Jamie Smith says England are "pretty pleased with the position we are in", after the tourists recovered from a tricky spell on day one of their final Test with Pakistan.

England made a strong start with an opening partnership of 56 from Zak Crawley (29) and Ben Duckett (52), but wickets began to tumble as they slumped to 118-6.

Sajid Khan (6-128) did most of the damage for the hosts, but Smith settled things down with a solid knock of 89 before the visitors were dismissed for 267.

Shoaib Bashir, Jack Leach and Guy Atkinson then stalled Pakistan's momentum at the crease, as they finished the day 194 runs adrift at 73-3.

Smith hit seven sixes on the way to his first Test half-century outside of England, and was pleased with the way he and his team-mates responded to their setback. 

"It's nice to do it away from home," he said. "You want to be known as someone who can do it in all conditions. It's nice to score runs wherever. 

"We are pretty pleased with the position we are in. We are happy to put runs on the board. It is a decent score, especially from the position we were in.

"When they're on top, they definitely try and let you know that and put you under as much pressure as possible. So, it's nice to revert that onto them and put them under some pressure."

England battled back to finish strongly against Pakistan after an early collapse with the bat on day one of the third Test.

The tourists stumbled to 267 in their first innings, but the bowlers managed to salvage some pride late in the day.

Zak Crawley (29) and Ben Duckett (52) initially made a strong start with an opening partnership of 56, but the wickets started to tumble soon after.

Ollie Pope (3), Joe Root, Harry Brook (both 5) and Ben Stokes (12) were all dismissed by Sajid Khan (6-128) as England slumped to 118-6, but Jamie Smith restored some pride.

He was caught by Mohammad Rizwan just short of a century after plundering 89, while Gus Atkinson added a needed 39 before their innings was brought to an end.

However, Pakistan were unable to build on their momentum, as they finished the day 73-3, with Shoaib Bashir, Jack Leach and Atkison stalling them.

The hosts trail by 194 runs after day one of the deciding Test in the three-match series, with Shan Masood (16 not out) and Saud Shakeel (16 not out), set to resume at the crease on Friday. 

Data Debrief: Smith to the rescue

It looked like England might suffer yet another collapse against Pakistan after the quick dismissals of their early batters, but Smith stepped in to steady the tide.

He got his first Test half-century away from home and was unlucky not to come away with a ton after a great stand for England. 

And that was all down to Pakistan's bowling. They employed spin exclusively across the 68.2 overs, the longest first innings in Test history without any seam bowling.

England assistant coach Paul Collingwood said his side have belief in overhauling Pakistan's 297-run lead to claim the second Test in Multan. 

England ended the third day of the second Test at 36-2 after losing the early wickets of Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley in their second innings. 

Should the tourists pull off the chase, it would be their joint third-highest in an overseas Test and the best by any visiting team in Pakistan.

Having broken a number of records in the first Test, Collingwood insists that anything is possible with this current group of players. 

"We’ll still have that belief," said Collingwood. "We know it’s going to be tough and we’ve got to be realistic, but we’ll find ways to put them under pressure."

Asked if a win in this match would be better than the first-Test victory, Collingwood said: "It would, under the circumstances and conditions we’ve been given this time.

"There’s still hope, and there’s only hope because of the amazing things these guys have done in the past."

Salman Agha, meanwhile, pledged that Pakistan will put every effort into securing a first home Test win in "God knows how many years". 

Agha top-scored for Pakistan in their second innings with 63, though he was fortunate to reach that total, having been dropped twice during the 52nd over. 

He also showered praise on Sajid Khan, who ended with figures of 7-111 in the first innings before claiming the early wicket of Duckett on Thursday.

"To be honest, I was thinking, 'It is going to be hard,'" Salman told Sky Sports.

"There was a lot of changes - and big changes. But the way the team has gelled, and the way the new guys have come in and we've welcomed them [has been great]. They come in and they are chipping in.

"Look at Sajid. He took seven wickets and scored important runs, and then you will see Noman Ali.

"He came and took wickets, and scored important runs. I think it's very good for Pakistan cricket, the way they came and gelled in and contributed. That's amazing."

Pakistan have not won a home Test match since they beat South Africa in February 2021, with four draws and seven defeats since then, losing all six Test matches this year.

Salman said that ending those streaks would be "very important" and that Pakistan are aiming to right their wrongs from recent years. 

"It's going to be massive, because we haven't won a Test match at home for… I don't know, God knows how many years now," he said.

"It's going to be a very, very big thing for us. We will make sure we will put all the effort there and make sure we win this game, because that's very important for us."

