S Poddar
Multan, Pakistan – England’s Ollie Pope paid tribute to his team’s “two greedy Yorkshiremen,” Joe Root and Harry Brook, whose incredible batting performances propelled England to a resounding innings and 47-run victory over Pakistan in the first Test match.
A 454-run partnership for the fourth wicket proved record breaking as the aggressive batsmen, with a penchant for hunger, teamed up to help England set a record total of 823 in their first innings. This dominating performance overshadowed Pakistan’s first innings total of 556 before handing over the match to England for victory.
“We knew if we batted like we know we can, we can go big, and we’ve got two greedy Yorkshiremen who did just that,” Pope said after the match. “Credit to them for the skill they showed but also the fitness. The fact we knew we needed a big score really kept them driving towards those massive, massive numbers, and credit to them for putting us in a position to win that game. What they did was seriously special. It’s a great thing for us going forward.”
The other career-best scores were that of Root’s 262 and Brook’s 317. These, too, became new records for England. The partnership broke all-time record about the fourth-wicket stand for England as a testament to great talent these two possess regarding the game.
Chris Woakes, who played a big role in England winning with the ball, equally thought that it might be something to brag about for the Yorkshire duo. “It probably hasn’t sunk in what we’ve achieved there,” he said. “I was out there when we reached 800 and I was just like, ‘This doesn’t seem real, to be scoring 800 in a Test match.’ I’ve never seen us getting anywhere near.”
Woakes was on Test cricket duty for the first time in two and half years. He proved economical for either side and took crucial two wickets. “I did not think that I would get another chance to do this. I had given up on that,” he said.
Having won the first Test at an absolute test of batting pitch, England would now look for a tough wicket at Nottingham for the second Test. “There was talk about green surfaces, I don’t know what that was. It just got better and better,” Woakes said. “The ball is firmly in their court. When it’s a home series, it’s only three matches and you lose the first, you’d like to think that the next two are going to be results wickets.”
It was especially hard for skipper Shan Masood of Pakistan to digest defeat. “The harsh reality is that England found a way, and we didn’t,” he said. “After two days under the sun, being 556 runs behind, first of all, they picked up ten wickets to give themselves that chance to bat and bat big and then, when they came back with the ball again, they executed their plans really well. So, the harsh reality in Test cricket is that no matter what the pitch is, quality sides will find a way, and England did that.”
The series now shift to the same venue for the second Test, wherein England will look forward to cementing their position and clinching a series victory.
