England were 302 for seven in reply to Pakistan's first-innings 174, a lead of 128 runs, at the close of the second day of the second Test at Headingley on Saturday.
Jos Buttler was 34 not out and Sam Curran 16 not out.
Earlier, Dominic Bess belied his position as a night watchman by guiding England into a first-innings lead against Pakistan on a rain-marred day.
England were 199 for three at tea, 25 runs in front, after rain meant there was no play before lunch.
Bess was 40 not out, having scored 57 on debut during England's thumping nine-wicket defeat by Pakistan in the first Test at Lord's.
Together with Dawid Malan (27 not out) he had put on an unbroken 61 for the fourth wicket after England captain Joe Root fell for 43 to the disappointment of his Yorkshire home crowd.
England were 106 for two, 68 runs adrift of Pakistan's lowly 174, when play eventually got underway at 2:45pm (local time) some several hours after the scheduled 11am start time.
Root was 29 not out and Bess, who came in as a nightwatchman late Friday following Alastair Cook's exit for 44, unbeaten on nought.
Bess, selected primarily as an off-spinner but yet to take a Test wicket, made light of the overcast, bowler-friendly conditions to cover-drive left-arm quick Mohammad Amir for a well-struck four.
It was one of several stylish boundaries hit by the 20-year-old Bess that included a well-timed on-drive off Mohammad Abbas.
With Bess playing shots worthy of a top-order batsman, England lost Root.