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Moving on to Duckett, who has had a brilliant tour so far. Of all the players, he seems to have bought into McStokes more than any, hearing him talk about them is touching, and although he joked with Butcher that he is worried about becoming a sub-continental specialist, Butcher told him that he is better to be a specialist somewhere than nowhere. .
Back to Brook, Finn says he hated tall hitters because he felt they could stifle his length, and Brook is very good at picking length. Abrar was bowling very well and was bowled by Brook; his feet are so quick, Butcher adds, and it will be exciting to see how he stacks up against the quick Aussies in the summer.
Butcher, however, does not believe Stokes was being entirely honest about his own bowling. He may have been confident in his offense without him, but there were times he would have struggled if not for the knee situation. I guess he won’t play much in Karachi either, but you never know with superheroes.
As for Karachi, they wonder whether to give Wood a break to bring in Overton, and Ahmed a debut with Jacks sitting out. No resolution is reached, but Butcher says Stokes really understands the pace of cricket in the subcontinent – sometimes you work with a spinner and you don’t whip your seamers just because, because there will be times when it works for them, when it’s being reversed . in particular, and you need them fresh for those times. I guess Stokes being fast is very helpful in that aspect, but we shouldn’t ignore that feel he has for the game, which is special.
Nas then praises Rob Key, who made the right big decisions in terms of style and personnel, and stays out of the spotlight; Athers tells him that’s enough, so Nas ends with the line “they said it was a job for the boys, but the boy did a really good job”. This is very beautiful.
Athers then goes on to say that they don’t spend too much time on the nets, practicing like crazy. They work hard, but the point is to give it your all for six hours of play, then enjoy each other and wherever they are the rest of the time so they’re ready to compete as hard as they can when it counts. This is very significant, because cricket is so demanding for so long, especially with the current schedule, that working in an environment that prioritizes well-being and fun must be seriously inspiring.
On Harry Brook, Nas says he’d be good in any setting: During the blowout, Joe Root told him he was one of the talkers. Then there’s a lovely moment as Brook walks by, blushing; imagine how that must feel! – and Nas says he’s no fool. He knew he played a terrible shot in the first inning, so he made sure to fix it in the second.
Nas believes the England management will not be entirely satisfied with what they have seen, and will encourage the players to play a little differently because against a better team they would have lost this game. Athers, for his part, believes that Stokes will become one of England’s great captains. It’s more or less the same team that failed so miserably in the Ashes, but clear strategy has changed everything, along with the idea that losing doesn’t matter so much, they’ll see what happens.
Here’s Ali Martin’s match report…
Stokes is now with Athers, praising how the batsmen applied themselves. When the wickets were falling in the first innings, they kept the pressure on the bowlers and reflected that England have won two Tests in two weeks after winning two in 60-0dd years, he is obviously very angry. But he always wants to stay in the moment of where the team is, rather than thinking that if we do this, this could happen; in the third innings another team could have held on to get to 400 but he wanted the team to play their way and on another day they would have made as many.
They picked Wood to be the game-changing option and he was; the two men in the middle seemed fixed, but what made it easier for him was that they were very clear when explaining their role. They knew that Pakistan were not comfortable against short and quick stuff, and that, especially with the skill of Anderson and Robinson at the other end, made them a massive threat.
Athers tells him that England’s strategy seems to be a quick goal and some good seamers; Stokes says bowling in England is one thing, but mastering the seam in Pakistan is unusual. From the first test, however, he saw that they were good enough to dominate.
About Pakistan, he says he doesn’t feel like he’s playing away from home; they just want to go and play entertaining cricket that people want to watch, wherever they are, and for people to stop talking about the longest form being the form. this is to die They try to create a team style and culture that makes people want to be a part of it, and there are sure to be players everywhere who want to join, no matter how good they are at T20 or what have you.
In the study, Mark Butcher points out that against a better batting line-up, England would not have had enough runs, but the pressure they are putting teams under is so considerable that it affects their opponents. Steve Finn then says that if a captain wanted him to bowl two before an interval, he wouldn’t particularly want it, but Stokes sees it as your chance to do something to help the team.
