Pakistan weather the storm and Jimmy Anderson's wait goes on... ENGLAND V PAKISTAN TALKING POINTS

NICK FRIEND AND NICK HOWSON look back on the fourth day of the final Test between England and Pakistan

Weather the storm

The climax to the Test match summer, certainly the last we'll see of this format anywhere in the world for many months, deserves better than a final day wash-out when the frustration will be palpable.

Such has been the effort to get these Tests on, the quality which has been exhibited by all three sides and the closely-contested nature of many of the matches means it would be sad to wave goodbye to the summer while rain runs down the window pane.

Pakistan have fought hard just to keep the draw part of the conversation. Granted, it will assure them of some World Test Championship points, but they'll take no pleasure from wriggling away from a defeat thanks to a deluge. With some of the squad staying on for the T20s, abandonment doesn't get them home any earlier.

Joe Root will accept a stalemate as long as his team are at least given the opportunity to win it. He might be assured of a third straight series win as England captain for the first time, and know he can return to his young family from tomorrow but he'll want to be in the middle when the series is rounded off.

Rain is expected to sweep in from the southwest overnight, ensuring that at the very least the morning session will be delayed. For the fourth day in a row, a 10:30 am start is off the table and we will have to wait until the afternoon. Typical.

It will likely lead to the Bob Willis Trophy match at Arundel between Hampshire and Essex being called off. Only 78 overs have been possible in that particular encounter. A result at Taunton, where Somerset are chasing victory over Gloucestershire, is also in doubt.

None of the above is new. We love this silly game partly because of how it toys with us, never allowing us to settle. Our fortitude faces another test on Tuesday.

^{There were some bleak skies over the Ageas Bowl...}

Bess faces dress rehearsal

If indeed England do face India or Sri Lanka in the New Year, either in the United Arab Emirates or in their backyards, the dialogue around the tours will very quickly shift to their resources in the spin department.

It has been far from an ideal period to build-up to those challenges for Dom Bess, who will head into those tours as the man in possession. Jack Leach and Moeen Ali will likely to join him, while Mason Crane, Matt Parkinson, Liam Dawson, and Amar Virdi wait in the wings.

While Bess has been far from faultless during this summer, the conditions have hardly been advantageous. He has been battling against a tide of slow surfaces that have offered very little. As Pakistan replaced West Indies, it has become increasingly difficult for the Somerset spinner.

This Ageas Bowl surface has flattened out to the point that, along with the expected rain, the draw is becoming increasingly likely. It'll give the chance for Bess to put a real shift in, dominating one end while Root rotates his seamers from the other. The 22 yards in front of him mightn't be receptive, but it's a decent test of his perseverance ahead of a tough winter.

Root complained before the Test over the lack of overs Bess has bowled series summer. If all goes to plan, he will likely finish day five having bowled a third of his overs from the entire summer in this match alone.

It might be the equivalent of cramming the night before an exam, but at least Bess will have the chance to lead the attack on his last England outing for many months. He responded well to having a similar role in Port Elizabeth but this will be an altogether different challenge.

^{Dom Bess toiled away for England}

Abid Ali shows his mettle once more

He hasn’t quite made the runs his early Test record promised ahead of the series, but Abid Ali has proven a very impressive operator at the top of Pakistan’s order.

Neither as languid as Babar Azam nor as feted as Azhar Ali; not as well known to English audiences as Shan Masood nor as experienced in international cricket as Asad Shafiq, yet Abid has done a fine job for his side.

It is no secret that life as an opening batsman on English soil has rarely been quite as challenging as in the last few years. And so, while his returns have been unremarkable, he has put up a considerable fight.

Through this entire Test summer, the openers have had to grind out their runs: John Campbell was a man bereft by the end of West Indies’ series; Kraigg Brathwaite was as dogged as ever; Rory Burns has flitted between feast and famine; Dom Sibley went to Test cricket’s slowest century for six years; Shan Masood began this series with a fine hundred, but has made just 24 runs since.

And then, there is Abid; 32 years of age and the holder of two Test centuries already. He is everything you might come to expect from a veteran of 111 first-class appearances: compact, without ego, aware of his limitations. There is something quietly reassuring about a batsman in today’s age who, in 205 first-class innings, has hit just seven sixes.

Today, like before in this series, he was unable to go on, trapped lbw by James Anderson for 42 – a marginal call that remained with Michael Gough’s on-field decision. But another knock, nonetheless, that suggests a fine cricketer with the temperament to do a fine job for his country in the twilight years of his career.

^{Paul Collingwood made a return of sorts to the field...}

Paul Collingwood's (partial) return

At one stage, Paul Collingwood had his whites on. Granted, he was only ever there to run the drinks on, but as England continued to shell chances behind the wicket, the ghost of one of England’s greatest fielders was within haunting distance.

He was wearing Rory Burns’ shirt – they don’t make them for the support coaches, as it happens. He had been forced into duty after a fraught morning for the hosts. Ollie Pope left the field with a left shoulder problem – the same one operated on last year.

And England, having allowed Ben Foakes, Ollie Robinson and Sam Curran to return to their counties, found themselves a spare man light.

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