Azhar Ali's captain's knock and a terrific day for Jos Buttler... ENGLAND V PAKISTAN TALKING POINTS

NICK FRIEND looks back on an enthralling third day of the final Test between England and Pakistan

• Scorecard: England v Pakistan

A captain's innings in every which way

Life as Pakistan captain is far from straightforward. Azhar Ali came into this third Test amid increasingly critical external murmurings.

In the first match of the series, he had failed to mastermind a victory when his side were well set, instead losing a game they ought to have won.

In the second, his poor record against England with the bat continued. Coming into this final instalment, he had passed fifty just four times in 27 innings on these shores.

There was talk and analysis of a technical flaw that England have targeted for some time – dragging him across his crease before the full, straight sucker-punch into his pads.

And while Azhar has known of England’s plan – it is hardly subtle - and has tried his utmost to fight against it, it has continued to trouble him.

With all that in mind, fair play to the 35-year-old. At the end of a draining tour during a global pandemic, when faced with no option throughout but to remain cooped up in a bio-secure bubble, it takes some effort to possess the wherewithal and mental capacity to keep on plugging away, especially when faced with the captaincy as well.

Azhar had spent the first two days of this Test watching the series slip away from his grasp. With England 127 for 4, he watched Jos Buttler and Zak Crawley put on 359 for the fifth wicket.

And then, when it finally came to batting, he walked out in the face of a storm: James Anderson at his very best, searching for a 600th Test wicket.

Lesser characters have folded in situations like this. His team was threatening to do so as well; 30 for 4 became 75 for 5, all in the knowledge that beneath him and Mohammad Rizwan was little else.

^{Jos Buttler had a terrific day behind the stumps}

They were building a wall of concrete, but fully aware that they were constructing it on sandy foundations. And so, nothing could pass them – a captain’s knock in every which way, even more so when he strode out – albeit in vain – as a makeshift opener before the light caved in.

That this hundred was entirely chanceless seemed almost remarkable feat – a fitting knock for Pakistan’s 400th Test ton.

A popular hundred as well; if ever you wished to see a team at one with its leader, the collective reaction of those on the visitors’ balcony gave off exactly that sentiment.

There was, too, a satisfied smile and handshake between batting coach Younis Khan and head coach Misbah-ul-Haq – two of the great players in the recent history of their country. They know what proper batsmanship looks like, and this was it in spades.

The ultimate confidence game

Cricket’s a confidence game, isn’t it? Less than a month ago, after playing a major role in helping England to a first Test victory, Jos Buttler admitted that he could feel the pressure rising on his place. Two Tests later, he has a second Test century to his name to go with three fine catches - the third of which was a genuinely world-class effort.

When England lost to West Indies at the Ageas Bowl at the start of July, Buttler dropped an almost identical opportunity to the one that he took to dismiss Rizwan here.

Diving away to his left down the legside, the ball nestled in the webbing of his left hand. When he parried an almost identical chance against Jermaine Blackwood, the Jamaican batsman made England pay.

^{Rizwan and Azhar put on 138 for the sixth wicket}

When Buttler dropped Shan Masood off Dom Bess in the first Test of this series, he too made England pay, even if Buttler later redeemed himself with a match-winning contribution of his own. But at that point, he looked low on self-belief and his movements out of sync.

Nasser Hussain ran a terrific segment during Sky’s coverage in the afternoon, focusing on the flexibility of the wicketkeeper’s hips.

And when Fawad Alam edged Bess behind in similar fashion to Masood, Buttler made no mistake this time, rising with the extra bounce to claim a fine catch – not only in the context of the game, but for the confidence of Bess as well.

There are no extra marks for near-misses; Bess only had two wickets in this series coming into today.

He has deserved more – not least from the three chances missed by Buttler. So, for a young off-spinner still finding his own way, this was reward as well. He remains a work in progress; whether he is England’s best red-ball spinner can be a question for another day.

He's inching closer...

The landmark trickles ever closer. There was a time this summer when it seemed as though Anderson might have to go into the winter still short of his 600th. He still might, of course.

But with ten still to take for England to win this final Test and Anderson now only two away, what a moment it might still be in this most unusual of summers. Should that milestone arrive at any point in the next two days, just think of all that these months will have brought.

For unrivalled coverage of the county season, subscribe to The Cricketer and receive four issues for £15