Matt Prior praised the resilience of Steven Finn after the England tail-ender hung around to witness an unbeaten century as wickets tumbled at Trent Bridge.

England declared at 262-9 in their second innings, immediately after Prior reached a milestone which had seemed unlikely after England slipped to 98-6.

“Whether it was important to show what I could do, I don't know, but I went in in a position when the team needed me to get stuck in, and getting runs for the team was the important bit,” said Prior.

“I played a county match against Steven Finn and he blocked out for 12 overs which was thoroughly annoying but as he walked to the wicket today I said something along the lines of ‘Same again please mate.’

“He did such a fantastic job, not only in the way he played, but what he contributed to the partnership in between overs, in terms of gameplans and all those things. He did all that was expected of him, and more."

Pakistan will resume on day four needing 420 runs for victory with seven wickets in hand. Having dismissed the tourists for 182 in their first innings, England will expect to assert their dominance in the morning session.