Until the shadows started drawing out across the pitch at the end of the second day, England were more than holding their own. Ashley Giles had taken five for 75 to help round off the Pakistan innings for 316 and, in reply, Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain were, in their contrasting manners, going about the business of reeling in Pakistan.

With the close approaching, however, first Atherton - taken at silly mid-off via bat and pad - and then, controversially, the captain were dismissed by Saqlain Mushtaq in the space of four overs and for the addition of one run. It left England teetering, if not yet unseated, at 110 for three when play ended four overs early because, once more, of bad light.

Hussain's dismissal was a desperately cruel blow to a fellow who is already going through agonies with his form and must be wondering if there is not a conspiracy.

Yesterday, without being at his most fluent, he had bristled at the crease. There were a couple of rasping square drives which put the upstart debutant leg-spinner Danish Kaneria in his place. Despite having fallen foul of using his feet to Saqlain in Lahore he showed welcome signs that he had not lost his confidence on that front.

Having reached 23, however, fate cut Hussain down once more. On the backfoot to Saqlain, he was deceived by the pace of the spinner off the pitch yet still managed to get a thick inside edge which cannoned on to his pads. Saqlain's exuberant appeal for lbw was not even given Steve Bucknor's usual lengthy deliberation. The finger was up and Hussain was on his way, conducting himself with admirable restraint.

He is not the first batsman to receive a duff decision but, by golly, it is going against him with knobs on at present.

It left Ian Salisbury and Graham Thorpe to play out the remains of the day, but already England are up against it. The ball is turning more quickly than it did in Lahore and Wasim Akram - if a little over-enthusiastic with the short stuff - is bowling like the wind.

Until the twin blows Atherton, first with Marcus Trescothick and then with Hussain, had played phlegmatically and well. Trescothick had looked solid, presenting the full face of the bat and pouncing on the loose ball. But when he moved indecisively down the pitch, he failed to spot the googly (Kaneira with great wit, having shrewdly served one up first ball after being brought on for the 10th over) and was stumped by yards.

Earlier it had been Giles who earned the plaudits. He completed his five-wicket haul by having Wasim stumped as he heaved towards the leg-side and Lahore.