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."

England showed their power with the bat and ball as they levelled their ODI series with a 186-run thumping of Australia in a rain-delayed match at Lord's.

Harry Brook, Ben Duckett and a blistering batting display from Liam Livingstone sent England on their way before Matthew Potts starred with the ball in hand. 

After a relatively quiet start to the top order that saw Phil Salt (22) and Will Jacks (10) fall early, Brook quickly found his rhythm, cruising to a 37-ball half-century. 

Duckett's 63 runs from 62 deliveries, coupled with Brook (87), saw England take control, but the pair were dismissed within eight overs of each other. 

However, a late onslaught ensued when Livingstone was welcomed to the crease, notching an unbeaten 62 runs from 27 deliveries, a knock that included seven sixes, four of which came as he took 28 off the last over of the innings from Mitchell Starc.

With England ending on 312-5, Australia started their chase strongly, but the wickets of Mitchell Marsh (28), Travis Head (34) and Steve Smith (five) within four overs started the tourists' collapse. 

Australia crumbled from 68-0 to 126 all out in 24.4 overs, with Potts (4-38) doing most of the damage, with Adil Rashid (1-11) sealing the win with the wicket of Josh Hazlewood to force a decider in Bristol on Sunday. 

Data Debrief: Livingstone leads comeback

In a game that saw a number of standout performers, Livingstone's display with the bat broke ODI records for matches at Lord's. 

The Lancashire spin bowler's 25-ball half-century was the fastest seen at Lord's, while England's 12 sixes is a new record in an ODI encounter at the home of cricket. 

The triumph also saw England produce their second-highest winning margin against Australia when batting first in the ODI's, with their 242-run victory at Trent Bridge in 2018 the only game they have won by a larger gap. 

England beat Australia by 46 runs on the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method to keep the great rivals' ODI series alive, with Harry Brook scoring a century.

Matters looked bleak for England as Australia set them a tough target of 305, with the tourists having reached 304-7 in their 50 overs at the crease.

Steven Smith scored 60 and Alex Carey, who starred in the second ODI as Australia took a 2-0 series lead, plundered an unbeaten 77, striking seven fours.

Indeed, Australia looked like they would cruise to another victory as Mitchell Starc sent Phil Salt packing for a duck and then dismissed Ben Duckett four balls later.

Yet Will Jacks and Brook had other ideas, putting on a third-wicket stand of 156 to put England in control.

Jacks' stand finally came to an end on 84 in the 28th over, but Brook simply picked up the slack, clipping his way to a maiden ODI ton.

With Brook, who reached 110 not out, at one end, Liam Livingstone added an unbeaten 33 to the total before the rain closed in at Chester-le-Street, but with England needing just 51 runs from 74 balls, they got over the line on DLS, leaving the series delicately poised at 2-1 to Australia heading into the final two matches.

Data Debrief: Leading by example

When Brook gets into his stride, there are not many better big hitters, and his knock on Tuesday was nothing short of spectacular. It also included 15 boundaries (13 fours, two sixes) and came at a strike rate of 117.02.

He is England's stand-in captain for this series in Jos Buttler's absence, and he certainly stepped up to the plate as Australia saw a 14-game winning streak (only two teams - Australia in 2003 and South Africa in 2005 - have ever won more successive ODIs) snapped.

Harry Brook has called for patience after his "inexperienced" England side suffered a 68-run defeat to Australia, who took a 2-0 lead in their ODI series.

The tourists were bowled out for 270, but England struggled to mount a real threat in the chase, with Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Brook, Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone all taken inside the first 10 overs.

Though England attempted to make up for their early collapse, Mitchell Starc soon took care of the rest, with the hosts only managing 202.

And, after losing the first ODI in the series by seven wickets, Brook admitted that his side's inexperience played a part in Saturday’s defeat.

"We are a very young side. We are an inexperienced side playing against one of the best teams in the world and a new era and ilk of how we are trying to play the game," Brook said.

"It is about patience, and we are only two games in, we try and have a bit of fun as well.

"There are so many positives we can take for these two games. We have done everything we have said we were going to do.

"I think we bowled really nicely. To restrict them to 270 on that pitch, I thought we did a good job there, but we lost early wickets in the Powerplay that killed us really.

"It just hasn't gone our way."

The third match of the ODI series will take place at the Riverside Ground on Tuesday. 

Travis Head's brilliant unbeaten 154 steered Australia to a dominant seven-wicket victory over England in the first one-day international at Trent Bridge.

