Bayliss did not quite say it was a position they were ready for but, as Alastair Cook acknowledged after the Test when he talked about the side “toughening up”, he was encouraged by the comeback during a match they had been behind in for more than two days.
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However, despite the early loss of both openers, England took control on day four.
“If they (the opposition) bowl well, I want to be good enough to see it off and, if they bowl poorly, still have the intention to hit the bad balls – just play the situation”.
“We were never leading it – but then, when we got our chance yesterday afternoon, Mo and “Bluey” [Jonny Bairstow] put the pressure on them”.
“Then he was probably our best pace bowler in South Africa for the one or two Tests that he played there”.
It proved to Cook that England can still be successful even if they do not take charge from the outset. “He’s a quality spinner and we’re very fortunate we’ve got him and he’ll hopefully be a big part of our winter if he doesn’t play this game”. “So for us to bounce back the way we did, when we had our backs to the wall, said a lot about our character and it could also deflate them (Pakistan)”.
But while recent results may have been disappointing, this tour has not been dogged by the controversy that afflicted Pakistan’s last two trips to England.
“I thought a year ago he bowled extremely well against Australia”.
“I still think we are a little way off”, he insisted. “We weren’t scoring any runs, but everyone dug in”. I don’t think it did it massively. It was the sixth time this series that paceman Woakes had taken a wicket in the first over of a spell.
Vince was eight runs short of his first Test half-century when he hung his bat out to a wide ball from Amir and Younus took another neat slip catch.
“I saw the guys really determined to do what we’d spoken about, and that’s pleasing as a captain”.
Sami Aslam and Azhar Ali, who put together a century partnership in the first innings, then batted calmly to give their side hope of saving the match and sending the teams into the final match of the series level at 1-1.
“As a team we were fantastic, it just shows how good the team we have is”.
“It’s unbelievable what pressure can do”.
Upon his exclusion in the playing eleven for the Edgbason Test, the Yorkshireman registered match figures of 7 for 61 in the County Championship win over Warwickshire, declaring his match-readiness to the think-tank.
But his opposite number Misbah-ul-Haq saw things differently. Pakistan crumbled to 201 all out, at one stage losing 4 for 1 in a 23-ball spell between Steven Finn and Chris Woakes before tea, having been sitting reasonably comfortably at lunch with a draw well within their compass.
“We were trying to cope with it, but could not handle it”.
About the performance of other batsmen he said: “Until lunch it was easy, nothing happening”.
“We have to send someone to England to learn how they reverse swing the ball”, said Misbah, with a smile.
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“We have one game left – we can win it and square the series – that’s what we have to think”.
