England’s historic win

'Bazball' proves successful but yet to stand the test of time

Against all odds, the England cricket team have managed to pull off a historic test win against Pakistan.

Their strategic fast-paced gameplay coupled with calculated risks — of early declaration and late use of the new ball — taken at the right time proved successful in the end after they managed to bowl out the home side in the second innings through their masterful display of reverse swing.

The pitch, however, has remained the topic of serious debate and scrutiny.

Despite predictions of some change, it remained rock hard till the fifth day.

All credit must be given to the England captain and coach, who showed a positive game-winning attitude despite the behaviour of the pitch.

The intent was made clear from the very first inning when they scored a massive 506 in just the first day — eventually scoring a total of 657.

Pakistan stuck with the traditional response and made a solid total of 579 — with Abdullah Shafique, Imam ul Haq and Babar Azam adding a ton each to their name.

But it was the second innings that showed that England were a class apart.

Skipper Ben Stokes chose to declare some 50-odd runs early to give Pakistan a winning opportunity, with hopes of increasing the probability of them playing rash shots for runs.

The England pacers took the charge on a dead fifth-day pitch by hitting the deck hard to scuff up the ball in order to get it to reverse.

Their plan paid off and Pakistan found themselves losing the test by 74 runs with a few minutes remaining till days end.

The highly debated ‘Bazball’ technique seems to be working for the England side over the past year and has also yielded a positive result in Rawalpindi.

Only time will tell if other teams will look to adopt this new brand of cricket.

Ahead of the second test, it will be interesting to see what other tricks England have up their sleeve and how prepared Pakistan will be to tackle it.

For Pakistan cricket, however, Chairman Ramiz Raja must put some serious thought into how pitches are being curated, otherwise not many countries will be willing to play test cricket in Pakistan.