PAKISTAN flexed their batting and bowling muscles at The Oval yesterday to flatten English hopes of achieving the final Test victory they need to salvage a drawn series.

Apart from John Crawley, who collected the extra six runs he needed for his maiden Test century, a rain-shortened second day belonged entirely to the Pakistanis who romped to 229 for one in reply to England's first innings total of 326.

Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram set the tone by mopping up the last four England wickets for 43 runs before Saeed Anwar scored a glorious unbeaten 116 to tilt the game drastically away from the home side.

Anwar reached three figures in a mere 135 balls with 16 fours, sharing a destructive opening stand of 106 with fellow lefthander Aamir Sohail at almost five runs an over. The consistent Ijaz Ahmed eagerly joined in, supplying an unbeaten 58 as the shadows and English expressions lengthened in equal measure.

Anwar, who scored 74 and 88 in the first Test at Lord's, should be viewed as a classic example of not judging a cricketer on first impressions. His first two Test innings both ended in noughts, but his Test average has since soared.

All the England bowlers felt the full force of his flashing blade and he offered barely a false shot on his merry way to a third Test century, his first for two years.

The fit-again Sohail, whose aggregate in the series consisted of just two runs at the start of the day, fell four short of an equally fluent 50 when he drove to short mid-off to give off-spinner Robert Croft his first Test victim.

England had hopes of a total in excess of 400 after winning the toss, but only Crawley produced the sort of weighty innings to put pressure on the touring team.

He had to wait until early afternoon to resume his innings after rain had washed out the morning session, passing the time by strumming a guitar in the dressing-room, finally reaching his goal with an all-run four through mid-wicket off Waqar.

By then, though, England had already lost nightwatchman Salisbury and Dominic Cork with only six runs added to their overnight 278 for six, and Crawley soon followed to a skidding delivery from Waqar who finished with four for 95.

Last man Alan Mullally swung an entertaining 24 off 12 balls before Wasim claimed his third wicket of the innings and his batsmen took control.