Bairstow resists but Pakistan close in on victory
Jonny Bairstow led England's rearguard on the fourth morning at the Kia Oval, batting with intent and determination to reach 70 not out from 94 balls
Jonny Bairstow led England's rearguard on the fourth morning at the Kia Oval, batting with intent and determination to reach 70 not out from 94 balls
Scorer: Thilak Ram | Commentator: Alan Gardner
5pm: Phew, lots to get through there, then Cook and Misbah share the trophy. It's the one that got away for England, their miserable record in London extended by a fabulous Pakistan performance. You can get the final word with Miller's match report and then stick around the site for George, Jarrod and Mel to provide a few more treats to devour. It's been lots of fun, a cracking four Tests, enlivened by your comments, as ever. From Gnasher, Miller and myself - not forgetting Raghav and Thilak - thanks very much and we'll be back for more soon. Cheerio, kids!
4.35pm: Time for the presentations, then... Younis Khan is Man of the Match: "Whenever Pakistan win like that, there's always a happy side, as a senior player it's important to contribute. I was thinking about the last game, we were in a good position but we needed to lead to go bigger, so yesterday I was very calm and cool, saying if we try hard here, maybe we win this game tomorrow. It was amazing how Wahab and the rest played with me, a real team effort. All the time I just start off and carry on going for big runs for the team. It was a surprise for me, the way I get out, if I get through 20-30 balls. It was hard work for me but I received a call before the game from Mohammad Azharuddin and he talked about my batting, stay in the crease - I trust other people and it worked for me."
Misbah-ul-Haq is Pakistan's Man of the Series... We'll hear from him in a bit. For England, the honour goes to Chris Woakes: "Yeah, it's gone pretty well, coming into the summer my record in Test cricket wasn't what I wanted it to be, so it's nice to put a few things right. When you haven't done it at Test level, you always doubt yourself, then when you have done it, you know you can. It's gone well for me. I've bowled quicker for a couple of years now but it's important I've got my control back and got it moving sideways. [Stokes] His injury let me back in the side but competition is good for the side. Fingers crossed we can play three or four of us [allrounders]. I've had opportunities to get bigger scores, so hopefully that's around the corner. Toe get a run in the team has been nice, great to be part of the series, hopefully I can stay there."
Joe Root wins the Padmore Medal for most entertaining contribution to the series for his 254 at Old Trafford: "You want people to come and watch you play. That was an innings that I really enjoyed, since then I've had a few starts and not gone on, so still work to do. Making a big contributions towards helping England back into the series are the things you want to be remembered for. We've got a lot of positives to look on, there's always areas to work on but plenty of good things, too. They played some really strong cricket, so fair play to them."
Pakistan captain Misbah: [Comeback?] "That's a really pleasing factor, winning the first Test and then losing by a big margin. In the third Test we played really good cricket for three days but it wasn't a good result, couple of bad sessions and we lost, hard to recover but that shows the character of the team. Showed we could win and draw the sereis, it was a really fabulous performance. England bat really deep, Moeen and Bairstow are in good form, we knew they would put up a fight, but the bowlers put in a lot of effort. [Yasir?] We knew the Oval would assist the spinner and that he would play a key role, yesterday with three wickets, he changed the game. [Younis?] A champion batsman, all time great, that's why he's at the top, a calculated innings and it was a great performance. He was under pressure, not scoring runs but that's where champions stand up. He's been doing it for 15-16 years and we believe in him always. [Future?] It's not about age, sometimes you are mentally tired. This team has given so much to me, playing and proving people wrong, that's giving me incentive to play for Pakistan. [Huge cheers] I will go back and think about it, it's really important the team is first. [Fans?] Felt like we were playing at home, thank you very much, we let them down for a couple of Test matches but still they kept believing and coming. Really happy we won this Test on Independence Day, also because we lost a legend in Hanif Mohammad during this match."
England captain Alastair Cook: "It's been a great series, two good teams playing some good cricket and for once, 99% of the time, we've just talked about the cricket, credit to the two sides who played in good spirit, long may it continue. We had an opportunity to win 3-1 but Pakistan bounced back, they got ahead and never let us back into it. Younis came good and took it away. Everyone was talking about what a strong test it would be, and although we haven't quite passed it, we haven't lost. We played some good games and some not-so-good game. We need to catch a lot better, we've got a few real areas to work on, credit to Pakistan in this game, credit to us in the other two. Going back to the beginning, it was a 50-50 call on the toss, when you lose a game like this you wish you had bowled. Lot of work to do, great we bat deep but we know the really good sides, the top order do the majority of the work - we're not quite doing that at the moment."
4.20pm: That brings to a close a wonderful Test series, which has showcased the best of a remarkable Pakistan team, as well as some decent cricket from England, too. They are denied the final trophy that would have given them all nine in the cabinet, as well as a chance to go to No. 1 in the Test rankings; that chance is now Pakistan's, depending on results elsewhere. But, for the moment, let's enjoy the sight of the Pakistan players celebrating on the outfield, posing with the flag and acknowledging their fans. It's been a specially joyous Pakistan Independence Day for all of those with a little green in their hearts. They came here as perhaps the best-prepared Pakistan team ever and, but for a meltdown on the final day at Edgbaston, might have won the series. After all the controversies that have gone before, especially in 2010, it's been a brilliant contest fought in great spirit and one that should be remembered for a long, long time. Oh for that deciding Test... It's worth noting, of course, that the Super Series score is 8-8, with five ODIs and a T20 to go. But oh for another Test...
"This is one of the most romantic moments in cricket!" gasps Kshitij Tandon. "Hard not to fall in love with this Pak team! Misbah Misbah Misbah ! Hope you be no 1. (Indian fan here)"
Here's Larry: "Congrats to Pakistan they outplayed a sad and sorry England team. I hope the selectors will now fully realize that Messrs. Hales,Vince and Balance are not up to test standard and should be discarded. Ali did well but he has to keep scoring runs as he is not a first class spinner and leaks too many runs. Captain Cook has to be more consistent and perhaps do better with his field placings."
"Bring on the push ups :)," whoops Farooq. No sign of any of that (yet)
"Hey Alan it was a wonderful tour and i really enjoyed your commentary.. Sometimes i wonder what would i do if there was no you people with us...thank you and you have done a wonderfll job...if you don't post my comment its fine just give me hint that u have read it...Thanks." You're very kind, Fiz. But the pleasure is all ours
Kunal: "An Indian fan here as well, though I prefer neutral games. Well done Pakistan! Hope our players learn a bit from you guys too!"
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