The hosts collapsed at the end of their innings, and Head's sensational tally ensured it did not take long for Australia to reach their target, with 36 balls to spare.

Phil Salt (17) may have walked early, but England started well overall, with fellow opener Ben Duckett (95) and Will Jacks (62) pushing them forward.

However, Marnus Labuschagne (3-39) removed Duckett and then Harry Brook, captaining England for the first time, as their slide began.

Jacob Bethell took them over 300 with his 35, but Adam Zampa also took three wickets in his 100th ODI (3-49) as England finished all out for 315.

Head had a nervous moment with just six runs to his name as Brydon Carse dropped what would have been a spectacular one-handed catch, but he did not look back after that.

His knock included 20 fours and five sixes as he brought up his sixth ODI century, and with the help of Labushagne (77), he got the tourists over the line with ease.

Australia have a 1-0 lead in the series, with the next match taking place at Headingley on Saturday. 

Data Debrief: England fail to end Australia dominance

England had put themselves in a great position to end Australia's 13-match winning streak in ODIs, but ultimately struggled to defend their target.

That was mainly down to Head's superb performance. Ricky Ponting was the player with the highest score for Australia in ODIs at Trent Bridge with 126 before his impressive knock.

It was also the tourists' highest successful ODI chase in England.

Ben Duckett hailed Ollie Pope's resilience after the stand-in England captain shook off his poor form to hit his seventh Test century in the third Test versus Sri Lanka.

Bad light limited play on day one of the final test at The Oval on Friday, but Pope made good on the time allowed to smash 103 runs off as many deliveries.

Standing in to lead the team with Ben Stokes out injured, Pope had failed to make more than 17 runs in any of his first four innings in the series, being limited to single figures on three occasions.

Friday's ton, though, was his third in Tests this year, after knocks of 121 versus West Indies in July and 196 in India in January. Only eight England batters have accomplished that feat, and Pope is the first to do so since Gary Ballance in 2014.

He is also the first batter in history to hit his first seven Test tons against seven different opponents, in Sri Lanka, West Indies, India, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan.

Duckett, who himself fell short of his fourth red-ball century as he went for 86 runs off 79 balls, was delighted to see Pope quieten the doubters.

"Everyone is so happy for anyone's success in this dressing room, it's an incredible place to be," Duckett told Sky Sports.

"There was a lot of noise around Ollie. There shouldn't be but there has been and I know what it’s like at the top of the order and he's had a far better summer than I have.

"To block that out and score an incredible 100 was so good, you could see that from his emotions. We’re all extremely happy for him.

"People are paid to give their opinion, which is completely fair enough and I saw Pope say that last week.

"To go two games without a big score is not a long time and facing the new ball in England, I know how tricky it can be. For Pope to go out there and express himself at a ground that he loves, it's just credit to him."

Unbeaten on 103, Pope will return to the crease alongside Harry Brook (8) on Saturday, with England 221-3 as they chase a series whitewash.

Joe Root's record-equalling 33rd century led the fightback for England on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's. 

Root's knock of 143 from 206 deliveries saw him go level with Alastair Cook for the most Test centuries for England as they closed the day on 358-7. 

After losing the toss and being made to bat first, the hosts were reduced to 97-3 at lunch, with Dan Lawrence (nine), Ollie Pope (one) and Ben Duckett (40) all falling inside the first 20 overs of the contest. 

Asitha Fernando claimed his second wicket of the afternoon with the dismissal of Harry Brook for 33, but Root was able to steady the ship as the wickets tumbled around him.

Root passed the half-century mark for the 65th time in this format earlier in the day, forming a seven-wicket stand of 92 with Gus Atkinson (74 not out) also scoring his maiden Test half-century. 

Atkinson will resume at the crease alongside Matthew Potts (20 not out) as they look to add to England's total and their 50-run partnership on day two.

Data Debrief: Record-equalling Root

Root has now equalled Cook (33) for the most hundreds for England in men’s Tests; he’s scored 60+ in seven of his last nine Test innings (84, 68, 14, 122, 87, 62 and 143).

This was also Root's sixth Test century at Lord's, the joint-most by any batter in the format (including Graham Gooch and Michael Vaughan).

Joe Root guided England through a tricky final session as the hosts beat Sri Lanka by five runs in Manchester.

England looked like they could collapse when they were left at 70-3 following the dismissals of Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence on Saturday.

Yet Root, along with Harry Brook, steadied the ship before the latter was caught and bowled by Prabath Jayasuriya on 32, leaving the hosts on 116-4, chasing a target of 204 to win.

