Azhar tons up but Pakistan forced to follow-on

The third Test between England and Pakistan will be live streamed in Australia on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app by signing up for a free Cricket ID. The match will also be broadcast via Fox Cricket on Foxtel and Kayo

Pakistan captain Azhar Ali found form with an unbeaten century but England still enforced the follow-on after James Anderson's five-wicket haul extended the home side's advantage.

Pakistan were bowled out for 273 on the third day of this third and final Test in Southampton, with the visitors still trailing by 310 runs with two days remaining, although the forecast is grim for the final day in what has been a heavily rain-affected series.

Anderson's five, completed with what proved to be the final ball of the day when he had Naseem Shah caught in the slips cordon for a duck, took him to 598 Test wickets.

He may have already become the first seam bowler to 600 Test wickets if not for some sloppy England fielding that saw three catches put down off his bowling in the space of 10 deliveries.

Rory Burns and Zak Crawley both dropped chances at slip in the same over and Stuart Broad dropped another at mid-on soon after.

Burns put down Azhar at second slip before Crawley dropped a simple chance at fourth slip.

Next over, in a comical passage of play, Broad put down a dolly at mid-on to reprieve Azhar again before regathering and angrily hurling the ball at the stumps. It was a direct hit at the striker's end and ran out the dawdling Mohammad Abbas.

Having taken three top-order wickets on the second evening, Anderson added a fourth early on the third day when Asad Shafiq was caught by Joe Root, leaving Pakistan at 4-30 in the 13th over.

There would be no further success for Anderson until the final ball of the 93rd over when he nicked off Naseem but it completed Anderson's 29th Test five-for.

England skipper Root promptly enforced the follow-on with 30 minutes of play remaining in the day, bad light meant Pakistan did not have to resume.

Pakistan captain Azhar has had a troubled series but was brilliant in putting together his unbeaten 141 with 21 boundaries in 272 balls.

It was the 35-year-old old Azhar's 17th Test century, and his second in England, coming after scores of 0, 18 and 20 in his previous Test innings on this tour.

Indeed, since taking over from Sarfaraz Ahmed as the national captain, he has struggled for form, passing 40 just one in 18 innings prior to this knock.

He was circumspect against the new ball, scoring just 29 runs from his first 112 balls but, strong square on the wicket on both sides, he picked up the pace to add 74 from his next 93.

Azhar also became just the fifth Pakistan batsman to pass 6,000 Test runs to join current Pakistan batting coach Younis Khan (10,099 Test runs) as well as Javed Miandad (8,832), Inzamam-ul-Haq (8,829) and Mohammad Youssuf (7,530).

Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan added 53 as they put together a 138-run partnership for the sixth wicket, the largest England have conceded against either Pakistan or the West Indies this season.

Rizwan wore a nasty Jofra Archer bouncer to the grille of his helmet, and when he was caught down the leg side of Chris Woakes, it exposed Pakistan's tailenders.

There was controversy too when Jos Buttler gloved a catch to dismiss Fawad Alam off the spin of Dom Bess, with replays showing the wicketkeeper had his gloves in front of the stumps at the point of delivery, which should have resulted in a no-ball.

Bess had been unused for the entire second Test, but found sharp turn to dismiss Fawad for 21, his first Test runs in more than a decade having scored a duck in his only innings on his return in the second Test.

England XI: Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root (c), Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Dom Bess, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

Pakistan XI: Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali (c), Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah

The third Test between England and Pakistan will be live streamed in Australia on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app by signing up for a free Cricket ID. The match will also be broadcast via Fox Cricket on Foxtel and Kayo