Pakistan 366 (Ghulam 118, Ayub 77, Leach 4-114) and 221 (Salman 63, Bashir 4-66) won England 291 (Duckett 114, Sajid 7-111) and 144 (Noman 8-46) for 152 runs
Their success was all the more notable given the changes made in response to last week’s crushing innings loss, with Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah dropped and Pakistan selecting a three-man spin attack who had never played together before. In the end, Zahid Mahmood was only asked to bowl six overs as Sajid and Noman, playing their first Test since July 2023, collectively dismantled England.
This was the fourth day of the second test, but the ninth day of action for the Multan course, with three days in between for a quick grind, and already offering consistent turn. England’s not out batsmen, Ollie Pope and Joe Root, had been practicing their sweeps before the start of the game and it quickly became clear what the plan of attack was in their attempts to score a further 261 points for victory. “Basically, get out the broom,” as Ben Stokes said afterwards.
Pope, however, did not play an angry shot before becoming the first wicket to fall, pushing Sajid’s second ball straight into the bowler’s hands. Harry Brook tried to sweep his first ball, Root did the same and the battle lines were drawn.
Not that that clarity of purpose did England much good. Root and Brook had amassed a record fourth-wicket stand of 454 in the first Test on this ground, but the change in control and composure was marked. Root faced eight balls, attempting to sweep seven of them before being hit on the hip while stretching over the stump and playing over the ball to be given lbw, a decision upheld as the umpire’s decision on review.
Brook managed a back to the boundary, but his frantic approach was not designed to last and he returned to his 21st delivery, the ball staying a touch low as Noman bowled from around the wicket, to be pinned in front of the leg stump he was swaying. the line. England scored 78 for 5, the highest order in the dressing room and the match was already over.
They were soon 88 for 6 as Jamie Smith overcame a slow sweep to mid off with three balls after dismissing Noman for four with the same shot. Stokes barely played a straight shot and had the most success, reaching 37 in quicker than a run before Noman lured him onto the field. His swing across the line saw the bat end up somewhere near mid-wicket as Mohammad Rizwan completed the blow, an apt metaphor for England losing control.
That was pretty much it, apart from a brief outing by Brydon Carse, who survived when Sajid was given lbw through DRS, and subsequently smashed the offspinner for three towering sixes before Noman’s guile induced another knock. and a thin edge to slide. In his next over, Noman removed Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir with consecutive deliveries and Pakistan’s makeshift Multan master plan had paid off.
Alan Gardner is deputy editor of Pak Gazette. @alanroderick
