Lions in Berlin, believes he is destined for the very summit.

"If you see him not in his kit you would never in your life say he was a footballer, but then on the pitch... he shoots and it doesn’t seem like he is hitting it hard but he scores," Cucurella said in an interview with The Guardian.

"He's very different. I don't know how to explain it: he's special. We’re very lucky we have him. 

"We [Spain] are lucky he didn’t play much in the Euros either because he came on and almost messed it up for us. 

"If he carries on like this, he'll be among the best. He doesn't have much strength in the air, but if that’s his only problem, then he's all right."

 

Chelsea are unbeaten in six Premier League games since going down 2-0 to champions City on matchday one, with boss Enzo Maresca winning the competition's Manager of the Month prize for September.

Though it is still early days for the Italian coach, Cucurella says the Blues have lofty ambitions under him.

"Our objective has to be to win a trophy," he said. "In the Conference League we can do something good, and the cups. 

"Arsenal and City have been working in the same way for many years, the same idea, the same players, and I think we’re a bit far away from that. 

"Liverpool too because it's been the same players. But we can get into the Champions League, that's the key objective."

Lee Carsley suggested he would be happy to go back to coaching England's Under-21s in the wake of the Three Lions' defeat to Greece.

England lost to Greece for the first time as a double from Vangelis Pavlidis, who netted the winner in second-half stoppage time, claimed a famous 2-1 victory for the visitors at Wembley.

Jude Bellingham had slammed in an 87th-minute equaliser, which was England's first shot on target since the third minute of Thursday's Nations League match.

Interim manager Carsley, who led the Under-21s to Euros glory last year, picked an attacking line-up that featured Bellingham, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka, but without a recognised striker in the absence of Harry Kane, England floundered.

While the match stats were not overly in Greece's favour, with both sides having an equal number of shots and England actually creating more big chances (two to one), but the visitors did have three goals disallowed for offside.

England's sorry performance sparked debate over Carsley's long-term suitability for the job of replacing Gareth Southgate on a permanent basis, and after the match, the former Republic of Ireland international said: "I was quite surprised after the last camp in terms of [reading] the job is mine and it is mine to lose and all the rest of it.

"My remit has been clear. I'm doing three camps. There's three games left and then hopefully I'll be going back to the Under-21s. It has had almost no impact."

Asked if he did not want the England job on a full-time basis, Carsley added: "I said at the start I wouldn't rule myself in or out, that's still the case.

"I'm more than comfortable in my position. The remit was clear. I'm comfortable and confident with that.

"After the first camp I didn't get too excited. I'm very aware that this job is one of the best jobs in the world. You've actually got a chance of winning. That's still the case."

Greece, meanwhile, dedicated their win to George Baldock, the former Sheffield United full-back who died at the age of 31 earlier this week.

"It was a very special day and match for us. Our thoughts are with George," said Pavlidis, who scored his first goals for Greece since June 2022 against Cyprus, ending a run of 14 games without a goal for the national side.

"We are professionals and had to play the match. We gave our soul for him tonight. Today is not a day to talk about football. He was part of our team. We will miss him very much.

"Also to wish strength to his family and not talk about football. The whole day was numb. We won tonight and don't want to celebrate. There are just no words."

Ollie Pope labelled Joe Root as England's "greatest ever batter" after the former Test captain helped inspire England to an emphatic win over Pakistan.

Jack Leach took the three wickets England required on day five for the record-breaking innings and 47-run triumph, which handed the tourists a 1-0 lead in their three-match series.

The win saw England become the first team in Test history to concede over 500 in the first innings, and still end up winning by an innings. 

The turnaround was built on Harry Brook (317) and Root (262), as England amassed 823-7 before stand-in captain Pope declared, their highest total since 1938 and the fourth-highest in Test cricket history. 

In the process, Root moved onto 12,664 runs in the longest format, seeing him surpass Alastair Cook (12,472) as England's all-time leading Test run scorer. 

"What a player. I admire his consistency and longevity," Pope said of Root.

"I think he is playing his best ever cricket. When he gets on a hot run, he makes it count, and he is England's greatest-ever batter.

"He is a joy to be around in the changing room."

While Root tallied up his highest Test score, Brook became the sixth England player to score a triple-century.

Together, Root and Brook surpassed England's previous record partnership of 409 runs – set by Colin Cowdrey and Peter May against the West Indies in 1957.

When Root, who is now England's record run scorer in Tests, eventually fell, it brought an end to a partnership of 454 - the fourth-highest in the history of the longest format.

"From a personal point you want to put in those scores that's always the case for a batter, but it was a joy to watch the way Joe and Harry played," Pope said.

"Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley were awesome too – it was a joy to watch, and they're great players."

