Cook leads charmed life as England dig in

LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) Alastair Cook starred in a comedy of errors on the fourth morning of the fourth and final test today as England battled to avoid an innings defeat against Pakistan.

Cook, having been reprieved by the umpire, bowled off a Danish Kaneria no-ball and dropped, was on 67 not out at lunch with the home side on 183 for two. They are still 148 short of making the touring side bat again.

Cook and Andrew Strauss put on 107 for the second wicket before the England captain, the morning's one victim, was controversially dismissed for 54. Kevin Pietersen, also given a life, was 44 not out.

England have already clinched the four-match series after winning at Old Trafford and Headingley.

Leg-spinner Kaneria, struggling to make an impact in the series, had arrived at The Oval today licking his lips at the prospect of opening the bowling at England's two left-handed openers.

There were some alluring patches of rough outside off stump which Kaneria quickly began to hit with alarming regularity after a rain spatter had delayed the start by 20 minutes.

Cook, in particular, looked all at sea.

Kaneria's fourth ball of the morning appeared to travel via the 21-year-old's front pad and bat into silly point's hands only for the bowler's frenzied appeal to be turned down. Appeals turned to curses as the spinner then bowled Cook, who had moved on to 40, off an inside edge with a no-ball.

Justice of sorts followed, although Strauss would not agree.

He had unfurled a string of fine cuts, the last of which off Mohammad Asif got him to his half-century, when he played at Kaneria and was given out lbw to a ball which appeared to have hit him outside off.

Kaneria deserved his good fortune, though. Cook did not when, having scrambled up to 47, he pulled Asif straight to square leg where Faisal Iqbal grassed a routine chance.

The unflappable Cook rubbed in the bowler's disappointment immediately with a lovely flicked boundary to mid-wicket to get to 50 before adding another leg-side four soon after.

Pietersen did the same after snicking Kaneria behind, where Kamran Akmal fumbled a gilt-edged offer. Pietersen, on 15 at the time, responded with two fours off three balls from Shahid Nazir and a lofted drive to the long-off fence off Kaneria.

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