England boost courtesy of Hussain

13 April 2012

Nasser Hussain hit his highest score for England in almost a year to guide the tourists towards saving the follow-on in the deciding Test against Pakistan at the National Stadium.  

England's captain ended his 12-month battle for runs by hitting a determined 51 to help his side reach 163 for two by mid-afternoon on the third day in reply to Pakistan's first innings total of 405.

After only 318 first class runs in the year 2000, including 183 at Test level, Hussain would probably have settled just for time at the crease today after successfully battling to an unbeaten 13 at last night's close as the tourists reached 79 for one.

But he showed his frustration at getting out just six balls after reaching his first Test half-century since scoring an unbeaten 146 against South Africa in Durban last Christmas by banging his bat into the turf.

At least he could not point to an umpire's error for his demise - as was the case when he was wrongly dismissed in both innings during the last Test in Faisalabad - after falling to a fortunate but legitimate catch at slip from Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Pushing forward to Shahid Afridi's leg-spin, Hussain was surprised by the extra bounce and edged behind, but wicketkeeper Moin Khan failed to pick up the flight and the ball bounced off his thigh pad into Inzamam's safe hands.

It ended Hussain's 264-minute battle to rediscover his form and demonstrated his great desire to make a contribution to the series, remaining patient as Pakistan attempted to restrict the scoring rate and frustrate him into playing risky shots.

This innings allowed him to pass two important milestones, beating his highest Test score and best first class score of the year and helping forge an important 134-run partnership with Michael Atherton which was crucial to England's objective of reaching the follow-on target of 206.

Hussain took nine overs to settle down this morning, steering Waqar Younis down to third man for three just one delivery after Atherton claimed his third half-century of the series.

Two balls later Hussain pushed down the ground for two to reach his highest Test score of the year, eclipsing the 25 he hit against South Africa at Centurion on January 18.

It took him a further nine overs to progress from that and equal his highest first class score of the year, a painstaking 33 for Essex against Zimbabwe at Chelmsford on May 14, clipping Afridi for a single off his legs.

He remained patient, waiting for a loose delivery for another five overs, and when Afridi finally obliged by over-pitching, Hussain drove through the covers for four to pass the milestone after 182 minutes of hard toil.

But after the interval, Hussain began to open out more. He moved down the wicket to smash Danish Kaneria back over his head for six and clipped Saqlain Mushtaq off his legs for two in the next over to clinch his half-century.

He was unable to progress from there to a timely century after falling three overs later, but Atherton was poised for his first hundred against Pakistan after reaching to 83.

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