Zak Crawley, Jos Buttler put England in command

LONDON: Zak Crawley scored a majestic double century and shared a record-breaking partnership with Jos Buttler to help England reach a commanding 490-5 at tea on the second day of the third and final Test against Pakistan on Saturday.

After making a cautious start in a rain-hit morning session, Crawley converted his maiden Test hundred into a double ton on a batting-friendly pitch in Southampton. The 22-year-old Kent batsman became the third-youngest Englishman to reach the milestone when he edged his 25th boundary in 331 deliveries.

Crawley, who had only scored three first-class hundreds prior to the Test, went on make 267 before he was stumped by Pakistan wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan to become part-time off-spinner Asad Shafiq's first wicket of the match.

Rain interrupted play twice before Buttler (140 not out) reached his second Test century.

Crawley and Buttler negotiated the second new ball in the morning session and went on to add 359 runs, surpassing England's previous record fifth-wicket stand of 254 shared by Keith Fletcher and Tony Greig against India in 1973. Agencies 

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