England lose Strauss early

Andrew Strauss

Published: 7:27am, 6th February 2012
Updated: 10:30am, 6th February 2012

England lost captain Andrew Strauss early this morning in their mission improbable to make 324 and therefore avoid a 3-0 Test series whitewash against Pakistan.

Strauss (26) had already survived a straightforward caught-behind chance off Umar Gul when he went, without addition, lbw on the back foot to Abdur Rehman.

He used up a precious DRS option to no avail too, as England reached 61 for one after an hour of day four in this final Test at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Not since 1929 have England made as many as they need here in the fourth innings to win a Test match, and it was not obvious how their mostly out-of-form batsmen might buck this series' trends to date on a fair pitch but one expected to increasingly favour Pakistan's spinners.

Strauss' opening partner Alastair Cook passed a notable personal milestone when, when moving onto 22, he became the second-youngest batsman in cricket history to reach 6,000 runs in Tests.

Another hundred or so would be invaluable for England, who are hoping to salvage some pride and a guarantee of preserving their number one Test status for another two months at least with an unlikely rearguard.