On the other hand, it was another humiliating defeat for Pakistan, who are enduring one of the worst periods in their history.

Pakistan are now winless in their last 11 Test matches on home soil, but captain Shan Masood said England's impressive display is something his side can learn from.

"Like I said, 220 in the third innings, depending on what kind of lead you have, can also be a good score," Masood said.

"The trick for us is that we should learn from England as well, they found out ways to get those 20 wickets. You can't win Test matches without taking 20 wickets.

"As a team, we have that second innings of batting to improve, but we must also take 20 wickets."

Interim boss Lee Carsley insists the failure of his false-nine experiment in England's 2-1 Nations League defeat to Greece will not have any bearing on his future in the role.

Carsley missed the chance to become the first Three Lions boss to win his first three competitive games at the helm since Fabio Capello on Thursday, as Greece left Wembley with a stunning victory.

Vangelis Pavlidis scored twice – including a dramatic 94th-minute winner – as Greece went top of Nations League Group B2 with their first competitive victory over the Three Lions.

With captain Harry Kane sidelined by injury, England lined up with no recognised striker, with Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer interchanging in a fluid system.

England's 12 shots only added up to 0.86 expected goals (xG), with Bellingham's 87th-minute equaliser their only shot on target in the second half.

"We were second best for a lot of tonight, it is disappointing. You are going to get setbacks, and it's important that we respond," Carsley told ITV Sport after the defeat.

 

Only Anthony Gordon (five) managed more than four touches in the Greece area for England, with Bellingham, Foden and Palmer only recording one shot inside the box between them.

Carsley, who has been placed in interim charge through to the end of next month's final Nations League fixtures, is choosing to view the defeat as part of a learning curve.

"We tried something different and tried to overload the midfield. We tried it for 20 minutes, we experimented, and we're disappointed it didn't come off," he said.

"It's unrealistic to expect too much, and we will have to try again. All the goals were from mistakes, which is disappointing.

"It is definitely an option going forward. When you have someone of Kane's quality, though, it rules it out when he is available. 

"But in the future, you have to have the courage and ability to try things. We tried something different. It doesn't change anything. My remit is to do the three camps."

England sealed an innings and 47-run victory over Pakistan on Friday, with Jack Leach shining on day five.

After a dominant performance on day four, England went into the final three sessions within touching distance of what had seemed like an unlikely victory when Pakistan mounted 556 in their first innings.

Pakistan began the day requiring 115 to match England's huge total of 823-7, which Joe Root (264) and Harry Brook had propelled them to.

But with Abrar Ahmed unable to feature due to illness, Pakistan were left with just three wickets to play with, and Leach - playing in his first Test since January - needed little time to wrap up the victory.

Salman Agha (63) was trapped lbw inside four deliveries, while Shaheen Shah Afridi was caught and bowled on 10 before Leach's spin did for Naseem Shah, who was stumped by Jamie Smith to see Pakistan all out for 220.

Leach finished with figures of 4-30 as England celebrated an emphatic victory that gives them a 1-0 lead in the series ahead of the second Test, which will also be played in Multan, next week.

Data Debrief: Record breakers

England have now reeled off three straight wins when they have conceded a total over 500, a remarkable feat in and of itself.

In fact, this victory marks the first time a team has been hit for as many as 556, yet still gone on to win by an innings.

Pakistan, meanwhile, have now lost 11 Test matches on the bounce as hosts, and four in a row to England on home soil.

Vangelis Pavlidis' dramatic 94th-minute winner brought Lee Carsley's perfect start to life as interim England coach crashing to a halt, as the Benfica forward netted twice in a stunning 2-1 win at Wembley. 

Pavlidis danced through the Three Lions' static defence to give Greece a shock lead early in the second half, only for Jude Bellingham to fire home a leveller in the 87th minute.

But England struggled to find their groove with captain Harry Kane out injured, and after Greece had three goals disallowed, they could have few complaints when Pavlidis took advantage of a defensive mix-up to score a famous winner deep into stoppage time.

England's willingness to throw men forward allowed Greece plenty of opportunities in the first half, and only a spectacular goal-line clearance from Levi Colwill prevented the visitors from going ahead when Anastasios Bakasetas lobbed Jordan Pickford.

Pickford was then arguably fortunate to win a foul when his missed punch led to Konstantinos Mavropanos nodding the resulting corner in, before Cole Palmer fired off-target from a great position at the other end.

Anthony Gordon headed Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross over shortly before half-time, but Greece continued to threaten and got their reward four minutes after the restart.

Receiving the ball with three white shirts surrounding him in a crowded penalty area, Pavlidis showed great feet to retain possession before slotting his finish beyond Pickford.

