It was a successful season for England as they had also won the Test series against West Indies (2-1) earlier.

With another series victory, England are now close to Australia in the World Test Championship table with 292 points. The Englishmen are now only four points behind Australia (296). Pakistan remain at fifth position with 166 points. India remain on the top with 360 points.

Pakistan lost the first Test at Manchester although, at one stage, England were 117-5 while chasing 277 on a difficult pitch. The sixth-wicket partnership of 139 between Jos Buttler (75) and Chris Woakes (84 not out) gave the home team an unexpected three-wicket win.

Pakistan bowling attack consisting of Shaheen Afridi, Muhammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan failed to break the partnership that cost Pakistan not only the Test but the series as well.

Only leg-spinner Yasir (8-165) created some problems for England in the Test.

The second Test at Southampton ended in a draw as only 134.3 overs play was possible because of rain.

In the third Test, personal milestones were achieved as Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali completed 6,000 Test runs and England pacer James Anderson became the first fast bowler with 600 Test wickets.

Azhar is the fifth Pakistani player to score 6000 runs. The first four were Javed Miandad, Inzamamul Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan.

Azhar made his Test debut in 2010 and in 10 years he has played 81 Tests for his country. Overall, he has now scored 6129 runs, including 17 centuries and 31 fifties, at an average of 42.86.

His average is 37.07 in the matches in which he led the Pakistan team, lower than his career average of 42.86. It shows that captaincy pressure has affected his batting.

Against England his performance has been below par compared to his overall performance. His average against the English team is 34.79 in 17 matches. And in England, his average is 33.19.

Opener Shan Masood started with 156 runs in the first innings of the Test series, but failed to keep the momentum and scored only 21 runs in next four innings.

Overall, Pakistan’s openers have a horrible record in England. Since 1987, their average opening partnership is just around 25, lower than all countries other than Zimbabwe and Ireland.

In England, Pakistan has tested more opening pairs (18) than any other side. In the 2006 series, Pakistan tried four opening pairs.

Asad Shafiq is a talented Test player, but there is a question mark on his consistency. He has played 72 consecutive Tests for Pakistan. But in the latest England series he failed miserably. The 34-year-old Asad managed just 67 runs in the series without any fifty.

In England, his performance remains unsatisfactory as he has scored only 432 runs in 15 innings, including one hundred and two fifties. His average is just 28.80.

It was a disappointing tour for recalled batsman Fawad Alam. He was included in the squad after a decade. He managed only 21 runs in three innings. In the first innings of his comeback, he failed to open his account.

Wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan once again proved his selection right in the Test series as he scored 161 runs in the series, including two fifties, at an average of 40.25.

He also dismissed six batsmen with five catches and one stumping. His 72 in the second Test prevented Pakistan from humiliation. His half-century in the last Test was a valuable support to his captain.

Yasir struggled after the first Test. His figures of 2-173 at Southampton showed his ineffectiveness on flat pitches.

In 42 Tests, he has taken 224 wickets, averaging 30.66. His ineffectiveness on unsupportive pitches can be judged from the fact that his average in Australia is 89.50, in England 38.06 and in South Africa 123. The UAE is his favourite place where he has taken 116 wickets at an average of 24.56.

England’s opener Zak Crawley was the most successful batsman of the series with 320 runs, averaging 160 with the help of one double hundred and one fifty.

Azhar remained the highest scorer for Pakistan with 210 runs, including one hundred, at an average of 52.50.

Babar Azam (195), Shan Masood (161), Mohammad Rizwan (161) and Abid Ali (139) were the other batsmen who scored more than a hundred runs in the series.

England’s Stuart Broad took 13 wickets at an average of 16.46. James Anderson grabbed 11 at an average of 23.45.

During the third Test the 38-year-old Anderson became the first fast bowler to reach 600 Test wickets. He stands fourth on the all-time list of Test wicket-takers, after spinners Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble.

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