England refused to be cowed by a 103-run first-innings deficit, building a 343-run lead when they batted again and then destroying the tourists with an immaculate performance in the field that saw six wickets tumble between lunch and tea.
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As for now, Cook was impressed that England did not panic when – to many eyes – Pakistan had taken control in Birmingham.
“Until lunch it was easy, nothing happening”.
“Sometimes when the ball starts reversing you just need to see off that 10-15 overs so the ball gets soft, but we lost all our main batsmen then”. We were trying to cope with it, but we could not handle it.
“Anderson and Broad are used to these conditions”. They are really experienced. “I was really proud of the way we hung in there all game”.
The England side must win their last Test against Pakistan at the KIA Oval and hope India doesn’t win any of their last two Tests in the Caribbean.
“If we become number one there, that’s fantastic”, Cook said.
“If we do win at The Oval, I wouldn’t say we are anywhere near our potential”.
What pleased Cook most, however, was seeing his side win from an unpromising position. I did say at the beginning, probably at tea time, I thought it would be a first innings versus fourth innings. England were not reliant on one or two outstanding individuals.
“I think it could be right up there”, said Cook when asked how he rated this victory at the post-match presentation ceremony. “That doesn’t always happen. We have one game left – we can win it and square the series – that’s what we have to think”. “If that happens it’s a bit of an irrelevance for me because this side’s still got so much further to go”.
“We bowled brilliantly”, he said.
“Misbah’s excuse of reverse swing is totally unacceptable as it was more of a mental capitulation and succumbing under pressure”. The 20-year-old responded to his surprise call-up – this was his first first-class game of the year – by scoring 152 runs in the match and looking a player with the technique and temperament to enjoy a long career at this level.
“But having just four bowlers is a problem”. We used to have Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik who could bowl, but here we don’t have that option now.
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With a rare sense of symmetry, each of England’s five bowlers took two wickets although it required a devastating spell by Steve Finn and Chris Woakes, which yielded four wickets for just one run, to open up the innings. “Here Yasir Shah carries a tremendous load and this is a problem for us”.
