The Yorkshire officials gracefully changed the ticket price to 5 quid for the last day, slashing 25 quid off the price.  Unless I am wrong I’d say that in Australia they’d have just made the day’s play free.  But there were a few who took up the offer to watch Pakistan calmly pick up the 40 runs needed.

I’m sure that was the plan, but Pakistan used up all their calm on the 1^st and 3^rd afternoons; now all that was left was classic Pakistan.  Azhar Ali – who could be one of the more level headed Pakistani batsmen in years – smashed Bollinger through the covers to bring up his 50.  And then went out to Bollinger next ball.  Bollinger who had just convinced everyone that he didn’t like bowling in the UK suddenly started bowling amazing.  At the other end Ben Hilfenhaus, for the first time in this Test, was back on his game.  He had Umar Akmal out, with 30 runs to get.

Pakistan had Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal at the crease, probably their two most experienced in this line up.  It still should have been a cakewalk.  It wasn’t.  Australia smelled blood in the water and even with a drop from Clarke diving at second slip (perhaps a catch Ponting would have taken if he was at his regular position) they seemed to be suffocating Pakistan.  Their fielding to stop runs was predatory.  Plays and misses, appeals for LBW, and so many half shots from Pakistan were just bringing Australia back into it.  But with 5 wickets down, two experienced players and only 19 runs to get, it should still have been easy.

That is probably what Malik thought when Hilfenhaus gave him a full ball outside off stump and he creamed a cover drive, before realizing he had picked out North at a short cover Ponting had just brought in.  Malik just stood at the crease.  Not doubting the legitimacy of the catch, just unable to believe he had gone out playing such a good shot at the worst time possible.  Now Akmal was left with one of the weakest tails in world cricket.

Pakistan still had four wickets in hand, but now Akmal had to get the runs whilst ensuring that Amir didn’t face.  He did that quite well, but with 5 runs to win, Mitchell Johnson came on.  It was a brave move from Ponting.  Johnson has been dishing runs up for all the Pakistanis all tour long, and with only 2 wickets in the series, he wasn’t exactly cashing in on the wickets either.  Strangely, considering all that, Johnson looked really confident. That isn’t often the case.

In his first over he dropped one shorter and wider that it needed to be, Akmal who had started to try and guide balls down to thirdman, lent back and tried to slash it there, but instead hit it straight to Michael Hussey.  Immediately Hussey claimed the catch and Australia celebrated.   Kamran Akmal never moved.  The umpires nervously shuffled towards each other, here was Random Rudi’s last chance to be involved in a major Test match decision, but Gould was at square leg and he was clearly unsure.  Rudi then called upstairs.  Sky gave the third umpire perhaps the two worst camera images in years.  It was like watching the catches through a 1980s 7-11 security camera.  While it probably was a catch, there was no way the third umpire could ever tell.  I doubt he could tell that he was looking at a cricket match at all.   Not out.  Ponting argued the case, but he knew there was no real point.  Next ball Johnson bowled his best of the whole series.  It was so good it missed the edge.

Next over Amir annoyed the Australians more by edging the ball through slips and tieing the scores.  While this could have relaxed the Pakistanis, it didn’t seem to and next over Akmal looked as nervous as ever.  When he got a wide full ball from Johnson he half tried to hit it through point and instead got the outside of the bat and was caught by Hussey again.  This time the catch was legal (and awesome), so Akmal had to walk.  The scores were now tied with two tail enders at the crease.

Umar Gul came in, who in other teams would be more of a number 10 or 11, but in this team he has to bat at 9.  Johnson was now on fire, Australia believed they could do the impossible, and every Pakistani in the ground was bracing themselves for the worst, which was only a tie, but still.

Johnson’s first ball to Gul was full and wide, aiming for the edge, but instead was smashed.  Just for a second it looked like it might be caught by a giving Katich at cover, but Gul had hit it way too hard, and it just got past Katich’s fingers and Pakistan had done it.  They had won their first Test match against Australia in 15 years.

Even as an Australian supporter it was impossible not to be happy for them.  This was a great test to watch, and they certainly deserved to win.  And just for fun, and perhaps because they are Pakistani, they added a bit of last innings drama into it.

It may have lasted just over an hour, but it was worth way more than 5 quid.

Read more of Jarrod at cricketwithballs.