LONDON // Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad's centuries transformed England's fortunes at Lord's yesterday on a day of personal landmarks which began with Mohammed Aamer threatening to bowl the hosts out cheaply.
Instead, after lurching at one stage to a perilous 47 for five, England were rescued by a record unbroken stand of 244 - the best by anyone for the eighth wicket against Pakistan - between Trott (149 not out) and Broad (125 not out ) in a close of play total of 346 for seven on day two of the fourth Test.
Both passed 1,000 Test runs in the course of their innings, Broad on his way to a maiden first-class century and Trott little more than a year after his Ashes-clinching debut at The Oval.
Yet it was Aamer (six for 73) who had made the first bid for the headlines when he became the youngest bowler ever to 50 Test wickets and only the second Pakistani to take six in an innings on the hallowed turf of Lord's.
As England recovered from a rash of middle-order ducks at the hands of Aamer, in a match Pakistan must win to square the series 2-2, this was a day to intrigue the purists as well as delight the statisticians. At a venue where Trott made a double-hundred against Bangladesh earlier this summer, he responded with a 195-ball century in which he alone - until Broad moved into outright counter-attack - had the measure of Aamer.
Trott used the crease and advanced out of his ground to try to negate Aamer's swing under initial heavy cloud cover in an innings which was to be peppered with his trademark, straight-bat clips to leg off the back foot.
Broad, by contrast, stood tall to strike the ball on top of the bounce through the off side and down the ground in a partnership which more than trebled the total from 102 for seven.
England's prosperity - begun by Trott and Matt Prior in an important 50 stand for the sixth wicket - was unthinkable when 18-year-old Aamer was wreaking havoc in the first 20 minutes of the day.
Belying his age to make such telling use of conditions and tame the Lord's slope like an old hand, the left-armer took four wickets for no runs in eight balls.
After Trott and Prior had apparently drawn his sting, Aamer then returned to take two wickets in an over immediately after lunch - only for Broad to help England's No 3 take over.
Kevin Pietersen continued his worrying run of form with a golden duck - and his was his the first of successive noughts from batsmen four, five and six
Pietersen was the odd man out in that he contributed much to his own downfall, rather than being prised out by a delivery of the highest class.
He simply drove at a wide, swinging ball from Aamer and got an obliging edge behind - safely collected by Kamran Akmal in one of his three catches of the day.
The Pakistan wicketkeeper, one of several less than reliable catchers in the tourists' ranks this summer, had already done the decent thing from the final ball of the previous over when Aamer got one to go down the slope from the pavilion end to have Alastair Cook also caught behind.
Paul Collingwood survived the hat-trick ball but got little further before a review of Billy Bowden's not-out lbw decision proved Aamer had swung the ball past the bat and in line.
* Press Association
England
Andrew Strauss b Asif 13
Alastair Cook c K Akmal b Aamer 10
Jonathan Trott not out 149
Kevin Pietersen c K Akmal b Aamer 0
Paul Collingwood lbw b Aamer 0
Eoin Morgan c Hameed b Aamer 0
Matt Prior c K Akmal b Aamer 22
Graeme Swann c Ali b Aamer 0
Stuart Broad not out 125
Extras: (9lb, 7w, 11nb) 27
Total: (for seven wickets) 346
Fall of wickets: 1-31, 2-39, 3-39, 4-39, 5-47, 6-102, 7-102.
Still to bat: James Anderson, Steven Finn.
Bowling: Mohammed Aamer 23-5-73-6 (3nb 2w), Mohammed Asif 26-6-83-1 (2nb), Wahab Riaz 22-4-74-0 (6nb 2w), Saeed Ajmal 30-3-86-0, Yasir Hameed 1-1-0-0, Imran Farhat 9-1-21-0.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
RACECARD
6pm: Abu Dhabi Land Forces - Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,200m
6.35pm: Dubai Naval Forces - Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,400m
7.10pm: Sharjah Air Force - Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.45pm: Ajman Presidential Guard - Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m
8.20pm: Dubai Creek Mile – Listed (TB) Dh132,500 (D) 1,600m
8.55pm: Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah Joint Aviation - Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
9.30pm: Fujairah National Service and Reserve - Handicap (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,400m
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Carzaty, now Kavak
Based: Dubai
Launch year: Carzaty launched in 2018, Kavak in the GCC launched in 2022
Number of employees: 140
Sector: Automotive
Funding: Carzaty raised $6m in equity and $4m in debt; Kavak plans $130m investment in the GCC
Where to Find Me by Alba Arikha
Alma Books
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump and Other Pieces 1986-2016
Martin Amis,
Jonathan Cape
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Director: James Wan
Starring: Jason Mamoa, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Rating: 2/5
The five pillars of Islam
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
EMIRATES'S REVISED A350 DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE
Edinburgh: November 4 (unchanged)
Bahrain: November 15 (from September 15); second daily service from January 1
Kuwait: November 15 (from September 16)
Mumbai: January 1 (from October 27)
Ahmedabad: January 1 (from October 27)
Colombo: January 2 (from January 1)
Muscat: March 1 (from December 1)
Lyon: March 1 (from December 1)
Bologna: March 1 (from December 1)
Source: Emirates
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
A QUIET PLACE
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
Bridgerton season three - part one
Directors: Various
Starring: Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 3/5
What is Dungeons & Dragons?
Dungeons & Dragons began as an interactive game which would be set up on a table in 1974. One player takes on the role of dungeon master, who directs the game, while the other players each portray a character, determining its species, occupation and moral and ethical outlook. They can choose the character’s abilities, such as strength, constitution, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom and charisma. In layman’s terms, the winner is the one who amasses the highest score.
Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
Company Profile
Company name: Cargoz
Date started: January 2022
Founders: Premlal Pullisserry and Lijo Antony
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 30
Investment stage: Seed