Last Updated on 4 months by Charbel Coorey
1. Missed opportunity
A gritty century stand between England’s first change bowler Chris Woakes and under fire wicket-keeper-batsman Jos Buttler guided England to a famous three-wicket victory against a young and inexperienced Pakistan outfit in the first Test. It would be the only game that went on to produce a winner and loser throughout the series, with rain having the final say in both the second and third games.
The Pakistan side were well ahead of the English throughout the game after a splendid 156 by Shan Masood, assisted by a very flamboyant half century from their most talented player in Babar Azam. The two guided their side to a respectable 326 which, on a lively Manchester wicket, was above par.
In the first innings, a three-pronged pace attack consisting of the more experienced and highly skillful Mohammad Abbas, and the two young speedsters in Shaheen Afridi (20) and Naseem Shah (17), devastated the English top four, who only managed 26 runs between them.
Some minor resistance came in the form of the young Ollie Pope who top scored with a very mature and respectable 62 runs. The English were skittled out for 219 thanks to some aggressive spin bowling from Yasir Shah who claimed 4-66 in his 18 overs.
Not too many Test matches are lost with a lead over 100 runs going into the second half of the game, but if one side were to throw away such a position, it would have to be the Pakistanis. The English quicks, and Broad in particular were very good and along with some with very ‘immature’ batting and a couple of soft dismissals here and there, Pakistan were bundled out for a cheap 169. However, they were still well ahead of the game, but the door had been left open for an unlikely English victory.
At 117-5, with a bowler and wicket-keeper at the crease facing a hostile bowling attack, it seemed like this assessment was right. What unfolded over the next 40 odd overs can only be described as a ‘choke’ on the part of Pakistan. There was stilly plenty of time left in the Test match to produce a winner and loser, but the inexperience of the bowlers was really exposed. They became impatient and began to ‘search’ for wickets as opposed to simply executing the fundamentals consistently which served them well and ultimately got them into the position, they were in.
Having said that, credit must be given to Woakes and Butler who could have quite easily gone into their shell and looked to ‘ooze’ the required runs over a much longer period of time. Instead they looed to place the pressure back on the bowlers by showing positive intent in their batting. They respected the good deliveries, used their feet to the spinner and kept the scoreboard ticking. It was a phenomenal partnership and a victory they are unlikely to forget for a long time.
2. The 600 club
A 38-year-old Jimmy Anderson has once again silenced his critics that have been calling for his retirement for a number of years with 11 scalps at 23 a piece in the series. It is clear that Anderson not only still has what it takes to play Test cricket, but also to be highly competitive in the face of top opposition.
He is arguably the most talented fast bowler over the last two decades given his ability to extract conventional swing in both directions, at will. It is something we haven’t quite seen since the days of Wasim Akram and it is a tool that can be used to counter any left/right combination that a top order has on offer.
Over and above the 11 wickets picked up during the series, Anderson became the first fast bowler to join the elite 600 wicket club which is home to only Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble. It is a testament to his longevity, fitness and skill and given the direction that the modern game is heading, I believe it is a record that will stand the test of time.
The English selectors will need to make one or two very tough decisions in the near future when Ben Stokes is once again able to bowl as well as when the side tour India where they are likely to field an extra spinner. This could mean that two of the four current fast bowlers will lose their place in the side going into that series.
With a fast bowling arsenal consisting of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and Sam Curran, we may see England adopt a rotation policy in conditions not conducive to fast bowling.
3. Have England finally found their number three?
It is common knowledge that England have struggled to establish a formidable top three since the days of Strauss, Cook, and Bell. A number of players and combinations have been tried over the last decade or so, all yielding mediocre results.
The recent inclusion of 24-year-old Dom Sibley and 22-year-old Zak Crawley has given the top order some much needed appeal. Dom Sibley looks a fantastic prospect. He is a traditional Test opener who likes to take his time and build an innings around a very solid defense. He looks particularly good through the onside and will undoubtedly develop a more well-rounded game as his career progresses.
