Harry Brook became the first England batter for 34 years to hit a triple-century in Test cricket on an astonishing fourth day against Pakistan in Multan.
Brook, Joe Root and England broke a host of records, then the visiting pace bowlers were irresistible in charging to what looks like certain victory in the first Test.
Brook’s 317 is the sixth score in excess of 300 by an England man and his partnership of 454 with Root, who made 262, was the fourth-highest for any wicket in the history of the game.
A total of 823-7 declared is also the fourth-highest ever and England’s highest score since 1938.
It meant England took a lead of 267, a barely believable advantage considering that Pakistan posted 556 in their first innings.
Despite the avalanche of runs on the flat pitch, Chris Woakes knocked out the off stump of Abdullah Shafique with the first ball of Pakistan’s second innings.
England were rampant, Pakistan feeble. The hosts disintegrated after tea, spiralling towards a humiliating defeat on 152-6, still 115 short of making England bat again.
Never before has a team posted so many runs in the first innings of a Test, then gone on to lose by an innings.
England, who secured a historic 3-0 victory in Pakistan two years ago, will add another memorable win at some point on Friday.
Multan madness – the records that fell
Brook became the sixth English batter to score a triple century and first since 1990. It was the second-fastest 300 of all time, reached in 310 deliveries.
The 454 that Root and Brook added for the fourth-wicket is England’s highest partnership for any wicket, the fourth-highest in all Test cricket and best for the fourth-wicket.
Root’s double century was his sixth in Test cricket, only Wally Hammond, on seven, has more for England.
This was only the third instance in Test history that two batters passed 250 in the same innings and the first occasion for England.
England’s 823-7 declared is the fourth-highest team total in Test cricket and England’s highest since 903-7 declared against Australia at The Oval in 1938.
England’s lead of 267 runs is the most for any team in Test history after conceding a total in excess of 550 in the first innings of a match.
By any measure, this was an incredible day of Test cricket, one that broke new ground and challenged other landmarks that have stood for decades.
Even on a pitch that has been abnormally flat for the best part of four days, and against a toothless Pakistan attack missing ill spinner Abrar Ahmed, the runs scored by Brook, Root and England were extraordinary.
The tourists gave themselves the advantage by moving to 492-3 on day three, when Root became England’s all time leading Test run scorer.
Root had added 10 to his overnight 176 when he drilled Naseem Shah to mid-wicket, where Babar Azam shelled a simple catch. From there, Pakistan fell apart, England scored at will and the prospect of a rare triple-century quickly became a reality.
Brook, resuming on 141, went past his previous highest Test score of 186. A top-edge off Aamer Jamal just evaded the square leg fielder and, from the next ball, a Brook pull took the stand past England’s previous best partnership of 411 between greats Colin Cowdrey and Peter May in 1957.
Root found another best in his record-laden career, beating his previous highest score of 254. After 10 hours at the crease, he was eventually beaten by an off-break that Salman Agha got to keep low.
Brook went on and on, toying with the bowling using both classical and unorthodox strokes: cover drives, ramps, flicks and use of the feet. Pakistan became a rabble, beset by misfields and overthrows, while six home bowlers conceded more than 100 runs.
Only eight overs were needed to add 79 with Jamie Smith. Brook went from 250 to 300 in just 29 balls, a holy grail of batting achievements reached thanks to a straight four off Saim Ayub.
It was the 32nd instance of a triple century in Test cricket, which Brook celebrated with a salute to the dressing room and a look to the sky.
The 25-year-old seemed set to challenge Sir Len Hutton’s 364, the highest score by an England batter, until he top-edged a sweep off Ayub. He left owning the fifth-highest score by an Englishman.
Still England were not done, becoming the fourth team to pass 800 before captain Ollie Pope decided enough was enough just before tea.
While Brook and Root were punishing Pakistan, there was the temptation to wonder whether or not their exploits would ultimately be in vain.
Given the surface, it felt like it might still be a challenge for England to dismiss Pakistan for a second time.
But Pakistan, winless in 10 matches at home, are brittle and the pitch, out of nowhere, woke from its slumber. The notion of an England victory went from being in the balance to possible by the end of the day.
Woakes produced the sensational start, finding a crack for the ball to keep low and nip back. Shafique could not believe his off stump was left lying on the ground.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood was dropped twice, by Woakes off Gus Atkinson, then by Atkinson off Woakes, leaving Atkinson to find a leading edge that Zak Crawley pouched on the leg side.
The hosts were caught between hitting themselves out of trouble and digging in. Atkinson produced a beauty to take the edge of Babar and, from the next ball, Ayub criminally miscued Brydon Carse for Ben Duckett to take a fine catch running back at mid-off.
Mohammad Rizwan had his stumps splattered by Carse and Abrar was absent from the ground, yet the prospect of a four-day finish literally slipped through England’s fingers.
Brook can be excused for his flying drop of Jamal at gully, but Shoaib Bashir’s miss of the same man at long leg was a dolly.
Jamal remains on 27, Salman has 41, making England wait for a third successive win in Tests when they have conceded a total in excess of 500.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 556 & 152/6 (Agha Salman 41; Gus Atkinson 2-28) trail England 823/7 decl. (Harry Brook 317, Joe Root 262; Naseem Shah 2-157) by 115 runs.
Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasooriya in her Environment Day message said that the environment is the foundation of our livelihood and called upon all Sri Lankans to come forward with the responsibility in mind to bequeath a secure a secure, prosperous and green planet to future generations.The PM’s Environment Day message:
“The environment is the foundation of our livelihood. It is the responsibility of the government to bequeath a secure, prosperous, and green planet to future generations.
In line with the global theme, “Urgent Climate Action,” and guided by the vision of “A Sustainable Biosphere – An Evergreen Life,” Sri Lanka commemorates World Environment Day this year at a critical moment. Drawing lessons from the climate-related challenges we have recently experienced, special attention has been directed toward protecting the water catchment areas of the central highlands and restoring ecosystems.
Under the theme “Dalulanna Idadenna” ( Let it Bloom), the Ministry of Environment has organized a series of programmes across the island to mark World Environment Day. These initiatives include environmental conservation inspired by religious values, awareness programmes on climate change, the protection of the Diyawanna Oya, the development of infrastructure in the wildlife sector, the conservation of water resources, and the promotion of medicinal plant cultivation, and through these efforts, it is evident that environmental conservation has evolved beyond a mere concept and become a practical and active commitment.
At this significant moment in our nation’s history, as more than 63,000 hectares of forest land have been gazetted as protected reserves through the “Wanaspathi” National Programme, which was launched last year, every citizen must resolve to live in harmony with the environment.
Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) were ordered to shelter in an attached spacecraft after the structure suddenly started leaking more air.
Five of the seven crew were directed to go into the docked SpaceX shuttle Dragon “Freedom” on Friday afternoon and were braced for a potential evacuation.
Meanwhile, two remaining personnel – a pair of Russian cosmonauts – attempted to repair a part of the Russian segment of the ISS, where the leaks had started increasing on Monday.
The repairs were paused and the crew ordered back onto the ISS by Nasa on Friday afternoon.
Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot and Andrey Fedyaev, who arrived on the ISS in February, had been sheltering on the docked ship, along with another astronaut Chris Williams.
They had been told to put on their spacesuits so they were ready to undock and return to Earth at short notice.
The Dragon effectively functions as a lifeboat – attached to the station but ready to detach the moment the order is given.
The trigger for the order was a worsening air leak in the transfer tunnel, known as PrK, leading to a section of the Russian segment of the station called the Zvezda service module.
Russian cosmonauts, station commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and flight engineer Sergei Mikaev, attempted to fix the problem. Their escape route was the separately docked Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft.
It is not the first time the station has had to deal with this problem – the cracks responsible have persisted on and off for around six years.
However, following the arrival of a Russian cargo ship last month, the Russian space agency Roscosmos noticed a fresh slow pressure drop in the tunnel, prompting the decision to move beyond patchwork fixes and attempt a more extensive repair operation on Friday.
(Left to right) Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, Nasa astronauts Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot [BBC]
But it was the method they were planning to use that prompted the order to take shelter, according to news agency Reuters.
Kud-Sverchkov and Mikayev were said to be using a saw to try and get into an area to access the crack that was leaking air.
Nasa disagreed with the method they were using and mission control in Houston ordered five crew to take “safe-haven” procedures on the Dragon ship.
When Roscosmos told their crew to pause repairs, Nasa instructed the astronauts to return to the station.
Nasa spokeswoman Bethany Stevens said on X: “Given this development, Nasa has instructed the crew members inside the Dragon spacecraft to end the safe haven procedures and return to planned operations aboard the International Space Station.”
Russian news agency Tass, citing Roscosmos, reported that nothing had been threatening the safety of the crew or the ISS’s onboard systems.
The ISS, which spans the length of a football field, is the largest human-made object in space.
It has been continuously operated by a US-Russian-led consortium that includes Canada, Japan and 11 European countries since 1998.
Maja Chwalinska lost in the Wimbledon second round (2022) and Australian Open first round (2025) in her only two previous Grand Slam appearances (BBC)
Qualifier Maja Chwalinska is one win away from a fairytale French Open triumph after setting up a final showdown with Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva.
The Polish world number 114, who had only ever won one match at a Grand Slam before this tournament, continued her astonishing run at Roland Garros by beating 25th seed Diana Shnaider 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.
Three weeks and nine matches after her French Open campaign began, Chwalinska dropped to the ground after firing in the 32nd and final winner of another scintillating display.
With that, she became the first qualifier in history to reach the women’s singles final at Roland Garros, and the crowd chanted her name as she spoke in her post-match interview.
On Saturday, she will attempt to become only the second qualifier in the Open era to win a Grand Slam after Britain’s Emma Raducannu at the 2021 US Open.
It would be a fitting conclusion to a French Open filled with spectacular shocks from the outset.
But, on the evidence of her dominant victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, the in-form Andreeva will provide the sternest test of her credentials to date.
A beaten semi-finalist in 2024, the 19-year-old was hugely impressive in a 6-1 6-3 victory that made her the third-youngest woman to reach the Roland Garros showpiece this century, after Coco Gauff and Kim Clijsters.
Should she prevail in her first major final, eighth seed Andreeva would become the third-youngest first-time Grand Slam champion this century, after Maria Sharapova and Raducanu.
