England’s Yorkshire stars take centre stage in Pakistan (Updated Version)

Sitting here in Harry Brook and Joe Root’s native Yorkshire as the rain lashes at the windows, one could be forgiven for thinking Multan (Pakistan) was on a different planet, such was the sweltering heat and aridity on show over the past two weeks. Yet in truth the pair, cruising to England’s record test partnership as they set the team up for victory in the first test produced an archetype for subcontinent batting, and seemed more at home than their Pakistani counterparts.

This Pakistan side continue to be a source of deep confusion. A side containing two high class fast bowlers in Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi and batters (including the talismanic Babar Azam and Mo Rizwan) who are surely capable of scoring big runs, collapsed in the first test, resulting in a dramatic overhaul of some of many of its star names – including Babar and Shaheen.  

Make no mistake about it, England needed the win. Just as Multan appeared worlds apart from Yorkshire, this iteration of Bazball appears a long way from the halcyon days of 2022, with a shock defeat to Sri Lanka and a battering in India leaving McCollum not without his critics. This display, then, could be seen as a model for a more refined, considered ‘Bazball’. At its core remains an emphasis on player freedom and expression, but without the recklessness  they have sometimes been accused of playing with. 

It is a damning indictment on a side so full of talent, that Pakistan’s best option for success in the 2nd test was to roll the dice: craft a raging turner and hope they win the toss, and England’s batters fail more spectacularly than their own.  

In effect, that is what happened. In an unprecedented decision in test match cricket the surface on which the first test had been played was re-used for the second match of the series. This resulted in a hugely eroded, weathered surface and the Pakistani spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan combined to take all 20 of the England wickets and see them to victory. Whilst the series is level at 1-1, the nature of the pitch makes it tough to assess where the teams are in relation to one another. A debut hundred for Kamran Ghulam and the continued success of Agha Salman are certainly big positives for Pakistan though, whilst England have surely unearthed a key bowler for their Ashes prospects in Brydon Carse, and Ben Duckett’s 4th Test Hundred has solidified his spot at the top of the order for the foreseeable future. 

The focus though is rightly on Brook and Root, who will be central to England’s chances of winning the series next week. It would be unfair on Root to describe this series as a ‘changing of the guard’ moment – he is simply the best batter in the world right now – but it has demonstrated for all to see, that just as Yorkshire has produced stars of England’s past and present, in Brook they may just have done so for the future as well. 

Words by Freddie Waterland