We all know how hard starting is over here. Their endeavours on the final day were magnificent but still a crack papering project. “But what great character he has shown”, Cook said of Rashid, playing only his second Test. It happens too often at the moment with this side, and it is a frustration.
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“There was a bit of discomfort yesterday”, said the captain.
That was mild public criticism by Cook of a middle order which has too frequently fallen short this year.
Adil Rashid’s half-century was the highlight of the England fight back, as Mark Wood and Stuart Broad rallied around the leg-spinner to keep Pakistan at bay.
“Naturally, when you lose games or people haven’t performed as well as they would have liked, you’re going to look at the team”, he added. “As the partnerships grew there was lingering hope”.
“The belief started to happen”.
“But it was a long way back from that third morning of bad batting, and to be honest we didn’t really deserve to get out of jail, no matter how well Adil played”.
Pakistan could have finished the game before the break but Mohammad Hafeez dropped a regulation catch at slip when Rashid edged a Shah delivery while on 42.
Spinners Babar (3-53) and Shah (4-87) did most of the damage for Pakistan.
‘We’ve talked about all that sort of stuff, now we’ve got to do it. We didn’t bat well in those two hours and it’s cost us.
“If we can sustain the cricket we have played here for five days, rather than four and a half, we have got a good chance”.
Misbah-ul-Haq proves at the age of 41 that he’s an old dog with new tricks. He sounded positively sorrowful about Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.
“In both the innings, they struggled – and that’s a difference between the two teams”, he said.
Bairstow was undone by a googly he misread to be bowled for 22 before Buttler copped a beauty that drifted across his body and then fizzed off the pitch to locate his edge and offer Younus a second catch of the morning.
Nevertheless, Misbah is happy with the win but admitted that the final session of the game was indeed a tense situation.
Cook was also asked if he envisaged any changes to the England XI with the Nottinghamshire of Alex Hales, Samit Patel and James Taylor perhaps coming under consideration in the aftermath of this loss. His own presence is a mild doubt. “It’s a bit bitter today (Monday)”.
Of more concern, thankfully, is the composition of a team undermined by Wahab Riaz’s pace and Yasir Shah’s spin on Saturday.
“Full credit to Riaz”, said Cook.
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‘But it’s about the realisation that it’s a tough moment and for 45 minutes you’ve got to suck it up.
