Shan Masood may have brought a negligible smile on Misbah-ul-Haq's face with his defiant batting on Day 2, when the rest of the batting crumbled. Yet, a new day required him to begin with a blank slate and concentrate once again. By fifth over of the day, Masood was denied the chance to do so when he poked at a rising delivery from Anderson, giving a simple catch to Joe Root at second slip.
If facing Anderson was an ordeal, imagine doing so when he'd just picked up a wicket and ran in with a spring in his step? Asad Shafiq was in for some chin music. Fortunately for him, and the entire visiting side, rain intervened.
Shafiq faced a tougher predicament when play resumed as Anderson began to generate teasing away shape, with an eager slip cordon waiting in anticipation of another edge. Even during his brief stay of 21 balls, Shafiq showed promise as he often played with soft hands, to ensure the outside edges don't carry to the fielders.
Misbah was perhaps about to smile again, before Shafiq undid all the good work by chasing a full and wide delivery from Stuart Broad and gave a straightforward catch to Alex Hales at backward point.
Wahab the batterFeisty, plucky and an absolute fighter - Wahab Riaz's utility, as bowler, to this Pakistan unit has been well-documented in recent times. On Sunday, however, it was his ability to transfer the pluckiness into his batting abilities that frustrated the hosts. With Masood, Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed and Yasir Shah trudging back in the first half of the morning session, England would've hoped to complete the formality of bowling out Pakistan and earn a first-innings lead in excess of 400. Wahab didn't do anything particularly different from his predecessors in the batting line-up, but managed to survive 61 deliveries for his immensely-valuable contribution worth 39. His ability to keep the outside edge of his bat away from the away-swingers on a few occasions served him well. When there were edges, they flew over the slip cordon as the element of luck, that clearly eluded the middle-order, came to Wahab's rescue as well.
The great follow-on debateWhat's cricket without a good, old raging (and unending) debate? Shane Warne, Alastair Cook's adversary-turned-pal, took the first plunge, branding the England skipper's call to decline the option to enforce the follow-on as an incorrect one. The charge wasn't too outlandish, given the overcast conditions leading to constant rain breaks, Pakistan's fragile batting line-up and the fact that the England pacers had bowled just 63 overs - across two days - in the first innings. Michael Atherton, Michael Holding, Nasser Hussain and David Lloyd - the other commentators - joined the bandwagon against Cook.
Almost as if the opposition from the commentary box reached the England dressing room, Cook batted fluently in the second innings to not just edge towards another half-century but also extend England's lead to 489. With two full days to go, provided rain stays away, Cook's decision may not make a massive difference in the result of this fixture.
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