A marathon knock of 263 by Alastair Cook gave England the lead Friday as the first test against Pakistan headed toward a draw at the end of the fourth day.
Cook became only the third batsman in history to bat for more than 800 minutes in an innings with his 528-ball knock that lasted 836 minutes. The two players who have played longer than him are Pakistan’s Hanif Mohammed (970 minutes against the West Indies in Bridgetown in 1958) and South Africa’s Gary Kirsten (878 minutes against England in Durban in 1999).
It was Cook’s third double century in test cricket, and his second highest after the 294 he made against India in Birmingham in 2011. He survived two chances — one on 147 on Thursday and then on 173 in the fourth over Friday morning when a delivery from Wahab Riaz delivery cut back and took his inside edge, but wicket-keeper Ahmed dropped a difficult chance. Cook fell in the 191st over of the innings, top-edging a sweep off Malik to Shan Masood at backward square leg.
Brief Scores
Pak: 523/8 trail Eng: 569/8 (Cook 263)by 46 runs