By Rory Dollard, PA
England failed to capitalise on a redemptive hundred from Alastair Cook as Pakistan took six wickets for 27 in the evening session to take full control on day three of the third npower Test.
All eyes were on Cook at the start of the day and he responded eloquently to questions over his place in the side with a gutsy 110 at the Brit Insurance Oval.
But just as England began to entertain ideas of setting up a match-winning lead, Mohammad Aamer and Saeed Ajmal bowled a devastating spell to leave the hosts 221 for nine.
The pair ended with four wickets apiece as England limped to a tender lead of 146 before bad light stopped play.
England's selectors and players have been unwavering in their support of Cook but there was a sense that he needed a major score here to justify their continued faith.
At six for one and 69 runs behind it was a tense starting point and, despite middling one to the midwicket boundary, the pressure soon mounted.
Mohammad Asif twice located the left-hander's outside edge in the fourth over of the day but there were early signs that the luck, for once, was with Cook.
Both balls drew an indecisive prod from the batsman but each dropped short of the cordon and squirmed to the boundary.
Nightwatchman James Anderson hit one crunching cover drive before Ajmal removed him with a loosener and Cook was again fortunate when a thick edge off Wahab Riaz flew between slip and gully.
Riaz then rapped him on the pads just before drinks but did not call for what could have proved an awkward review.
After that Cook began to settle and, with Jonathan Trott happy to surrender the strike, he moved through the forties with some sumptuous work through the covers.
The scores were level by the time Cook reached 49, with a single taking England into the lead and earning the batsman a warm round of applause from a full house. The Independent
