Chris Stocks reports after England’s win at Old Trafford
PAKISTAN went from push-up heroes to pushovers in little more than a week as they buckled under the huge weight of runs plundered by England captain Alastair Cook and his deputy Joe Root in Manchester.
Cook said England would use Pakistan’s celebrations following their first Lord’s win in 20 years, when they did a group press-up routine in front of the pavilion, as motivation for the rest of the series. But whatever the hosts did to raise their performance levels for this second Test, it worked as they hammered the tourists by 330 runs at Old Trafford. This series is now poised at 1-1 heading into the final two Tests at Edgbaston and The Oval. However, England will feel they can continue to dominate, especially if Root and Cook keep scoring so freely. England’s captain had luck on his side on the first morning when he won his first toss in five against opposite number Misbah-ul-Haq, and chose to bat. Cook went on to make 105, before scoring his fastest Test halfcentury, in 55 balls, during his side’s second innings on the fourth and final day. It was Root, though, that this match belonged to, the Yorkshireman’s highest Test score of 254 followed by a stunning 38-ball half-century on the final morning as England went in search of the extra runs that sapped Pakistan’s spirit even further. Cook could have enforced the follow-on when, in reply to his side’s mammoth firstinnings total of 589-8 declared, Pakistan were hustled out for 198 on day three. He decided against that, bringing widespread condemnation from assorted pundits. In the end it didn’t matter as
England completed the job with more than 25 overs of the fourth day to spare, Pakistan dismissed for 234 in their second innings to complete a thumping defeat.
“I think any good team is judged by how they come back from bad performances,” said England coach Trevor Bayliss.
“The guys were disappointed with how they played at Lord’s, but they were prepared to make up for it here.”
The match was settled from the moment England won the toss.
Making good use of a flat track, the home batsmen, led by Cook and Root’s huge second-wicket stand of 185, negotiated Pakistan’s trio of left-arm quicks with ease.
Mohammad Amir may have bowled a couple of special deliveries to dismiss Alex Hales cheaply and then Cook later in the day, but he did not pose the consistent threat Pakistan had hoped he would after Lord’s.
The key to England’s win was the way they played leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who had terrorised the home batsmen when taking ten wickets during Pakistan’s win at Lord’s.
Root, in particular, reined in his attacking instincts against Yasir following his first-innings dismissal against the Pakistani in the first Test and he reaped spectacular rewards.
“Joe was hard on himself after Lord’s, he spent a lot of time in the nets,” said Bayliss. “He’s shown the less experienced players in the team how to go about reacting to disappointment.”
Yasir took just one wicket in this match, Misbah commenting afterwards that perhaps he had felt the pressure at Old Trafford.
As it was, with Yasir’s threat contained, England made merry with the bat and the sheer weight of scoreboard pressure told on Pakistan’s batsmen as a home attack, rejuvenated by the presence of the returning James Anderson and Ben Stokes, ran riot.
Anderson was almost unplayable at times on his home ground and Stokes followed his lead before the calf injury on the final day that now appears to have cut short his series.
Yet Chris Woakes, fresh from his 11 wickets at Lord’s, followed up here with another seven and a composed half-century with the bat to show again he can not only fill the void left by Stokes’ absence but perform at this level in his own right.
Moeen Ali, too, showed improvement, taking three wickets with his off-spin on the final day – and five overall in the match – to ease the pressure on his place that had followed a toothless performance at Lord’s.
In all, England can be delighted with a performance that again showed their remarkable powers of recovery.
This is now their third win in as many years following Test defeats at Lord’s, with the previous two against India in 2014 and Australia 12 months later.
Both of those were followed by series victories. If this match is any guide, it appears history is about to repeat itself.