Triumph at last

Pakistan defeating England in a test series at home would not usually be classified as an upset. The English have only won three test series in this country over the past seven decades. That being said, given the disastrous results that preceded the Pakistan team’s latest victory, this has to go down as one of the most stunning and timely upsets that the team has ever pulled off. This is only magnified by the fact that Pakistan had not won a home test series since February 2021. An ignominious streak of four winless home series has now been broken. The boys in green followed up their 152-run victory in Multan with a nine-wicket triumph in England, sealing the three test series with a 2-1 victory. As is often the case with Pakistan cricket, it was the bowlers who shined. Spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali tormented the English batters, combining for ten wickets to bowl the visitors out for a mere 112 runs in their second innings. This gave Pakistan the very achievable target of 36 runs to win the game, which they made comfortably for the loss of just one wicket. Sajjad Ali claimed six wickets for 128 runs in the first innings and four wickets for just 69 runs in England’s second, rounding out a very impressive 10-wicket haul. His partner Noman Ali was similarly devastating, claiming three English scalps for just 88 runs in the first innings and a stunning six wickets for 42 runs in England’s second.

If there were any alterations to the traditional ‘bowlers save the day’ narrative, it was the kind of bowlers that pulled off the rescue. No one can confuse Sajid and Noman for Wasim and Waqar, despite the similarity of the end result. The former are the spin/slow bowlers who have dwelt in the shadows of the sultans of swing and pace epitomized by the latter for much of Pakistan’s cricket history. As such, Pakistan is an outlier in the South Asian cricket scene in this way as the region’s dry, flat and dusty pitches have often been seen as unfriendly to fast bowlers. While this has not stopped Pakistan from producing many quality fast bowlers over the years, it might be wise to focus on developing the team’s spin bowling capabilities going forward. And if Pakistan wants to ditch its unofficial title as the most unpredictable team in cricket, there will be no getting around producing batters who can perform at a high level consistently. The only outstanding performance with the bat in the final test came from Saud Shakeel, who went for 134 runs in Pakistan’s first innings.

Given the whitewash at the hands of Bangladesh that preceded this series and the innings loss to England that kicked it off, victory in the last two tests brings some much needed relief. The task now is to make sure that our winning ways are back for good and that the cricket team’s performances actually reflect both its own talent and the resources the country pours into it. The dropping of several star players including former captain Babar Azam and star fast bowler Shaheen Afridi for this series now looks like a winning move. However, the struggles of these players typify what often happens to Pakistani cricketers once they reach the top. Getting the big names to perform consistently will be a prerequisite for sustained success. Beyond squad issues, there are also more structural concerns that the PCB needs to have a look at. The domestic cricket scene, particularly when it comes to the longer format of the game, needs to be revamped and greater efforts need to be made to build talent at the grassroots level. Then there is the Pakistan Super League (PSL) to consider. While franchise cricket has helped bring a lot of money and attention to our cricketers, it is important to ensure that this does not come at the expense of success at the national level.