Test cricket is a peculiar game, but Pakistan cricket is still loud. For an unfortunate low Old Trafford Chris Woakes – edges, let’s be honest – pushed Shaheen Afridi through third slip, where for some reason a catcher was not present. The ball rolled away for four, and England celebrated a famous win against a Pakistan side that had made this match so sawn that it was impossible to follow where it all came from.
Four days ago, there may even have been a sense of angry pride on the side that England are taking on the edge. Pakistan came, after all, in the series of solid underdogs, after not winning an outside Test match since the last time they visited England two years ago. They went through a transition of sorts, slammed the captain last year, and attempted to bleed a raw, though delightfully exciting, tempo attack that had its best years before it. They had not played cricket at all for months, while England were still cooling off after a highly intense three-match series against the West Indies, after having just played two consecutive Tests at Old Trafford, the site of their first match against Pakistan.
Once the dust is settled, the more measured voices in the camp, such as head coach Misbah-ul-Haq, may try to remind themselves of all that in a bid to prevent ghosts from taking a hit before the second test in just four days begins. However, maintaining that sense of perspective will be particularly difficult, as Pakistan remembers the number of times they could have killed England from the dead before the match came to a close. Shortly 24 hours earlier, they found themselves back on a 107-run lead, and anything like the suck the visitors had in the first innings would have ensured they did not leave Manchester behind the three-stroke series.
Earlier in the day, Azhar Ali’s men found themselves in a somewhat inaccessible position, after deflecting half of England’s side with 160 runs still available. Jos Buttler, after experiencing a difficult test match, found himself playing handball alongside Woakes, who averaged 5.22 with the ball over his past seven tests. That his side throws such important advantages stunk especially Captain Azhar, who acknowledged Pakistan’s inability to kill the game when they had the chance.
“I would not say we lost the game inside [our] second innings, but we missed an opportunity to knock England out of the game there, “he said. That’s a missed opportunity. But only once has such an enormous total ever been pursued at Old Trafford. We were on top and with the tail coming in, we were sure we would refill it if one wicket fell more. But they fell off the attack and snatched the game away from us. We regret an opportunity to build partnerships in that second inning, which meant we could not set them up for a 300-plus yacht, and that was a factor in our loss.
“I’ve been playing Test cricket for a long time and I know Test cricket is hard. It’s never over until it’s over. This has been shown again today. The good thing is that everyone is stepping up to their task and unfortunately we are overwhelmed by a brilliant collaboration.Yes, in hindsight a lot of things can be done but when they came and attacked the spinners, sweep shots and reverse sweeps play.It all worked for him.Unfortunately nothing worked for us and if you play innings like that “You have to be a little bit lucky and have luck with their favorites. Sometimes you just have to give credit to the opposition.”
There will be sections in Pakistan, however, not likely to be pleased by the generous praise for Buttler and Woakes, instead honing in on some of the decisions Azhar made when the game became twitchy. Michael Atherton, commenting on Sky, pointed out earlier in the day that Azhar had never captained the site in a test match that fell to the wire, and questioned whether that lack of experience could harm Pakistan’s visitors themselves. under pressure must find. The call to delay Yasir Shah’s ball 40 minutes after tea was both unexpected and unsuccessful, as were some of the field positions, not least the absence of the third slip that Woakes England pointed to after the victory.
His loss of personal form over the past few years with the bat is a compounding factor. Azhar has hit 139 runs in his past 12 away Test innings, and has never crossed 40 in that time. It’s a run that has seen him score three ends, including one in the first innings here, and not cross a single figure eight times. He may have missed a certain astuteness in the field here, but the fact that he only got the captaincy, because Pakistan felt that Sarfaraz Ahmed’s careless decline in batting form made his position unsustainable, is one he will be very aware of fan.
“After ten years of playing international cricket, I understand when I have to make certain decisions. When I bat, I do not think of the captain, even though I am not out of shape. And when I am captain, I do think. not at all to my handball, or I scored a 100 or 0. That’s the captain’s job. There’s a lot of disappointment that we had this game in the palm of our hands, and we lead on most points in the game, but that can happen sometimes.We have a great record in England, it is a better record than any other Asian side here.We must have won this game too, so I do not think we are in England as such struggle, and I’m sure we can challenge in the remaining two games.
“We just have to give Woakes and Buttler credit. They took the game to the fifth wicket of the first ball. They started playing shots and this is one of the best collaborations in the recent past. We were in control of it. game; we were one punch away from finishing the game, but they came and dominated us during that period.Sometimes we were a little sorry, but for the most part they were brilliant.They knew it would not be possible to to win when they kept batting the normal way.Maybe when the ball got a little softer, it did not do as much as it did when he was new, especially for the quicks.Butler, when he is against spin, can “Playing 360 degrees, so it’s hard to set up an attacking field on him. He put pressure on us, it worked for him, and he outplayed us during that period.”
Pakistan do not have much time to mend their wounds, and will have to adjust their view to Southampton, where the remaining two Test matches will be played. However, with loss of testing going up, the journey south could be a restless one for Azhar.
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