Before Ben Stokes and his band of venturers set their minds and might to the task, England had only two Test-match wins to show from 61 years of touring Pakistan. Now Captain Fantastic has doubled that tally in just two weeks, proof positive, if it was required, that something special is stirring in England’s red-ball team.
Their second victory, by 26 runs in Multan, was closer in terms of defeat than the first – whose drama was heightened only because England nearly ran out of time – but it still came with a day and a session remaining. So quickly does this England team score that time appears added to the game, leaving nowhere to hide.
For many a win is a win, though there will be those who say England ought to have beaten a weakened Pakistan team more decisively. But close-run games require character and this team appears to have it in abundance, winning just about every big moment during this and the previous match.
The England team also has a captain, Stokes, who not only holds his nerve, but looks calm and in control, at least on the field. Whether he manages that because he and head coach, Brendon McCullum, have taken the shame out of losing, is not clear.
But when the team is under pressure – as England were when Pakistan needed 65 runs to win with five wickets remaining just before lunch on day four – having a leader who exudes confidence helps to inspire players and Mark Wood was duly roused.
Not that it takes much to motivate Wood, a fast bowler who has endured a stop-start career due to a slew of injuries.
He only has one setting, maximum effort, which mostly proves highly effective, though I believe he would be an even better bowler had he managed to play even half the 70 Tests he missed through injury.
Express pace is a formidable weapon even on docile pitches. Suddenly, from being in control, Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Nawaz, who had added 80 runs, looked shaky as Wood banged in short to mess with their minds and footwork.
Getting both batsmen caught by the keeper down the leg-side is not a plan even ‘Bazball’ would claim credit for, but by fiddling with the leg-side field, Stokes put the batsmen in two minds as to which shot might be their best option against Wood’s raw aggression.
As it turned out, the fend off the ribcage and the flap was not it and a diving Ollie Pope took two catches, the second one controversial after the third umpire, Joel Wilson, decided the ball had not been grounded when DRS replays appeared to show otherwise.
Some blamed the ‘soft signal’ of ‘out’ given by on-field umpire Aleem Dar for the failure of Wilson not to overturn the decision against the left-handed Shakeel, who had made a fine 94.
As I understand it the soft signal is only given in the event of the technology failing, not as a guide to the third umpire, who must judge matters solely from the evidence presented to him. Whether that was Wilson’s understanding only he knows, but he upheld Dar’s soft signal.
Under Stokes and McCullum the England team’s mission is to make Test cricket more exciting and watchable, one they have undertaken with the unquestioning fervour of zealots.
But winning also matters and there was more pragmatism shown towards that goal, especially in England’s second innings when both Stokes and Harry Brook reined in excess to build a telling stand of 101.
At that point England could have put the match beyond Pakistan but the loss of their last five wickets for 25 runs gave the home side a chance to level the series. It seemed unnecessarily careless of the visitors but maybe, as in Rawalpindi, Stokes felt that dangling the carrot to Pakistan represented England’s best chance of winning even with two-and-a-half days remaining.
A clean sweep now beckons for Stokes and his team when they reach Karachi for Saturday’s final Test, something no visiting team has ever achieved in Pakistan – not in a three-match series.
But do they pay heed to the glory another win would bring, or do they rest tired bowlers and thrust others into the fray such as 18-year old wrist-spinner Rehan Ahmed?
Spin appears to be a weak point in this England side though it may surprise some to learn that Jack Leach’s Test record is better than that of both Phil Tufnell and Ashley Giles, and about the same as Monty Panesar’s, at least for average runs per wicket taken.
In Multan, Pakistan gave a debut to their mystery spinner, Abrar Ahmed, and were rewarded with 11 wickets, though whether England will do the same with Rehan, who has played just three first-class games and could potentially leak runs, remains to be seen.
For those lauding the simplicity and clarity of ‘Bazball’ and its attacking intent, this control versus wickets debate will seem ponderous and irrelevant.
Yet as Stokes acknowledged after England’s latest win, it was the pace bowlers who won the Test and they did that largely through the iron fist of control with the odd magic ball thrown in. Which shows that even the best constitutions can be tweaked to suit the moment.
MORE : Gob-smacking Bazball proving as successful as it is seductive as England stun Pakistan
MORE : Vibrant approach from England will be put to the test on unfamiliar territory in Pakistan
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