BBC Online :
A superb double century from captain Alastair Cook saw England to 569-8, a lead of 46 runs, at the end of day four of the first Test against Pakistan on Friday.
Cook batted for 836 minutes in Abu Dhabi for his 263 – the third-longest innings by time in Test history, and the longest ever by an Englishman.
Joe Root made 85 and Ben Stokes hit 57 as Pakistan’s bowlers toiled.
With just two wickets remaining and England’s first-innings lead slim, a draw remains the most likely result.
Cook eventually fell to off-spinner Shoaib Malik – himself a double centurion in this match – when he was caught at point sweeping.
Cook began the day on 168 and might have been dismissed just five runs later, when he inside-edged a delivery from Imran Khan and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed dropped a difficult chance.
But thereafter the England skipper combined superbly with Root in a morning of trouble-free accumulation.
He moved to his double hundred – the third of his Test career, drawing him level with Kevin Pietersen – with a clip behind square off Wahab Riaz.
Root was eventually dismissed after lunch when he chased a wide delivery from Rahat Ali, but Cook’s formidable powers of concentration proved greater.
Playing with immense discipline – he hit only three boundaries all day – the captain amassed the highest score by an English batsman overseas since Wally Hammond hit 336 against New Zealand in 1933.
And he might even have been able to overtake his own career best of 294 – set against India at Edgbaston in 2010 – if the umpire had spotted that Malik appeared to overstep in delivering the wicket-taking ball.
A superb double century from captain Alastair Cook saw England to 569-8, a lead of 46 runs, at the end of day four of the first Test against Pakistan on Friday.
Cook batted for 836 minutes in Abu Dhabi for his 263 – the third-longest innings by time in Test history, and the longest ever by an Englishman.
Joe Root made 85 and Ben Stokes hit 57 as Pakistan’s bowlers toiled.
With just two wickets remaining and England’s first-innings lead slim, a draw remains the most likely result.
Cook eventually fell to off-spinner Shoaib Malik – himself a double centurion in this match – when he was caught at point sweeping.
Cook began the day on 168 and might have been dismissed just five runs later, when he inside-edged a delivery from Imran Khan and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed dropped a difficult chance.
But thereafter the England skipper combined superbly with Root in a morning of trouble-free accumulation.
He moved to his double hundred – the third of his Test career, drawing him level with Kevin Pietersen – with a clip behind square off Wahab Riaz.
Root was eventually dismissed after lunch when he chased a wide delivery from Rahat Ali, but Cook’s formidable powers of concentration proved greater.
Playing with immense discipline – he hit only three boundaries all day – the captain amassed the highest score by an English batsman overseas since Wally Hammond hit 336 against New Zealand in 1933.
And he might even have been able to overtake his own career best of 294 – set against India at Edgbaston in 2010 – if the umpire had spotted that Malik appeared to overstep in delivering the wicket-taking ball.
