A series which started with the questions about England has now reached the end point of Pakistan with the bigger crisis. A 3-0 win against England has buoyed them up, and Pakistan are looking for consistency after finishing the series at the bottom of the World Test Championship.
England’s tally in the WTC table is fairly paltry. They have increased their percentage to 38.54 and are still in 6th place of the 9 teams. Meanwhile, Pakistan have slipped further behind to 14.81%, further spelling an utter disaster for the latest campaign.
The issues faced by Pakistan have gone far beyond the results. There were considerable changes to the squad during the tour with seven players leaving when the Lord’s lost and others being added to the group. More changes were made before the last Test and the coaching structure was also overhauled.
In that backdrop, it was Razaullah’s arrival that provided one of the glimmers of hope for the visitors. The 21-year-old debutant made a splash with both bat and ball, picking up four wickets and hitting nine sixes in his 81 off 160 deliveries.
His comeback almost changed the tide of the game. He also co-wrote the 121 by Mohammad Abbas for the ninth wicket to give Pakistan some respectability after they had looked as if they were getting bowled out cheaply.
England managed to complete the task, though, without resorting to a last-drag battle on the final day. They aimed at 130 and as it first appeared, it was not a simple target as Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay found the ropes in the very first over, but Joe Root regained the momentum and never looked back on 62. As the hosts needed one more wicket to score the target, Cox was still in the park with him on 59 and in the 25 over limit.
It capped a run of five consecutive games in which the Pakistanis failed to keep up with competition. England dispatched the first Test with an innings and 103-run victory and continued their winning streak in the second in a 194-run draw in Birmingham to complete the spree.
The victories themselves are not all that matters for England. The series had come after a poor run for the team as they were beaten by New Zealand and lost two key players with Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.
This recovery will only be true with the next assignments. England have a Test tour of South Africa in December and January followed by the Ashes at home next year in their agenda.
The Pakistanis have a different challenge to overcome: rebuild. It does show the harm that has been done up to this point but the real question is whether they can get consistent before their next Test series.