Having said that, it was young Zak Crawley who really dominated the headlines with his superb 393-ball 267 in Southampton. England lost their opener Rory Burns relatively early which meant that Zak Crawley was tasked with surviving a very tricky period against some quality fast bowling. Once settled, Crawley dispatched the Pakistan bowlers to every corner of the ground with relative ease and I’d go as far as saying that I have not seen an Englishman dismantle a bowling attack in that fashion since the days of Kevin Pietersen.
What really caught my eye was not necessarily the amount of runs he accumulated, but rather how he accumulated them. At no point did he really open the front leg and look to have a whack over cow corner, but rather, he played very orthodox and traditional low risk strokes all around the ground. He completely nullified Yasir Shah with his footwork which will given the English selectors some confidence in his ability to bat at three in the upcoming away series to Indian where he will be met with far tougher conditions and arguably the best spinners that Test cricket has to offer.
4. The rise of Jos
In England’s four most recent series prior to Pakistan, Jos Butler averaged 30.20 against the West Indies, 16.42 against South Africa, 21.50 against New Zealand, and 24.70 against Australia. Hardly an impressive record for a player who has been tipped as the most destructive batsman in ODI cricket.
The calls for his dropping have come from all over the cricketing world with plenty of talented and younger up and coming players ready to take the gloves. I believe that that the initial plan of the English selectors was to mold Butler into an Adam Gilchrist type of role whereby he could come in after the foundation had been set up by the top six which would allow him to play his natural and highly effective game.
Adam Gilchrist was a powerful asset to the Australian side for the decade that he played. His ability to bat at 4-6 an over with relative ease gifted the Australians the opportunity to win matches that would be considered ‘dead rubbers’ by most other sides.
The difference between Adam Gilchrist and Jos Butler however is the top six that precede them. Jos has found himself at the crease far sooner than a wicket-keeper should be and he has had to evolve his approach to batting for the longer format.
As previously mentioned, England were a batsman light all series and Jos seemed to relish the extra responsibility. In his four innings, he managed 265 runs at 88.33 including a big hundred in the third Test. Also, he was far tidier with the gloves this series, taking one of the best catches I’ve seen from a gloveman in recent times.
I’m by no means making the argument that one or two innings absolves him from his underwhelming record, but I can say with dome degree of confidence that he seems to be finding his feet at the right time. As mentioned before, the conditions and bowlers in India will offer a far tougher contest than what they’ve experienced over the last month or so at home, but I believe that they will feel far more prepared, settled, and equipped to compete with the powerhouse that is Indian cricket than they were not too long ago.
5. Azhar Ali bounces back
For Pakistan to have been competitive throughout the series, they would have needed senior players to really put their hands up in key situations. Azhar Ali, Pakistan’s best batsman, is one of those senior players but who, in the first two Tests, failed to impress. He registered scores of 0, 18 and 20 which, in an already fragile looking top six, does not bode well for Pakistan cricket.
Having said that, I’m happy to attribute his lack of runs to simply not having played Test cricket against top opposition since November of last year. Azhar found his footing in the third and final Test after England’s mammoth 583/8d. The Pakistan players looked to be batting on a completely different wicket as Jimmy Anderson wreaked havoc with his 29th five-wicket-haul.
Ali stood firm for nearly seven hours and, in typical Ali-like fashion, showed us what valuing your wicket truly looks like. He finished his innings on 141 (more than half his teams runs) and ultimately bought Pakistan enough time to hold out for the draw and some much-needed points in the ICC Test Championship.
It was a true captains knock from one of my favorite players who looks all too alone in a middle order that is absent of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. Having said that, with the rise of Babar Azam, as well as some gutsy knocks from Mohammad Rizwan, in combination with the young and highly potent bowling attack, I believe that Pakistan cricket is in decent enough shape to compete with the best in the world.
Written by Daniel Orsmond. Follow Daniel on Twitter today.
Also read other Daniel Orsmond articles on CricBlog!
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