England revel in records after routing Pakistan in first Test
Cricket
English batsmen Joe Root and Harry Brook set a new partnership record for England
By Anees-ur-Rehman
As Pakistani fans are still coming to terms with the humiliating whitewash by Bangladesh, a team once considered minnows, Pakistan have suffered another defeat - this time at the hands of England, who stuck to their game plan and executed it to perfection.
Pakistan’s winless streak continues
Pakistan’s winless streak at home continues as they suffer another defeat against England, who shattered records at the Multan Cricket Stadium. This marks Pakistan’s 11th match without a home win since 2021.
Shan Masood has now lost all six matches under his captaincy, becoming the first Pakistan captain to lose six consecutive Test matches. Earlier in 1962, Javed Burki, who captained Pakistan in a five-match Test series against England, faced defeats in the first three matches. However, his team managed to draw the fourth Test.
England, on the other hand, secured their fourth consecutive victory against Pakistan following their 3-0 whitewash two years ago.
England rewrite history books
Despite conceding 556 runs in the first innings, the English side remained resilient and stuck to their plans. Joe Root and Harry Brook dominated the Pakistani bowlers smashing them all around the park and building a record-breaking partnership of 454 runs, leading their side to post 823/7 on the board, the fourth-highest score in Test innings history.
This marks only the fourth time in Test cricket history that a team has scored over 800 runs in an innings. The last time a team achieved this was when Sri Lanka scored 952 against India in 1997.
England previously scored 903 runs against Australia in 1938 and 849 runs against the West Indies in 1930; out of the four instances of 800 or more runs, three belong to England.
Also, England became the first team to score 800 runs in Test cricket against Pakistan. Before this, the West Indies scored 790 runs for the loss of three wickets against Pakistan in 1958.
It is also the highest total by any team in Pakistan, with the previous highest being 765 for six by Pakistan against Sri Lanka in Karachi in 2009.
Unwanted record for Pakistani bowlers
This is the first time six Pakistani bowlers have conceded more than 100 runs in England's first innings in Multan. The only other time this happened was in 2004 when six Zimbabwean bowlers conceded over 100 runs in a Test against Sri Lanka in Bulawayo.
New partnership record
On the other hand, English batsmen Joe Root and Harry Brook set a new partnership record for England, accumulating 454 runs together.
Previously, Peter May and Colin Cowdrey held the record for England with a partnership of 411 runs, which they established against the West Indies in 1957.
It also surpassed the previous record for the highest partnership in Tests against Pakistan, breaking the 446-run stand set by Conrad Hunte and Gary Sobers for the second wicket in Kingston in 1958.
The highest partnership in Test cricket history remains 624 runs, set by Sri Lankan star batsmen Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara against South Africa in 2006.
Harry Brook’s majestic innings
Harry Brook took 310 balls to score his triple century, making it the second-fastest in Test cricket. The fastest was Virender Sehwag, who took 278 balls against South Africa in 2008. The previous fastest for England was Wally Hammond, who took 355 balls in 1933 against New Zealand.
Harry Brook is the first England batter in 34 years to score a triple-century. His 317 runs in Multan is the fifth-highest score for England in Test cricket. He becomes the sixth batter to score triple century for England. He is the first England batter to score a triple century since Graham Gooch did it in 1990 against India at Lord’s.
Brook has scored centuries in all four Test matches he played in Pakistan, becoming the first player to do so. He is also the fifth batter to score hundreds in four consecutive Tests against Pakistan, following Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, David Warner, and Kane Williamson. He becomes the fifth batter to register triple century in Pakistan.
Root continues record-breaking spree
Joe Root smashed his sixth double century (262), bringing his career total to 12,664 runs for England. This achievement makes him the country's top run-scorer, surpassing Alastair Cook's 12,472 runs.
He is now fifth in the all-time highest run-scorers in Test cricket, behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289), and Rahul Dravid (13,288).
Root has also hit 35 centuries, which is the sixth-most in Test cricket. Sachin Tendulkar leads with 51 centuries, followed by Jacques Kallis (45), Ricky Ponting (41), Kumar Sangakkara (38), and Rahul Dravid (36).
Attacking cricket need of the hour
Pakistan’s loss to England in the Multan Test by an innings and 47 runs highlights deep-rooted issues in the team’s mindset and approach. The defensive tactics on flat pitches and a lack of self-belief are proving to be detrimental.
Pakistan must shed the fear factor and adopt an aggressive style of play (modern-day cricket) if they hope to recover from this slump and regain the confidence of their disappointed fans.
A key problem lies in the team's approach. Pakistan have often played cautiously, avoiding risks, which has led to missed opportunities and poor results.
For instance, Pakistan took 149 overs to score 556 runs, while England, in the same 150 overs, posted a massive total of 823 runs. This highlights the difference in mindset and approach to attacking cricket.
Flat pitches are only contributing to lacklustre performances, and it's time to prepare more challenging conditions that test both sides and force better play.
Inconsistency
Inconsistency is another factor that contributed to the downfall of Pakistan cricket.
In the last six Tests, Pakistan have struggled to build on strong first-innings scores, often succumbing to pressure in the second innings. For example, in Perth, they scored 271 runs in the first innings but were bowled out for just 89 in the second.
The pattern continues with other matches: in Melbourne, they scored 264 and 237; in Sydney, 313 and 115; in Rawalpindi, 448/6 and 146; in Rawalpindi, 274 and 172 and in Multan, 556 and 222.
These statistics highlight Pakistan’s difficulty in handling pressure during crucial moments of the game. They need to develop mental toughness to perform better in such conditions.
The bowling department has also faced challenges, with bowlers conceding runs due to inconsistent and wayward bowling. This inability to capitalise on early wickets has cost Pakistan dearly in these matches.
New selection committee
The problem doesn’t stop on the field. Poor management by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has added to the woes.
Shortly after England secured an easy victory, the PCB revealed the new members of the selection panel: Aleem Dar, Aaqib Javed, and Azhar Ali. They will join Asad Shafiq, analyst Hassan Cheema, along with the captain and coach, who were already part of the committee.
Fans are very upset and they deserve to see their team fight back.
