Not from me, Ian. There wasn't any bad luck in that. When he looks again, Ballance might think he got too far over, or maybe followed one that was a touch too far away from him. Either way, he's made for the Brummie Botham, Chris Woakes, who has spent this summer taking wickets, scoring runs, walking on water and turning base metals into gold. I hear that Mariah Carey asked Woakes for a signed photo.

Rich Hird: Top knock Ballance! For a man just coming back into the side that is a super innings.

Ian Bradley: Here we go again. Commentators declare batsman unlucky as caught down leg side - utter rubbish. Edged ball to fielder, next.

Just as England were getting on top, they lose a wicket. Ballance was batting nicely, Yasir being ground into the dirt, but now the leggie is bouncing. Looking again, Ballance was miles across his crease, showing all three stumps behind his pads. The ball turned, Ballance got it on the face and Sarfraz covered a lot of ground. A group of Pakistan fans jump and holler in the crowd. Chris Woakes the new man, game back in the balance.

Geoffrey Boycott
Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

He didn't even edge it. Yasir bowled it round the wicket, a foot wide of off stump. Ballance tried to glance it, it went right off the middle. The keeper's seen where's he's glancing it and taken it. It's a wicket from nothing.

Geoffrey Boycott
Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

It was short of a length, he was leaving it and it hit the bat and just cannoned past the stumps for four.

Sohail Khan lumbers in in increasing sunshine in Brumingham. Eeesshhh, iffy from Moeen, playing off the back foot to one slightly short of a length. Inside edge, just past the dive of wicketkeeper Sarfraz, and away for four to fine leg. 

Geoffrey Boycott
Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

Gary Ballance gets his nose over the ball; he gets right forward and right back. He works it well and he knows his game - he doesn't play extravagant shots. It would be good for Alex Hales to watch him.

Image source, Getty Images

Nice thinking from Yasir, changing the angle to go round the wicket, though that does make it harder to get a left-hander lbw. In the crowd, three blokes sport cheese and onion blazers. Where do they get those from? England still playing Yasir well. They put the cross-bat shots in the locker and started to play with a straight blade after Lord's and, since then, he's been ineffective. 

Geoffrey Boycott
Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

He was trying to work it to the leg side into that gap but he ended up pushing at it.

My first-team skipper is at Edgbaston today. He sent me a pic of his mates looking well-oiled, sniffing for it to in the live text. That's not how it works, James. Pakistan won't get much change from bowling short and wide to Moeen Ali, who cuts Sohail Khan for four, right out of the meat. Ooofff, Ballance offers a leading edge, but it just doesn't carry back to the bowler. This stand is worth 56.

A Question of Sport Teaser

A reminder of Today's #QSTeaser from @QuestionofSport:, external Since 2000 which four players have scored more than 500 Test runs for England at Edgbaston?

And the answers: Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen, Marcus Trescothick.

How many did you get?

Thanks, Bibhash. I arrive whilst eating a muffin as big as my head. Kudos to the BBC canteen. Yasir, like a millionaire who lost all his cash, has been a pauper in the wickets column since Lord's. 1-304 since a 10-fer at HQ. Bowling to a pair of lefties won't help, both turn on to the leg side for a single apiece. 

Geoffrey Boycott
Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

These two are putting together a really important partnership. I don't expect these two to score at four an over like this morning. But even if it's slower this evening, stay there. Just play.

That occasional flurry I spoke of earlier rears its head again. Ballance strokes a fuller delivery from Rahat straight down the ground for four. A peach of a shot, and once again relieves the monotony for us all. After all, even Bond needs a bar fight or two to keep himself busy in his down time.

Speaking of down time, let me hand you over to Stephan Shemilt. I must dash!

Not sure I need to explain this too much. Another maiden for England, this one from Yasir seen out by Moeen. If this were a Bond film, it's the bit where Daniel Craig escapes from a position of harm, lands up somewhere in the Caribbean and chills out for a few months with some margaritas. 

jim calderwood: Pitch InSpectre.

Ronhawk89: Tomorrow never drives.

Stephen Allen: Brian Johnston: The Man With The Holding Pun.

I have seen a mention on our Twitter feed of Moeen and Ballance going into their bunkers. Couldn't have put it better myself. Left-armer Rahat steams in from over the wicket but anything slightly wider than usual is left to the keeper. It may be a dull-ish phase from a neutral's point of view, but for England these overs of consolidation are like gold dust.

Image source, Getty Images

England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who will miss the rest of the Test series with a calf injury, on TMS: "There was a possibility of being fit for the last Test but rather than risk more damage we decided to take it easy and try and get ready for the start of the one-day series.

"It felt like a sniper from the top of the tower had shot my calf.

"I came back from South Africa and the first Test match back I did my knee. Now I've done my calf. It's been a frustrating summer but I haven't written my summer off yet."