Evening all.

On the train home and setting up tomorrow. Not read the eulogies, not particularly interested to be honest. This appears to be a road. Shoaib Malik made 245 on it. Alastair Cook is a class bat who can be incredibly tough to get out. He has played well.

I’m going to go off piste a little. I don’t blame Pakistan for a pitch like this. If I were them I’d prepare one where I’d go for a batting contest and take my chances. It is too good a surface but we collapsed on belters in England. It is not the entertainment business. It is sport. I don’t pretend they are exciting but they are part of test cricket. England will do very well to draw. They are doing very well.

Imbeciles like Vaughan need to wind their necks in. We’ve won two (I think) overseas tests v Pakistan for a reason. They are not cheap. They are phenomenally hard earned. Sticking us on disintegrated pitches where it is who has the best spinners and batsman against it world elicit the same moans. We are sounding a lot like Aussies. This is not a contest played for our benefit. Sub continental cricket is hard. Very hard.

I can’t go through the post without responding to the usual muppet. I suggest, if you so love my content, you do one of two things. Fight your corner here or Foxtrot Oscar. I’ve taken a back seat for the past two months. Had a break. Done other things. It’s been nice. It’s not us making it him v him. Distance hasn’t validated the decision. Don’t like it? Don’t come here. I’m a nobody.

The fourth day beckons. Think it will be dull. Might see a triple. You never know. …

Comments below. Will populate later.

England start the day with a mountain to climb but a base camp set. At time of wittering we are 118 for 1 and Cook settled in. Here on BOC we fear the worst. A Cook ton. For no reason other than the tide of lamentable nonsense that follows. Newman is going to need sedation.

Keep the comments flowing.

Also, did you see Sky’s winter cricket promo? All those T20 leagues with a notable player who played for England signed to all of them? A draw card. No. It’s Chris Gayle and Freddie singing. I may be “obsessed” but it is genuinely funny the lengths they seem to go to avoid mentioning him.

On the plane home I watched the highlights of KP’S innings in Mumbai. In hindsight it might be a touch overrated. I still believe his Colombo knock was better. But it was still brilliant. Yet in reading the comments to his interviews online it is an innings many never wanted him to play. Many want never to acknowledge. Read the comments and stick nails in your eyes and tell me which is more excruciating.

May have another overseas trip during this tour. Getting harder to keep up with developments. Karunaratne and Chandimal putting the West Indies to the sword. An ODI series between India and South Africa, and of course Australia sitting at home. It’s a mad world!

Morning everyone…

So my trip to Burma is coming to a close, and I’ll be home for the weekend. As far as this test is concerned I haven’t seen or heard a ball, but it looks from afar like it might be a super flattie, with a draw on the cards as long as England don’t self destruct. 

For anyone who is remotely interested, I’ve written up my trip across the country on my till now dormant site, https://thelegglance.wordpress.com/ as one of my employers asked me to write up the trip on a daily basis. 

It’s pretty rough and ready as I’ve not had chance to do any kind of prettifying given the lack of reliable wifi, but I’ll do that when I get back. 

Obviously no cricket content is ever going to go on there!

Anyway, back soon, for the second Test at least.