Andrew Flintoff's tireless spirit kept English hopes alive on a fourth day in Faisalabad to make all but the bravest bowlers wilt.

The England all-rounder could reflect only on unremarkable figures as Pakistan's second innings was pegged back to 183 for six - an overall lead of 199 - but when Michael Vaughan counted his men in tonight there was surely an extra slap on the back in appreciation of Flintoff's contribution.

It was he who took two wickets in two balls shortly after tea to boot the door ajar for a team whose time was rapidly running out to force the result they need here to stand any chance of coming from one down in a three-match contest and claim a seventh successive Test series victory.

Win, lose or draw today, Flintoff could have done no more on the eve of Ian Botham's 50th birthday to prove that, for his never-say-die qualities alone, he is beginning to bear comparison with his country's greatest all-rounder.

Flintoff (3-46) could have been forgiven for crying 'Enough' when Inzamam-ul-Haq 'Chinese-cut' him for four and Vaughan gave him the option of taking a breather. Instead he asked for another over, in which he had Mohammad Yousuf edging on and then next ball knocked out the dangerous Shahid Afridi's middle-stump with a perfectly-pitched reverse-swinging delivery.

''I asked for one more over. The ball was reversing a little bit, and I'd hit quite a nice rhythm from that end,'' he said. ''I was running in quite nicely and I felt I had another couple in me.''

He meant overs but was right on the wickets score too - and they were big ones, Yousuf, whose dismissal ended a fourth-wicket stand of 56, and Afridi, the man who had laid waste to the England attack in his run-a-ball first-innings 92.

''We saw from the way he played the other day Afridi can take a game away from you very quickly, so it's crucial to get him out cheaply if you can,'' said Flintoff.

''I just wanted to get it on top of off-stump and it nipped back quite nicely to pretty much where I wanted it.''

Flintoff was reaping his and his team's reward for the endeavour of all 11 players as they strove for the breakthroughs on a wicket which was still very much favouring the batsmen.

''We just stuck in all day - everybody worked hard,'' he said.

''We've seen out here a couple of quick wickets can change the game and we've managed to get back in it a little bit.

''Out here the cricket's so tough that any opportunity you get to win a game you have to go for it.''

One man neither Flintoff nor any other Englishman could shift, though, was Pakistan captain Inzamam, whose brick-wall defiance put him on the verge by stumps of another half-century to go with the 23rd Test hundred he made in the first innings.

The tourists eked out their first wicket of the day when Flintoff saw off Shoaib Malik, the opener driving uppishly to cover - much as he had when he was out in the first innings. Otherwise, though, Vaughan ran through all his frontline options to no avail as Salman Butt (50) and number three Younis Khan dug in. Flintoff in particular was inventive as he tried to make things happen with changes of pace, hand action and line of attack, but on a surface like this the best hope for a wicket remained batsman error. When England did get their second break it came from an innocuous Matthew Hoggard loosener, Younis playing across a straight ball to go lbw.

They had a little luck on their side too over the dismissal only four runs later of Butt, who would not have been on strike for another lbw verdict - won by Shaun Udal from a delivery which might well have gone on to miss leg - had umpire Darrell Hair not sent the left-hander back when he picked up a 'single' from the previous ball only to be judged to have run straight up the middle of the wicket.

Under the laws of the game, the course Butt took was enough for a 'dead ball' signal.

Yousuf and Inzamam each had a scare before tea, the former mis-hitting a lofted drive at Udal just over mid-off and his captain struck in line with off stump as Flintoff appealed for an lbw decision which might easily have been successful.

Inzamam continued to evade England, but after Flintoff's best there was a bonus wicket from his fellow fast-bowler Steve Harmison, who struck just before the close when Kamran Akmal followed old-ball swing to be caught behind.

Durham's Harmison had done his bit with the bat too at the other end of the day in a last-wicket stand with Udal which stole 47 precious runs to sneak the total up to 446 all out, after it had looked likely England would finish awkwardly adrift on first innings as leg spinner Afridi (4-95) threatened to make short work of the tail.

It was a passage of play which frustrated Pakistan and could be highly significant in a tight match, a point not lost on Flintoff.

''Harmy has always been able to bat and he played some great shots, as did Shaun.

That last-wicket stand just got us back into the game a little bit,'' he said. There may be some truth in that, but there was no question yesterday day who was England's most important player.