It was a thrilling triumph for England in Multan with the match ebbing and flowing throughout. The tourists at one point stared defeat in the face as Pakistan required just 65 runs with five wickets remaining.
But three wickets from Mark Wood, combined with one apiece from James Anderson and Ollie Robinson, would see England turn the game around to seal a famous series victory.
“Another game going down to the wire,” smiled a jubilant Ben Stokes at the close. “You want to play in games like that rather than not, so another great win.”
The size of England’s achievement was not lost on Stokes, who revelled in the knowledge that his England team are making history.
“Not for one minute are we going to think, ah nah, it’s just another Test series win,” said the England captain. “Beating Pakistan in Pakistan is massive. We know what we’ve achieved, we know that it’s a very special thing in English cricket to come here and win.”
In particular, Stokes praised fast bowler Wood, whose double breakthrough just before lunch ripped the game from Pakistan’s hands and placed it into England’s. The Cumbrian seamer took the wickets of Mohammad Nawaz and, crucially, Saud Shakeel, who was on 94.
“That’s why we picked him,” said Stokes of Wood, who had missed the first Test through injury. “To produce two wickets at such a crucial time for us was a real game-changing moment and that’s what I brought him into the team to do, to come in, bowl fast and change the game.”
The wicket of Shakeel wasn’t without controversy, however, as a long video review was required to determine whether Ollie Pope had grounded the ball after initially taking the catch.
After the game, Pope himself said he wasn’t 100 per cent sure whether or not he had completed the catch fairly and Pakistan captain Babar Azam told local media that he believed the ball had touched the ground.
“You’ve just got to go with what the umpire’s decision is,” Stokes said. “You see a lot of those decisions and types of catches in cricket. Obviously it went our way but I’ve been involved in a few decisions where stuff like that has gone against us. But you can’t change that.”
After a thrilling encounter that stretched England to their limit, the squad is still suffering from the virus that threatened to postpone the First Test last week. Stokes, who at one point briefly paused the press conference in fear that he may be sick, encouraged his team-mates to celebrate the moment, safe in the knowledge that runs of form such as this are rare.
Earlier this year, England had the ignominious record of having won one Test in 17. They have now won eight of their last nine.
“It was a strange feeling,” he said of England’s winning moment. “We’ve got this bug still floating around the dressing room that we just can’t seem to get rid of. I think it was just a sign of how tired the lads were, mentally and physically.
“One thing we do is we stay in the moment. What did [Jack] Leachy say? Live where my shoes are, or something like that. Basically just always stay in the moment. Don’t take this kind of stuff and this kind of form for granted. And always just keep the mantra of we’re bigger than what we’re actually doing at the moment.
“What we’re trying to do is bigger than results and all that kind of stuff, but obviously it massively helps when you are winning and in the way in which we are winning.
“The guys who I’ve got in the squad, from the guys who step onto the field to the guys who unfortunately miss out on selection, are all in it together. And we all really believe in what we’re trying to do. It’s a very special time to be an England cricketer.”
