Something is either the best ever or the worst ever, and England come in for a fair share of the latter.
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His team beat the number three Test team in the world inside four days and by more than 300 runs.
Think of how another couple of Sky’s excellent commentary team, former skippers Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton might have responded.
Stokes left the field immediately, in obvious pain.
“(They can) come in at two or three (wickets down) for a lot of runs, rather than three or four for not many. I would have thought it’s unlikely we’ll see him again this series.
He combines the two expertly, and there was no better example of that than at Manchester, where he played with more freedom as the match progressed and was in full one-day mode by the time England declared for the second time. They really depend on them – the others are struggling – but the way Root played in this game… it was an unbelievable innings.
“Jimmy [Anderson] is fine, your first game back you are a bit sore, but Stokesy looks in a bit of trouble with his leg”, Cook said during the post-match presentation. There may be a hint there and he could be in the mix.
Alex Hales, James Vince and Gary Ballance would be advised to follow his example. There are still those that think Cook did this all wrong. What annoying was that the Pakistan batsmen did not stay at the crease for a longer time. Ali was expected to play a key role as the wicket deteriorated and the off spinner duly delivered with two important top order scalps. The seniors – Misbah, Mohammad Hafeez, Younus Khan and Azhar Ali – were the main culprits. It was four days of ideal cricket from the hosts to beat an excellent Pakistan side handsomely. Cook and Root thrived on a wicket where the ball was coming on to the bat. I can not see Moeen picking up wickets in this manner against India on their home turf.
“We’ve spoken about it, just letting a few more balls go and let the bowlers come to him before he plays his favourite shot”.
He hit his fastest fifty in this game. The easy answer is to get him off strike and have a go at someone else. Still, England won losing just nine wickets while scoring 762 runs. There isn’t any chance of that now with Root at number three.
“They played him well”.
Cook’s decision was vindicated, in his eyes anyway.
England led by 391 runs but Cook surprisingly decided not to make Pakistan bat again, preferring to give his bowlers a rest.
Stokes’s irrepressible nature, as well as his all-round brilliance, help to make England tick. It was an inspired move to put him in as night-watchmen, as he wasn’t going to stagnate, as some do, the next day. “But there is a lot of talent in the batting”.
The trend has afflicted Pakistan cricket ever since especially in away Tests: Perth, Hobart, Centurion, Nottingham, Birmingham, Johannesburg, Cape Town etc. are among the venues where meek Pakistan capitulations out of nowhere have left us bewildered.
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When asked what he did behind the scenes to change his fortunes, Root said on Sky Sports: “I worked very hard with the management and coaching staff”.
