England vs Pakistan, 3rd Test at London, Aug 18 2010 - Ball by Ball Commentary

Well, what a finish to this Test! Pakistan were favourites to win this at lunch, but that little wobble at the end there really set the nerves jangling. This was a really important win for Pakistan, and it's allowed them to keep this series alive by fighting back to 2-1. They can't win, of course, but it would mean a great deal to hold England to a draw in the series and there'll be a lot to play for at Lord's.

England had a plan today, and Anderson and Swann really executed that plan very well to put a great deal of pressure on Pakistan. Runs were at an absolute premium, nothing was given away - not until the very end. A couple of good knocks from Farhat, Butt and Yousuf got Pakistan close, and Umar's unbeaten 16 took them over the line. Please stick around for the match presentations and a word with the captains and Man of the Match.

"I can happily can go to sleep now after a long night," says an exhausted and no doubt emotionally wraught Aamir Malik.

"Pakistan should be proud of their tour to England," suggests Viren. "Nobody has given them a chance to square-up series against Aussies & win any Test against MIGHTY England in their home conditions."

"Have to give it to Pakistan to make it tense at the end," writes Punter. "Pleasures of watching brilliant Test cricket on a weekend. Absolute thriller, and splendid effort by Pakistan!"

"I was very pleased with the way we fought today," says an obviously disappointed Andrew Strauss. "The wicket was quite unresponsive and the way Jimmy and Swanny bowled was outstanding. We can't hide from the fact that our batting lost us this match. We need to better than this, we need to go away and learn our lessons and come back better at Lord's. But you've got to give credit to pakistan, they bowled well when it was reversing and Saeed Ajmal bowled well too."

On the subject of Alastair Cook, Strauss adds: "We all know what a tough place it is to be as a batsman when you feel as though you're playing for your place in the side. He showed a huge amount of character."

"It's always [nervy]," smiles Salman Butt. "This was the same as the game against Australia. It was three wickets then, four today so it's getting better! The boys showed a lot of character," says Butt, praising various members for the team effort. "It was a very good effort from the whole team, no one individual can be singled out. Yousuf brought class and calmness to the middle order. The dressing room is confident in this holy month of Ramadan, we would like to draw this series 2-2."

As the youngest cricketer to take a five-wicket haul in Tests in England, Mohammad Amir is the Man of the Match. "In these kind of conditions, everyone feels pressure," he says. "But I kept control of my nerves. I've been working hard on my batting. Yesterday the ball was reverse swinging, so I came round the wicket. I also had lots of support, Asif, Ajmal and Wahab Riaz bowled well. Wasim Akram is my idol and I love him."

And that just about wraps it up from us today. Andrew McGlashan's bulletin is up. There's also a match gallery to peruse, and a little later on we'll have a couple of closing pieces from Andrew Miller and Nagraj Gollapudi. But from Liam Brickhill, Sahil Dutta and Andrew McGlashan here at Cricinfo Towers, it's goodbye, and please do join us again for the final Test of the series at Lord's starting on Thursday.

Swann comes back over the wicket now

Swann comes round the wicket to Amir

Anderson is shielding the ball as he runs in, and there seems to be a touch of reverse swing on offer! He's going to come round the wicket now

Extensive discussions between captain and bowler now. Broad's getting involved too. Anderson will stick to over the wicket, two slips and a gully with a packed off side field