Ben Stokes says the conditions were different to Pindi and it was a different but equally great game to be a part of, going down to the wire. When asked about judging a goal, look at the conditions, and they were lucky that from one end, cracks opened up that brought their seams into the game, and Robinson, Wood and Anderson pounced, whipping their bodies for the team. He knows that as captain these three will deliver for him more often than not, and that’s why he didn’t turn his arm.
He congratulates Abrar on his debut, but other teams wouldn’t have marked him the way England did, and he’s proud his players stayed aggressive and kept building.
Babar says Pakistan lost control of the game with soft dismissals in the first innings and while they improved in the second, it wasn’t enough. They didn’t finish well as a batting unit, but it was a “dream start” for Abrar, who used the conditions and is now looking forward to Karachi. He looks pretty disappointed, as you’d expect.
Harry Brook is the man of the match. He tried to learn from his mistake in the first innings and not be too aggressive but still put pressure on the bowler. They knew the pitch would spin because Pakistan were asking for it, but they didn’t bat as well as they could have done in the first innings. However, they wanted to play their way and be aggressive in the second half, and that worked out well.
Oh yeah, morning everyone and thanks Rob! Which day! What a team! What the hell is going on!
Mark Wood says England are shattered physically and emotionally. “You don’t want to let your teammates down,” he says. “Stokesy” told him to go change the game, he explains, and although Nawaz batted well, they knew they could pass the tail. He didn’t expect Abrar to come to a knock, and he explains that he had been bowling a bit throughout the match, so strangling the wickets wasn’t exactly a plan, he was just trying to clear it up. Back to Stokes, he says the way he leads the team is fantastic and he would go through a brick wall for him. The effort that the team has had to make to win here is, he says, immense, and he wants to continue applying to England as long as he can.
Updated at 09.10 GMT
I’m struggling, so I’ll hand it over to Daniel Harris for the autopsy. Thanks for your company, goodbye!
Before this tour, England had won two Tests in Pakistan in 60 years. Now they’ve won two in as many weeks, and they’ve done it by playing the most exciting cricket. What have we done to deserve this?
“Well done to England, but that wicket by Shakeel is big,” says Robert Speed. “I didn’t think it was out.”
Eight of the ten wickets in the second innings were taken by the sandblasters, quite an effort on such a lifeless pitch. Jimmy Anderson and Ollie Robinson were masterful, and Mark Wood opened the innings with some tough stuff just before lunch. Many of Ben Stokes’ decisions went out; it’s really hard to believe the impact he and Brendon McCullum have had on this team.
ENGLAND WIN BY 26 RUNS!
WICKET! Pakistan 328 all out (Alic Pope b Robinson 0) Ollie Robinson has sealed a famous series win for England. He was brought back into the attack and struck with his first ball when Ali came out at his back and bowled Ollie Pope.
This is another brilliant win for England, the eighth in nine games under the remarkable Ben Stokes, and gives them a rare series win in Asia. We don’t know how long it will last, it could all blow up before or during the Ashes, but we should savor every minute because we have never seen an England team play like this.
Updated at 08.32 GMT
102nd over: Pakistan 328-9 (Salman 20, Ali 0) Brilliant batting from Salman! After four dot balls from Wood, he puts the last two deliveries for four. Pakistan need 27 to win.
Updated at 08.28 GMT
101st over: Pakistan 320-9 (Salman 11, Ali 0) Ben Stokes, ever the player, brings on Jack Leach to tempt Agha Salman. Indeed, Salman rightly sweeps the fourth ball for a single and Ali blocks the last two deliveries. Pakistan need 35 to win.
100th: Pakistan 319-9 (Salman 11, Ali 0) Mohammad Ali almost survives five balls from Wood. I’ve been looking at the best English bowlers in overseas Tests (minimum: 50 wickets), and it’s no surprise that Wood is at the top of the list. It’s interesting to see Angus Fraser, who was often disparaged as a typical English opener, getting ahead of some very good fast bowlers.