Cook's endurance feat does not disguise harsh realities

There has been some discussion this year whether four-day Tests are the way of the future. One benefit of that would be that this exercise in Abu Dhabi would have ended today. Even making this a timeless Test may not have guaranteed a result as happened in 1939 in Durban, the only difference being it would have been a plane England had to catch rather than a boat.

In theory there could still be, just about, a Karachi 2000-type conclusion if England finish batting early on the final morning. A third innings with nothing but survival to play for, the situation Pakistan will find themselves in, can do strange things for a team. England will forever be associated with the final-day collapse of Adelaide 2006-07 and three of this side, including the man of the moment Alastair Cook, played in that match. But it would be one of most stunning denouements to a Test. And it still would not make the first four days good for cricket.

Cook's innings - 263, spanning 528 balls and 836 minutes, the third longest in Test history - was a stunning feat of concentration and accumulation. He continues to set a host of England records. But sport should never be purely a statistical exercise; it should be a contest.

That is not to take anything away from Cook or Shoaib Malik, who led the way in Pakistan's first innings. While bowling is clearly the most unforgiving task on this 22 yards - there was good reason why it was suggested Wahab Riaz should be Man of the Match - to display the stamina and concentration that those two batsmen have shown is a herculean effort. Yet it was mostly a test of patience, not of pure batting skill. To fight off boredom was to their credit.

"They do cover your bad days," Ian Bell said of the need to cash in when the chance arises. That is all well and good, but there comes a point when you have to question the value of runs. Of course, this is not the first time this has happened in Test cricket, and won't be the last. Perhaps the most memorable (if that's the right term) was in 1997 when Sri Lanka piled up 952 for 6, the highest total in Test cricket, in reply to India's paltry 537 for 8 dec. At least this match will see a third innings.

In that run-fest the left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni struck with his first ball in Test cricket to have Marvan Atapattu caught behind: it was his last wicket in 69.5 overs. Zulfiqar Babar will have his sympathy, having ended his toil for a wicket after 68.5 overs, while Adil Rashid's wait now looks positively short. Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama added 576 for the second wicket - at the time the highest partnership in Test history and now the second. Eye-watering numbers that stand out in history, but for what worth?

Sometimes hasty judgements are made about pitches but, a miraculous final day notwithstanding, there has been enough evidence, with sides batting for 151 and 196 respectively, that this one has offered nothing. And it's not only bowlers who would like something more, extra pace would allow batsmen to play their shots more freely.

The PCB are in charge of pitch preparations for Tests in the UAE - as their home away from home - and have previously shipped over their own groundsmen. This time the surface has been left to the Sheikh Zayed Stadium staff - with, no doubt, a few pointers on what to produce - but it is a pitch straight out of the worst Faisalabad or Lahore could ever had offered.

It would be harsh to single out Abu Dhabi. It is one pitch for one game; neither are they the only ground to have ever had a flat one. Mushtaq Ahmed, Pakistan's bowling coach, rightly pointed out how the surfaces against Australia and New Zealand began flat but brought the spinners into the game later. He also made a valid point that, with the heat that had preceded the match, the groundsmen may have been concerned about too much cracking so left some (dead) grass on which has held the surface together too well.

But Test cricket is on a precipice. For a region that is trying to make the most of its cricketing population - and it does exist, just see the corporate and league matches going on around the stadium on Friday, full of passion and joy - and at a time when, outside England and Australia, five-day crowds continue to dwindle it was particularly unfortunate timing.

There are more practical reasons, like the heat and the need to work, which play a part in the generally small crowds in the UAE, but that does not invalidate the belief that this has been a horrifically flat pitch. However, it is a broader concern for the game rather than an issue with a single ground.

At one point, a TV camera at the stadium panned to one of the amateur games going on outside - it was the first day of their season - and happened to come across a run out. "Stay on that game," came the predictable response on social media. There is a serious point here.

While the billions keep rolling in from the broadcasters, those in positions of power can largely ignore the issues of bland pitches. That would be very dangerous. All it needs is for one of the TV companies to turn around and say, 'we've looked at the figures, and the viewers have cottoned onto the fact it is not worth watching. We'd just like to pay half the amount, please'.

In 2014, Trent Bridge was given a 'poor' rating for a dead pitch. For the good of the game the match referee, Andy Pycroft, has to come down hard on this surface. It is a strip of baked mud that would be more suitable as part of the highway that runs to Dubai the one that both teams will be glad to travel on when this game finally comes to an end sometime on Saturday afternoon. It must be hoped that this has not set the trend for the series.