England on the verge of victory

Jos Buttler in full flow v Pakistan at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Saturday. PIC/AFP

Pakistan caused a top-order collapse before Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes (79 not out) led an England fightback for the hosts to come closer to victory in the first Test here at Old Trafford on Saturday.

At the time of going to press, England were 272-6 in the post-tea session on the fourth day, needing a further five runs to reach a challenging target of 277. Wicketkeeper Buttler and Woakes put on 139 before Buttler was dismissed for 75.

Stuart Broad was next man in. Only twice has a team chased more than 200 to win in the fourth innings of a Test at Old Trafford, with England making 294-4 against New Zealand in 2008 and 231-3 against the West Indies in 2004. England were making steady progress at 96-1.

However, they lost four wickets for 31 runs in slipped to 117-5, with captain Joe Root and Ben Stokes falling in the collapse. After Mohammad Abbas had pinned Rory Burns lbw, fellow opener Dom Sibley and skipper Root kept Pakistan at bay. But leg-spinner Yasir Shah lured Sibley (36) into an edged drive that was well caught by Asad Shafiq at slip.

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