Pavlidis was denied a second goal by the offside flag seven minutes from time, and England drew level just four minutes later, with Bellingham's side-footed finish packing too much power for Odysseas Vlachodimos in the Greece goal.

There was to be one final twist, though, as England's hapless defence missed multiple chances to clear their lines in the 94th minute, allowing Pavlidis to take possession and fire into the bottom-left corner to spark wild celebrations among the Greek fans. 

Data Debrief: Wembley woes ancient history for Greece

Prior to Thursday, Greece had never scored at Wembley and had failed to beat England in nine competitive meetings (two draws, seven losses), being shut out on seven occasions.

But they showed no fear on a memorable night in London, beating a team ranked in the world's top five by FIFA for the first time since overcoming France en route to their stunning success at Euro 2004.

While Lee Carsley fell short of becoming the first England boss since Fabio Capello (in October 2008) to win his first three competitive matches in charge, Greece claimed a huge scalp on an emotional night, one day after the tragic death of full-back George Baldock. 

Joe Root says the records that have been broken in England's match against Pakistan will mean a lot more if they come in a victory.

England are in a strong position heading into day five in Multan, after a dominant display of force with both the bat and ball on a record-breaking day on Thursday left Pakistan requiring 115 runs with four wickets remaining, while the tourists also have a second batting innings in hand.

Root, who on Wednesday became England's all-time leading run scorer in Test cricket, put on a partnership of 454 with Harry Brook, who plundered 317.

Former England captain Root was eventually dismissed for 262, his highest individual score, bringing an end to the fourth-highest partnership of any wicket in Test cricket history.

Brook, meanwhile, became the second-fastest player to reach 300 in terms of balls faced, as he became the sixth England player to hit a triple-century and put Brendan McCullum's team on the fourth-highest score in a single Test innings (823-7 declared).

Reflecting on the records while speaking to BBC Test Match Special, Root said: "They are pretty cool things. It would mean a lot more if we can win this Test match. You look at the situation where they had 556 on the scoreboard and to be this ahead in the game is the best thing.

"So many good things have come from it and I am very pleased for Harry. I've never seen an England batter get a 300 and that was nice to watch.

"It's obviously nice and I am sure when I finish my career, I will look back and feel good about it. It will be a nice thing to look back on at the right time. I want to contribute for a long while and make big scores like this one and hopefully win more Test matches for England."

The celebrations from Brook and Root were not huge, and Root put that down to fatigue.

"There was a lack of emotions, partly down to the heat. Just the amount of energy that is taken out of you playing in these conditions is huge. It's been quite pleasing to acclimatise and just drawing that mental resilience," he said.

"I make sure I do the work and put myself in some really tough situations in training so that I am really ready for these conditions.

"I know I can bat for long periods of time and when it gets tough, I can get through it."

Triple-centurion Harry Brook and Joe Root led the way as an immaculate England dominated day four of their first Test against Pakistan.

England are on the brink of a stunning victory after amassing 823-7 before Ollie Brook declared on Thursday.

Root, who on Wednesday became England's all-time leading run scorer in Test cricket, put on a double-century, but was eventually pinned lbw by Agha Salman on 262, his new high-score in the longest format.

That brought to an end a remarkable partnership of 454, which is the fourth-highest for any wicket in history.

Brook slammed his way to 317 before he was eventually dismissed by Saim Ayub, as flurries from Jamie Smith (31) and Chris Woakes (17 not out) helped England mount their third-highest score in a single innings of Test cricket.

That left England's bowlers time to get on the attack, and get on the attack they did.

Abdullah Shafique was bowled by Woakes (1-29) with the very first ball, before Gus Atkinson (2-28) and debutant Brydon Carse (2-39) got in on the act.

Saud Shakeel (29) offered some resistance, but Jack Leach sent him packing, although Salman Agha (41 not out) and Aamer Jamal (27 not out) managed to guide Pakistan to 152-6, with the hosts – who trail by 115 runs having put on 556 in their first innings – surely stunned by being on the receiving end of one of the greatest days in England's Test history.

Data Debrief: Into the record books

England have recorded the fourth-highest single-innings score in a Test match. Two of the top three instances were also achieved by England (849 v West Indies, 1930 and 903-7 declared v Australia in 1938), with the highest score having been put on by Sri Lanka against India back in 1997 (952-6 declared).

A good omen for Pakistan was that only one of the three instances of a team putting on a higher score than England had resulted in that side going on to secure victory, with the other two matches drawn. However, the tourists' brilliant show of force with the ball has them well set to change that record.

Brook, meanwhile, became the sixth English batter to score 300+. However, he is the second-quickest batter in Test cricket to hit the landmark, putting on his triple-century in 310 deliveries. The only player to reach 300 in fewer deliveries was Virender Sehwag (278 balls) for India against South Africa in March 2008.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.