Nasser Hussain commends Pakistan victory against England, claims 'kryptonite to Bazball' found
Former England captain Nasser Hussain has commended Pakistan for their impressive performance during their recent series triumph over England, declaring that the team has "found the kryptonite to Bazball." Hussain's remarks come in the wake of England's disappointing nine-wicket defeat, which occurred before lunch on the third day of the decisive Test match, where they were bowled out for a mere 112 runs.
Pakistan clinched victory in a swift 19 balls, with captain Shan Masood hitting a spectacular six to seal the win. This decisive outcome followed England's remarkable first Test performance, where they posted a colossal score of 823 for seven declared on a flat Multan pitch. However, the team struggled on the spinning tracks in the latter two Tests, leading to their series loss.
In his analysis on Sky Sports, the former England skipper praised Pakistan for making necessary changes following their six-match losing streak, a period that included Masood's challenging tenure as captain.
"Congratulations to Pakistan for making that change. You felt they needed to - they lost six Tests in a row, Shan Masood himself had lost all six as captain, they were going nowhere, the fans and supporters were not happy," Hussain said.
"So they made a real, drastic change, new selectors, different pitches completely as in they used the Multan pitch again, complete turner, came here, made it turn and they found the kryptonite to Bazball," he added.
Hussain elaborated on the effectiveness of Pakistan's spinners, highlighting their skill in exploiting turning pitches.
"They have spinners of the highest quality. And they have players that play spin really well. So why wouldn't you play on turning pitches? And what it's done is it's exposed England when the ball does spin. When it spins and when it's gripping, England don't play spin as well or bowl spin as well as Pakistan," he stated.
The former England skipper also raised concerns about England's performance throughout the series. He noted the stark difference in scores across the matches and criticized the team for their inability to adapt to changing conditions.
"Because the pitches have been so different from the first Test to the second and third, there's no doubting scores should go down and spinners should go up", he said.
"But the discrepancy with England is a concern, it shouldn't be so drastic that you play so well on flat pitches and you can hit through the line, and the moment it then grips you can't play like that, so you're then a little bit lost. Three of your top six seem to be lost in those conditions."
Additionally, Hussain suggested that England's fixation on the upcoming Ashes series in Australia may have negatively impacted their focus against Pakistan.
"All you ever hear about is the Ashes, the Ashes away. We play so many series away before the Ashes, the conditions here are so different from Australia," he stated.
He further questioned the place of Zak Crawley in the squad, indicating that his performance should be scrutinized in the context of the current series rather than future prospects.
"So even someone like Zak Crawley, Zak's position should come under threat, but when I say that people say 'he'll be alright in Australia'.
"That doesn't matter here this month, how're you going to play this month?.
"It can't all be about one series every four years away from home. You're almost not taking Pakistan or India seriously, you've got to be across the board."