Just a week ago, Pakistan were celebrating – and now, its England’s turn…
After the high of Lord’s, Pakistan fans were left with a bitter taste at Headingley after losing to England by an innings and 55 runs in the 2nd and final test. While the bowling side of Pakistan looked decent enough, with even head coach Mickey Arthur rushing to the defence of Shadab Khan during a press conference, the old weak-link in Pakistan cricket came to the fore as the batting performance let the team down once more.
With only two of the top five making it to double figures in the first innings, specifically scores of 28 and 27 by Haris Sohail and Asad Shafiq, the sheer frailty of the batting line-up was exposed by the English seam attack. James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Chris Woakes ended up with three wickets apiece. When it came to batting, Jos Buttler shone brightly with 80 runs off 101 deliveries while Alastair Cook, Joe Root, and Dom Bess chipped in with scores of 46, 45, and 49 respectively. This left England with a score of 363, and left Pakistan trailing by 189.
Mickey Arthur jumped to the defence of Shadab Khan #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/361m47IeMz
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 2, 2018
In Pakistan’s 2nd innings, it was more of the same from the batsmen, with only three players out of the playing XI getting to double figures (Azhar Ali 11, Imam Ul Haq 34, and Usman Salahuddin 33). It was a joyous occasion for Dom Bess; following his 49 in the first innings, he managed to bag the first 3 wickets of his test career. The highlight of the innings though, belonged to James Anderson, who bowled an absolute peach of an in-swinging yorker to uproot Azhar Ali’s middle stump.
This performance underlines the main problem many Pakistan teams have been plagued with over the years; inconsistency. Mickey Arthur rightfully stated in a press conference after the match that he was highly disappointed with the team’s display, also saying there would be a few tongue lashings dished out. He also focused intently on the fact that since the team is young, this setback could help them grow – and that he just hoped the players had learned some valuable lessons from the defeat.
For now though, with the dust settled, both teams look on to the horizon. England have to play Australia in a five match ODI series in just over a week, after which they face off against India for a full series. On the other hand, Pakistan look ahead to a T20 tri-series with Zimbabwe and Australia starting in July, after which they will have a lengthy break before heading to South Africa in December – which should provide ample time to iron out the kinks.