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England captain Ben Stokes has hailed the 74-run victory over Pakistan in Rawalpindi as one of the “greatest” in English Test history as they defeated Babar Azam’s side by 74 runs on Day 5 of the Test to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Stokes has asserted they are not here in the sub-continent to play dull and drab cricket, adding that the early declaration call taken on the fourth day of the first Test against Pakistan was to carry on with the theme of playing “exciting cricket”.
Stokes said the team had “no interest in trying to play for a draw”. ‘Bazball’ had taken Test cricket by storm in the home series in England, but the real test for this approach was on the flatter and baked wickets in the sub-continent and England came out with flying colours.
A WIN FOR THE AGES!! 🦁🦁🦁
🇵🇰 #PAKvENG 🏴 pic.twitter.com/r3QlEHwAXd
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 5, 2022
It was only England’s third Test win in Pakistan, and Stokes praised his side, who were hit with illness on the eve of the first day.
“We wanted to come here to Pakistan and carry on with our mantra of exciting cricket,” Stokes said after the win,” according to ICC.
“I’ve got no interest in trying to play for a draw; the dressing room has no interest in playing for a draw. Felt on this kind of wicket, almost had to entice the batsmen to play an attacking shot.
“You have to make things happen on a wicket like this and make some bold decisions. James Anderson and Ollie Robinson were fantastic today.”
England’s ultra-attacking approach on Day 1 and the bold declaration on Day 4 were pivotal factors in the victory and Stokes highlighted how they took advantage of the batting surface to build a good total in quick time.
“We’ve played 8-9 matches with myself and (coach) Brendon (McCullum) in charge. One thing we try to do is focus on ourselves and not the opposition. We know we’re a very exciting team. Was a great batting surface, so it was an opportunity for our batting group. Having the lads truck in like they did today was amazing. Really special group of players.”
Stokes hailed the win as one of England’s greatest victories in Test cricket away from home.
“We were fortunate to get the ball reverse-swinging. James Anderson and Ollie Robinson were fantastic today. We won probably about 8 minutes before we would’ve come off. This is probably up there as one of England’s greatest away wins,” he added.
Babar Azam stated that Pakistan were simply “not up to the mark”, according to ICC.
“We were not up to the mark. Had a golden chance in the second innings, but session by session we lost wickets. Our bowling group is young. Unfortunately Haris injured himself in the first innings. All credit to the bowlers who bowled well and tried without Haris. We tried to stick to our plans.
“Difficult when opponent goes at seven an over. We had an opportunity in the second innings. But we didn’t get partnerships in the end. Lots of positives. Our batting performed very well,” he added.
The second Test match will be played in Multan from Friday, December 9 with Pakistan looking to level up the series ahead of the final fixture in Karachi from December 17.
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