Stunning victory for England thanks to Buttler and Woakes but still more questions than answers. A missed chance for Pakistan. Time for Jimmy to say goodbye.
England 219 (Pope 62, Yasir 4/66) and 277/7 (Woakes 84, Buttler 75, Yasir 4/99) beat Pakistan 326 (Masood 156, Broad 3/54) and 169 (Yasir 33, Broad 3/37) by 3 wickets
I was not able to watch all of the first test match, but the bits I saw on days 1-3 did little to encourage me to watch it. I saw the players leave the field for bad light, in natural light that was perfectly adequate when spinners were bowling and the floodlights were on. This madness of bad light needs to be addressed. I saw Joe Root bowling himself before lunch on day 2. I saw a scrappy England with multiple mistakes in the field, including from the beleaguered Jos Buttler. I saw Jofra Archer not bowling at full tilt, James Anderson looking ‘past it’ and Dominic Bess dropping one short every over. It had all the signs of another first game in a series for England. Yes, England won, but it still looked like they were undercooked when the came started.
All that being said, Pakistan looked a good team, well drilled and well supported. When I say well supported, I refer to the backroom staff. However, we know that Old Trafford would have been absolutely ‘buzzing’ in normal conditions with the green and white flags everywhere. Once again, the players were able to raise above the empty stadium and play some good cricket. Shan Masood was solid at the top and made the difference between a 250 score and the eventual 326. Another 50 would have been enough. Yasir Shah evoked memories of Shane Warne in 2005 with runs and 8 wickets. Yet like Warne in 2005 (only in 2005!) Yasir was on the loosing side.
It all changed on the 3rd innings. Michael Holding observed the importance of first innings runs and batting a team out of the game and getting a big score. Masood needed a partner in crime, in the way that Dominic Sibley and Ben Stokes were able to work together in the 2nd test match of the summer against West Indies. With a low 300s score, you always need to find a few runs second time round. We know that test matches can be turned in the 3rd innings (remember Adelaide 2006 with a shudder – and Warne in his more habitual role as a winner). The Asad Shafiq run out was probably a key moment – and the carelessness moved from England to Pakistan.
A target of 277 at Old Trafford ought to have been enough. This pitch was not as good as some that we have seen in Manchester over the years, but the pitches always give bowlers a chance. At 117/5, the bowlers were taking the chance. But we finally saw why Buttler is in the team, and formed a perfect partnership with Woakes. Buttler had a bad game with the gloves, but has been showing more and more consistency with the bat this summer, and really just needs that second century. Woakes has looked unsure which end of the bat to hold though, despite possessing a Lords century. I think the situation gave Woakes some freedom with the bat, and once he was ‘in’ he showed a real ‘Woakes quality’ of calmness. It was a brilliant effort from 2 people who are really well liked in the team – and the game.
Sadly, as Root’s captainly was inept in the first innings, Azhar Ali did make some mistakes in the last dig. Woakes should have been peppered with bouncers when he arrived, and the field should have been much more aggressive. Often ex-players demand ultra-aggressive fields (Holding and Sir Ian Botham would probably be unhappy with less than 9 slips). A ball scoots through extra cover for 4 and people say ‘the bowler does not need to worry about that’. The reality is that setting an aggressive field is a risk when playing with a sub-300 target. But we knew a draw was impossible and once the target was below 50, the field needed to be in. Ali though is a young captain. It cannot be easy being a captain when your country’s prime minister is one of the best all rounders of all time! I hope he gets some time to learn. Misbah-ul-Haq pointed to inexperience as being a factor in the loss – but experience cannot just be picked up in the supermarket.
As ever, it is hard to weigh up England as a team. Yes it was a great win, but if they had played better on days 1 to 3 they would have won the game easily. It is a frustration that we have to endure really bad sessions before we see the brilliance. That means England lose far too many games. However, it is a relief to see some fight. If England cannot avoid defeat in Brisbane next year, it does not need to mean 5-0 or 4-0 as in recent times. Even the captains of the 90s and early noughties (Michael Atherton, Alec Stewart and Nasser Hussain) won one game in away Ashes series, and in 2010/11, England had to fight back from a terrible situation in Brisbane. We need to see more of that ‘fight’ from England – and Buttler has the potential to be a fighter, along with the likes of Sibley and Pope.
The question is what do England do next? The Ben Stokes conundrum goes away now as Stokes has to miss the next 2 games for family reasons. We all wish Stokes and family all the best. Given that Stokes did bowl last week, it seems that England played 5 bowlers to make sure that Stokes did not injure himself further by ‘demanding to bowl’ – in the way that Andrew Flintoff did sometimes. Stokes deserves a little bit of ‘slack’ here though given his unstinting commitment. Dan Lawrence has also left the ‘bubble’ following a bereavement which means we can be fairly certain what top 6 England will put out, with Zak Crawley coming back in at 3 with Root moving down.
I said before the series that you need a longer batting line up against Pakistan and I still maintain that England picked the wrong team for this game. Woakes is realistically a number 8 more than a number 7, and Bess at 9 and Archer at 10 starts to look better. Therefore I would bring Ben Foakes into the team to bat at 7 and keep wicket, taking the gloves away from Buttler, while asking him to nail down a spot at number 6 which is where he has the best record in test matches. With Buttler, it seems that clarity of role is essential, and he understands the role at 6. At 7, he is not sure whether to ‘stick or twist’ – particularly when batting with the tail. Additionally, England will need perfect wicket keeping in India this winter. Looking back, I wonder if Buttler at 6 and Bairstow at 7 was the test match answer all along – but many, including Michael Vaughan, talked Bairstow up as a number 5. At 20/3, his technique let him down, but Bairstow the number 7 created some mayhem. Again – clarity of role. Now though, Foakes is ahead in the line surely? An extra batsman would also make it easier for England to pick Jack Leach over Bess – despite previous heroics, Bess’ batting is superior to Leach. I would keep Bess for now though.
We are back to 1 spot and 2 bowlers again. It pains me to say it, but I would leave out James Anderson. I have always felt that Woakes and Anderson in the same team does not quite work as they both fill the same space in a bowling attack, albeit Anderson with more skill. Woakes has put on a bit of pace now, but I still think that 5 full time bowlers creates confusion unless 1 of the 5 is an allrounder. Personally, I think it is time for Anderson to move aside now. When Graham Gooch retired, he left it too late and in Australia in 1995 was a shadow of his former self. Anderson can go on his own terms, out while still performing well, allowing Broad to follow in a couple of years and allowing England to move forward smoothly. Sir Alastair Cook showed us how to retire back in 2018 – Jimmy should learn from Chef.
Having said all of that, I predict England will simply bring in Crawley for Stokes and Anderson will play on.
Expected England team for Southampton (what I think will happen): Sibley, Burns, Crawley, Root(c), Pope, Buttler(v/c, w/k), Woakes, Bess, Archer, Broad, Anderson
My team for Southampton (what I would do): Sibley, Burns, Crawley, Root(c), Pope, Buttler(v/c), Foakes(w/k), Woakes, Bess, Archer, Broad
Cricketed 