Multan magnificence
The First Test of the 2024 Pakistan tour will go down as one of the most famous English victories- on a pitch that was flatter than most UK motorways
England headed to Pakistan with five home test wins in six. Playing in away conditions is usually always the tougher prospect, and after day one in Multan the hosts were 328–4, and 500 looked firmly in sight. Centuries from Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, and Salman Agli Aghar led Pakistan to 556 on a brutal day and a half for the English bowlers.
On a flat pitch, England would have been fully aware of how long they would need to bat for. However, not even the most optimistic of England fans could have predicted what they would end up on- especially when captain Ollie Pope was out for a duck. Yet in reality, everything was in order.
Joe Root became England’s leading Test run-scorer during his innings of 262 (his highest in Test cricket), which was part of a record-breaking partnership of 454 with Harry Brook. The biggest stand any two English batters have made pushed England past 700 and when Root did depart, Brook pressed on and hit an incredible triple century- reaching the total from just 311 deliveries.
The final, grand total for England was 823–7 with Pope declaring and giving Pakistan the evening session to start their second innings. It was an innings that started in the worst possible way for the hosts as Chris Woakes bowled Shafique with the first ball. The wickets fell at regular intervals, something very different from the first two innings during which over 1300 runs were scored.
Jack Leach was a star with the ball for England, taking the final three wickets to get the job done. The last of these was a superb catch off his bowling, his fourth of the innings and seventh of the match.
You can look at the pitch and you can critique the quality of Pakistan’s batting performance in the second innings, but the reality is England won this by being dominant in longer periods than their opposition. England set themselves up for a victory that five years ago would have been unlikely bordering on the impossible. Under McCullum, we are a very different beast and the Multan victory is the third occasion England have conceded 500 runs in the first innings- and the third time we’ve won.
After the first innings were complete, England faced 150 overs to Pakistan’s 149. Yet England scored over 260 runs more than their hosts, showing once again their ability to score lots of runs quickly.
Pakistan picked up an unwanted record in this game, becoming the first team to score more than 500 runs in the first innings and go on to lose by an innings. They’ll recover, but the prospect of facing the English run machine twice more this series probably doesn’t fill them with too much joy.
I’ve said this before and I’ll no doubt say it again very soon. Watching England play Test cricket at the moment is so much fun. We stick to our guns and on the occasion it doesn’t work, we power through knowing that it will come good again. It is a risky tactic and it’s seen some big defeats over the last three years, but few fans will criticise the entertainment value of watching English Test Cricket.
A special final word must go to Joe Root, who battled through cramps for a good chunk of his innings to set yet another record in his career which still has years to play out. He is just over 3000 runs behind the great Sachin Tendulkar now and with plenty of tests still to come for him, it feels as though there’s every chance he could become the best Test batter in history, which is exactly what his efforts deserve.