Root, however, remained nerveless, with Jamie Smith contributing an entertaining and useful 39 from just 48 balls in a brief stint at the other end.

Smith's stand came to an end with England still 21 runs shy of their target, but Root would not let victory slip through their fingers.

And it was Root who fittingly had the final say as he struck his second boundary to take himself onto 62 and seal a convincing win.

Data Debrief: Root comes up big

Root has scored 60+ in five of his last seven Test innings, after managing 42 in the first innings of this match (84, 68, 14, 122, 87, 42, 62).

He is just one century away, meanwhile, from matching Alastair Cook's record of 33 Test tons for England.

England lost three wickets in a dramatic end to day one of the third Test against West Indies, leaving them in a precarious position after restricting the tourists for 282.

Gus Atkinson finished with figures of 4-67, while Chris Woakes took 3-69 for England, as only a fine sixth-wicket stand from Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva saved West Indies from being bowled out for a much lower total. 

But England, chasing a 3-0 series whitewash, let their dominant position slip when taking up the bat for the final 35 minutes, Zak Crawley (18), Ben Duckett (3) and Mark Wood (0) being dispatched as bowler Jayden Seales dropped them to 38-3.

Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat, leading his side to a solid start before a spell of three wickets in five overs before lunch put England on top.

Atkinson accounted for Mikyle Louis (26) and Alick Athanaze (2) on either side of Wood sending stumps flying with a full delivery to dismiss Kirk McKenize for 12.

Brathwaite's knock of 61 was brought to a halt shortly after the action resumed, the captain gloving Wood's leg-side ball to Jamie Smith as the tourists slid from 76-0 to 115-5 in 45 balls. 

Holder (59) and Da Silva (49) then shared 108 to drag the Windies towards a respectable total, but things looked bleak for them when the latter feathered Woakes' ball through to Smith.

Having gone 30 overs without a wicket, England needed just 14 more to polish off the tail, the highlight being a terrific diving catch from Joe Root to send Gudakesh Motie (8) packing.

England were given just over half an hour with the bat to cap Friday's action, but any hopes of a serene finish were soon dashed.

Holder made two terrific catches off Seales' bowling, the first from Crawley's thick outside edge and the second to dismiss Wood for a duck, either side of Alzarri Joseph's cracking delivery accounting for Duckett.

That spell ensured what had been a good day for the hosts ended on a sour note, with the Windies sure to target quick wickets when the action resumes on Saturday.

Data Debrief: Atkinson and Seales dominate 

This series began with all the focus on James Anderson as England's greatest-ever bowler bowed out at Lord's, but Atkinson has taken centre-stage since making his Test debut in the opening match and now has 20 wickets through five innings.

That is eight more than West Indies' Jayden Seales, the next-most prolific bowler in this series, has managed.

Seales was determined to have an impact on day one, though, and his two wickets at the death have set the stage for a far more competitive match than those England won at Lord's and Trent Bridge. 

Despite two crushing defeats to England so far in their ongoing ICC Test Championship three-match series, West Indies players remain on the up, at least where the ICC Men’s Test rankings are concerned.

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite leads the charge on the batting ranking, as he moved up two slots to 40th position, following scores of 48 and 47 in the second Test, which West Indies lost by 241 runs. They lost the first Test by an innings and 114 runs and will try to avoid a whitewash in the final Test in Edgbaston starting on Friday.

Wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua de Silva was rewarded for his first innings score of 82 in that match, as he jumped seven places to 61st, while Jason Holder’s 27 and 37 saw him inched up two places to 70th. Kavem Hodge’s 120, which was his maiden Test century, pushed him into the top 80.

The Dominican batsman moved 21 places up to 75th, one spot behind Kyle Mayers, who, despite being out of action, remains in 74th. Alick Athanaze held firm in 77th, while discarded Jermaine Blackwood (50th), Tagenarine Chanderpaul (83rd), Roston Chase (86th), and Kirk McKenzie (100) are the other Caribbean batsmen in the top 100.

On the bowling chart, new-ball bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales made the only notable improvements to their rankings. Joseph moved up two places to 33rd after finishing with five wickets in the match, and Seales moved up 10 places from 44th to 34th with six wickets.

Meanwhile, England batter Harry Brook has achieved a career-best third position after notching a century in the second Test.

Brook, who scored 36 and 109 in Nottingham, advanced four places, while his teammates Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope have also made significant gains in the latest weekly update to the men’s rankings, which are carried out on Wednesdays across formats.

