Ben Stokes admits his mind was blown after leading England to one of their finest away Test triumphs, not only defeating Pakistan at the end of the fifth day’s play but also making a bold statement about their new strategy.
As the call to prayer rang out in Rawalpindi, 10 minutes after Jack Leach had claimed the final wicket for a 74-run victory, Stokes and his players were still calculating what they had accomplished in England’s first Test match on Pakistani soil in 17 years.
Through a record-breaking batting performance, a sporting declaration that set the hosts 343 to win in four sessions, and a tremendous bowling performance on a heartbreaking pitch, they gained the 1-0 series lead they will carry to Multan for the second Test beginning on Friday. Jimmy Anderson and Ollie Robinson both got four wickets, while their substitute wicketkeeper, Ollie Pope, made four catches.
Since becoming the England skipper at the beginning of last summer, Stokes has led his team to seven consecutive victories. He said, “It’s incredible.” “I feel incredibly honored and blessed to be able to lead these boys onto the field, given the effort, everyone has managed to put forth.”
one of” was the closest the all-rounder came to hailing it as his greatest Test victory in an England shirt, but that did not stop Leach, the Robin to Stokes’ Batman after the infamous Headingley robbery during the 2019 Ashes.
Leach, whose dismissal of Naseem Shah by leg-before-wicket in the dusk provoked loud celebrations, stated, “In my opinion, that surpasses Headingley.” I just told Stokesy this. It was incredible how we attempted to force something to happen, how so many people contributed, and how it continued to the very end.
With Anderson, Robinson, and Stokes bowling 66 of the 96.3 overs in the fourth innings, the left-arm spinner stated that he felt like “a phony.” During the tense final session, Pakistan first attempted to take on the target by attacking the slow bowlers, before attempting to block out for a draw.
Anderson, at age 40, once again defied his age, increasing his record-breaking wicket tally to 672 in his 176th Test, while Robinson continued to storm in for his captain – a far cry from the guy who left last winter’s Ashes loss with worries about his fitness and, potentially, his England future.
On match-winner Robinson, whose two-wicket burst after tea signaled the charge, Stokes remarked, “He showed no symptoms of slowing down on a day that was hot, placid, and taxing. He just kept going in and running in. Everything that has occurred in the past should be disregarded at this point; that performance was his best for England, in my opinion.”
Yet a significant portion of the victory can be attributed to the aggressive and tactically savvy leadership of Ben Stokes, as well as the positivity that has permeated the locker room since he was teamed with Brendon McCullum, a coach with similar values.
Four centurions – Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, and Harry Brook – contributed to the first innings score of 657 runs from 101 overs, so securing valuable overs at the end of the match. Stokes was also willing to lose to win, with the 31-year-old once again citing a higher cause as motivation.
Stokes stated, “As a team, we are striving to make Test cricket as entertaining as the shorter formats.” How the batsmen went out with freedom and delight allowed us to reach our current position on day five. In addition to the bowlers’ desire to experiment with different strategies and fields. We had to employ unorthodox methods to take 20 wickets.”
After a match that was nearly postponed due to a virus that raced through the camp last week, England did suffer one casualty. Liam Livingstone, who was making his Test debut, will return home after tests revealed a two-month absence due to a knee injury sustained on the field.
