By the time Chris Woakes walked out to join Jos Buttler, with England still 160 short of their target of 277, a saxophonist had shown up at Old Trafford tram stop to play “Dil Dil Pakistan”, toasting what seemed a certain victory for the tourists.
They played and danced with good reason.
England had just lost four wickets – three of them averaging more than 40 in Test cricket, the other being Ben Stokes – for 31 runs on a pitch that was spitting to both the high pace of Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, and out of the footmarks for Yasir Shah’s potent leg-breaks. Pakistan were cock-a-hoop.
With Woakes out of form and Buttler low on confidence, England’s sixth straight series opening defeat seemed almost certain.
But as they showed at Headingley last summer, this England side does not know when it is beaten. The pair unfussily put on 139 – it was some time to find the biggest partnership of the game – to take them to within 21 of victory in a quite brilliant Test match.
There was still time for Stuart Broad, promoted to the role of experienced finisher at no8, to fall to Yasir, but Woakes had England covered. They got home by three wickets as he edged through gully in the early evening sun, finishing 84 not out.
England were 107 runs behind on first innings and arguably were ahead at no stage of the game until Woakes and Buttler were deep into their partnership. But they fought back into the contest with fine bowling on the third day, and then batted even better on the fourth.
This was the best Test yet in an utterly absorbing summer of cricket. It is a shame that so few people are here to see it, but perhaps the silence being broken only by the players’ own sounds adds to the drama.
So often things had looked so much bleaker for England. Their day started badly, when Pakistan’s last two wickets – led by a slogging Shah – added 32 runs in 16 balls to swell the target to 277.
Given the way the scores had slided each innings, with Pakistan's second effort worth 169, that looked a chase of epic proportions.
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England got the quiet start they wanted, with Pakistan not quite as relentless as they were in the first innings. Rory Burns looked assured, then was given lbw to Mohammad Abbas.
A review just about supported the umpire’s call and Burns was on his way, with a volley of words from Pakistan’s cackling fielders. He returned in kind with a shush.
It was the wicket of Dom Sibley that opened the door for Pakistan – who barged through in their own imitable fashion. With Yasir getting it to spit from the rough and the quicks finding occasionally unplayable bounce from a length, life became extremely uncomfortable for England.
They lost four wickets for 31, including their two titans, Joe Root and Stokes.
Sibley had weathered a period of Yasir bowling from around the wicket into the footmarks with aplomb, and was finding ways to score. Almost as soon as Yasir went back over the wicket, a full delivery tempted him forward and he edged to slip.
That ended a resourceful stand of 64 with Root, who was looking in the groove. But Naseem got one to lift at him soon after. A fine review did for Stokes caught behind to a snorter, then Ollie Pope got the most unplayable of the lot from Afridi, and was snaffled at gully.
Pope walked off with a sore hand for his troubles. For the fourth straight day, England wobbled after lunch.
England were deep in the mire, so Buttler and Woakes – who had not reached 40 since his century against India two years ago – responded with aggression. Speaking on the third evening, Woakes promised England would counterpunch, but it was not until he came in that they actually did that.
In eight overs before tea, he and Buttler put on 50, full of smart running, crisp driving and, from Buttler, powerful reverse-sweeping. England had a sniff again.
The break did not halt their focus and rhythm. They barely spoke between overs, and looked utterly serene. Slowly Pakistan lost their way. The bowling got worse (there was not a single maiden in the partnership), the fielding a little more sloppy, and the rare appeals were even more deep.
After both men reached 50 in successive overs, Pakistan wasted a review on each, and had none left.
Buttler fell reverse-sweeping Yasir with 21 required, but had played a supreme hand. Earlier in the match, his misses of Shan Masood cost England more than 100 runs, and his place in the side is viciously debated.
Yes, he still only has one Test century, but this was a better knock than many bigger scores down the years.
The pair had scored at such a lick that by the time the new ball arrived, England needed just 13 to win. Woakes took eight from Afridi’s first over with it, then Yasir trapped Broad lbw, but it was too late.