Atherton scores 16th Test hundred

England opener Michael Atherton ground out his 16th Test century in the third Test against Pakistan as the visitors reached 277 for 4 by close on the third day.

Atherton needed 414 minutes to compile his 100 which came in 317 balls. At close he was unbeaten on 117. Keeping him company was Graham Hick on 12.

The opener lost two partners in the second session of the third day after England resumed at 79 for one.

First, captain Nasser Hussain completed a long overdue half-century but fell after scoring just one more run. Hussain's 50 came off 204 balls in 257 minutes and included four fours and a six.

But as he looked set to put months of poor batting form and several dubious umpiring decisions behind him, he prodded at a delivery from leg-spinner Shahid Afridi and was caught by Inzamam-ul-Haq at first slip.

Graham Thorpe made 18 before falling leg before to paceman Waqar Younis to leave England on 195 for three.

Before play began, match referee Ranjan Madugalle adjusted England's overnight 78 for one to 79 for one. He added an extra run into the no-ball account which Saqlain Mushtaq bowled in the fifth over on the second day.

Scoreboard

Pakistan (1st innings): 405 (Inzamam-ul-Haq 142, Yousuf Youhana 117; A.Giles 4-94)

England (1st innings): (overnight 79-1)
M.Atherton not out 117
M.Trescothick c Imran Nazir b Waqar Younis 13
N.Hussain c Inzamam-ul-Haq b Shahid Afridi 51
G.Thorpe lbw b Waqar Younis 18
A.Stewart c Yousuf Youhana b Saqlain Mushtaq 29
G.Hick not out 12
Extras (b-6 lb-7 nb-24) 37
Total (for four wickets) 277
Fall of wickets: 1-29 2-163 3-195 4-256
To bat: C.White, A.Giles, A.Caddick, D.Gough, I.Salisbury.
Bowling (to date): Waqar Younis 22-3-58-2, Abdur Razzaq 17-4-43-0 (nb-8), Shahid Afridi 14-2-33-1 (nb-1), Saqlain Mushtaq 36-11-76-1 (nb-15), Danish Kaneria 34-14-54-0

Mail Cricket Editor