Ducking out and Plunkett's blinder

Hafeez's replacement fared even worse. Sami Aslam appeared to miss the ball completely as he attempted to pull Chris Woakes in the second over. England's appeal for caught behind was turned down by Marais Erasmus but Eoin Morgan was convinced enough to call for the review. Hotspot was inconclusive but there was enough of a spike on Snicko to convince the third umpire, Simon Fry, that Aslam had gloved the ball. It was the first of two calls from Erasmus during Pakistan's innings that were overturned; the second came when Sarfraz Ahmed was given out lbw to Liam Plunkett only for the review process to suggest the ball would have speared past leg stump.

It wasn't raining in St John's Wood but it was definitely a day for the ducks at Lord's; there were five in total and four of them belonged to Pakistan. The first came from a corker of a delivery from Mark Wood that pitched outside leg and nipped off the seam to bamboozle Sharjeel Khan and take out off stump. It left Pakistan's top order reeling but no doubt delighted England fans almost as much as it would have entertained Richie Benaud impersonators - Pakistan 2 for 2 off 2.2 overs.

Such is Joe Root's importance to England in all three formats that it would hardly surprise if, whenever he left the field, the ECB dressed him in a flak jacket, wrapped him in cotton wool and put him on ice until he was next required to play. So when Adil Rashid raced across from fine leg at the same time Root ran in from deep midwicket towards a lofted ball from Hasan Ali the Lord's crowd collectively held its breath and prayed. Rashid clattered into Root's ankle in what could only be classed as an illegal tackle. In football Rashid would have been red-carded; as it was, he was merely left red-faced as Root - who somehow managed to hold onto the ball and complete the catch - gingerly limped back to his fielding position.

During the summer, viewers have become accustomed to the sight of Pakistan players prostrating themselves after reaching milestones. But when Imad Wasim went down on his hands and knees it was in pain rather than in the act of performing the sajda. Imad had moved outside off stump to scoop Woakes but completely muffed the shot when the ball followed him and cannoned in behind the pad and straight into his knee. He completed the single but the pain was evident; after treatment from the physio, Imad limped throughout the rest of his innings and all the way back into the pavilion.

Liam Plunkett is, to use the vernacular, one big unit. But he appeared to defy the laws of gravity when he took a one-handed stunner to dismiss Wahab Riaz. Wahab attempted to slash powerfully over cover but Plunkett launched himself to the left with all the acceleration of an exocet missile and was completely horizontal when he snatched the ball with his left hand. It was so good the entire England team stood together to watch the replay on the big screen before pummelling Plunkett with an encore round of backslapping.

The 50th over is often hectic but the finale of Pakistan's innings was more damp squib than fireworks. On the penultimate ball Mohammad Amir dug out a Woakes yorker and Imad set off from the non-striker's end in a limping scamper to grab the strike for the final ball. Amir stood his ground and the two batmen stood looking at each other as Woakes, who had shaped to throw to the keeper's end, realised he had all the time in the world to amble back and gently remove the bails.

Before the start of the ODI series, the ICC announced it would trial a system whereby the TV umpire judged on front foot no-balls and conveyed his decision to the on-field officials via a vibrating "pager-watch". It took until the fourth innings of the series for it to be needed when Simon Fry buzzed Marais Erasmus after Hasan Ali overstepped by some margin. Judging from the smile on Erasmus' face, it was definitely a case of good vibrations.