Left-handed opener Duckett has progressed six places to 16th position after notching scores of 71 and 76, while Player of the Match Pope has advanced from 29th to 21st with scores of 121 and 51.

Chris Woakes is back into the top 20 of the bowling rankings for the first time since September 2021, after he finished with four for 84 and two for 28 in the match, while spinner Shoaib Bashir has advanced 18 slots to 53rd position after he took his third five-wicket haul in just his fifth Test.

In the ICC World Test Championship standings, England are placed in sixth place, while West Indies are ninth, as per the percentage points that determine qualification.

England took control of the second Test against West Indies as the hosts established a 207-run lead at the close of play on Saturday's third day at Trent Bridge.

The hosts ended the day on 248-3, aided by two century partnerships from Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett, and Joe Root and Harry Brook. Both Brook, on 71, and Root, on 37, will resume batting on Sunday.

Despite Chris Woakes claiming the wickets of Alzarri Joseph (10) and Jayden Seales (duck) in successive balls, a final-wicket stand of 71 from Shamar Joseph (33) and Joshua da Silva, who was left unbeaten on 82, saw West Indies, who resumed at 351-5, reach 457.

Scores: England 416 & 248-3 (Duckett 76, Brook 71*, Pope 51, A Joseph 2-58) lead West Indies 457 (Hodge 120, Da Silva 82*, Woakes 4-84) by 207 runs

England's second innings, which they began 41 runs adrift, got off to a nervy start as opener Zak Crawley (three) was run out by Jayden Seales at the non-striker's end.

However, much like they did in the first innings, Duckett (76) and Pope (51) settled the hosts down with a 119-run second-wicket stand, before Alzarri Joseph claimed both in the space of eight deliveries.

Still, Brook and Root also produced an important, unbroken 108-run partnership that placed Ben Stokes' side in command heading into day four.

Data Debrief: Successive century partnerships for Duckett and Pope

With a strong finish to their opening innings, the Windies reached 457 - their highest total on English soil since 1995.

England's response was led by Duckett and Pope's impressive stand of 119, their second three-figure partnership of the series.

They became only the ninth pair to make two century stands for England in a men's Test, and first since Joe Root and Alistair Cook achieved the feat against Pakistan eight years ago.

To say West Indies were put to the sword might sound cliche, but that is exactly what transpired on day one of their second Test against England at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

Much like West Indies batsmen had no response to Gus Atkinson's precision in the first Test at Lord's, the Caribbean side's bowlers did little to slow England's batting onslaught on this occasion, though it was not for a lack of trying. This, as several chances were squandered in the field, and England rode their wave of fortune to post a daunting 416 all out.

Ollie Pope, who was dropped twice on 46 and 54 by Jason Holder and Alick Athanaze, plundered 121 from 165 deliveries. His knock, which had 15 boundaries and a solitary six, was backed by Ben Duckett's 59-ball 71 and captain Ben Stokes, who made 69.

Alzarri Joseph got three for 98, as Kavem Hodge (2-44), Jayden Seales (2-90), and Kevin Sinclair (2-73), a late addition for Gudakesh Motie, who woke up feeling ill, picked up the other wickets.

With the batsmen having done their part, the England bowlers will be basking in the prospects of possibly ending this contest within three days and taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Scores: England 416 all out (88.3 overs)

After winning the toss, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite was optimistic of an improved bowling performance, and he would have relished his decision when Alzarri Joseph removed Zak Crawley with the third ball of the innings. However, Pope and Duckett pelted the boundary in a 105-run second wicket stand, but that was eventually broken when Shamar Joseph had the latter caught by Holder, who took four catches in total.

Joe Root (14) and Harry Brook (36) had brief stays in the middle, but Stokes and Pope added a further 80 runs for the fifth wicket to keep West Indies pinned against the proverbial ropes.

Pope was inevitably removed by Alzarri Joseph with England at 281-5, while Stokes' entertaining knock was ended by Kavem Hodge.

Jamie Smith (36) and Chris Woakes (37) chipped in with quickfire scores too, with Shoaib Bashir's dismissal in the final over of play bookending a fantastic first day for England.

Data Debrief: Speedy Duckett into the history books

Duckett needed just 32 deliveries to reach a half-century, as he kept up a pace mostly seen in T20Is.

It is the third-quickest 50 for England in their Test history, with Duckett drawing level with Ian Botham's effort against New Zealand in 1986. 

Jonny Bairstow is second on that list (30 v New Zealand in 2022), with the legendary Botham leading the way (28 v India in 1981).

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