During the first Test match series against Pakistan, England broke all the existing records by scoring a remarkable 823 runs after the hosts had set up a first innings score of 307. This mammoth attempt gave an upper hand of 267 runs to the visitors evidencing their high batting aggression.
There was no surprise when former captain Joe Root scored a brilliant double century, while young Harry Brook made history by becoming the sixth Englishman to score a triple hundred in Test cricket. Their record of partnership worth 393 runs stand as the highest for the England side in Test cricket.
However, the exceptional run accumulation raised eyebrows amongst many about the Multan pitch as most considered it quite let their batters play. Former England captain Nasser Hussain even jokingly inferred that there is a point in the game when a batsman who misses three balls gets out – on this surface.
Hussain praised Brook and Root for their levels of fitness and stubbornness on what was a record fourth day for the tourists.
“That is one thing perhaps this side has been knocked for with the bat, is that they have not been brutal. They disregarded the conditions and the pitch, which, not forgetting that it is one of the flattest pitches ever, they were indeed brutal. And in their own special way. How can you reach 820 in a span of 150 overs and still be ruthless? This side has been able to do that contentiously.”
“So Duckett and Crawley bat the way they do, Root simply did not alter the intensity of the way that he bats. Out of all the players that have scored over 250, he had the least amount of boundaries which points to his fitness and the level of his aggressive batting that we have been accustomed to for several years,” he opined.
“Similarly, with Brook, he may have simply gotten to 150 and thought, ‘You know what, I’m tired,’ and played some extravagant stroke ceiling straight up. He didn’t do that, objectionable though his response may be, and neither did the other. Their physical abilities have to be respected, but so must their unwillingness, to a certain extent, to give in. Hussain stated the positive impression that such a side with all their attacking heart can proceed to score so much without losing their direction on Sky Sports Cricket. ”
