Multan, Oct 11
Following England thrashing Pakistan by an innings and 47 runs to complete a remarkable first Test win, former captain Nasser Hussain said the visitors' have showcased a growing aptitude for winning red-ball matches outside home.
"As a side, you do need to learn how to win away from home - and that's what this England side have done here in Pakistan. They couldn't do it (earlier in the year) in India. There is Australia coming up (next year), an Ashes series away from home... and that is what a what a lot a lot of England fans are desperate to win, and what Rob Key, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have been planning for.
"Conditions in Australia will be nowhere near as bad as this, but they will be closer to this that April at Lord's with the Dukes ball. That's why the likes of Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson are important. Atkinson still looked a handful on this pitch, showing he's not just one dimensional after his success in England.
"Also, your batters need to be ruthless. Score 300 in the first innings in England, you'll generally win games, but do that in Australia and you'll generally lose. You need to go big. They scored 824 in one over more than Pakistan got 556. It's not like they are going into their shell... they are still being positive but when they are in, they are being ruthless. That's what Brook and Root did," said Hussain on Sky Sports Cricket after the match ended.
Ex-captain Michael Atherton also expressed awe over how the visitors' secured an astonishing win in Multan, though he was critical of the lack of balance between bat and ball in the game.
"An extraordinary performance and victory for England in Multan. Pakistan there have become the first team to lose by an innings after having made more than 500 in the first innings of a game. How many Test matches have we had?
"More than 2,500... there's not many 'firsts' left in the game. It was a shocking Test pitch, despite the fact there was a result. The only point about Test cricket being stretched over five days is that the pitch should change and offer a balance between bat and ball."
With regular skipper Ben Stokes' potentially returning for the second Test starting on October 15 in Multan, Hussain talked about who would go out of playing eleven to accommodate the veteran all-rounder.
"If he's playing as a batter only, then Ollie Pope is the most vulnerable. I know he's captain, but he won't be if Ben plays. It's a tricky one: if he can bowl a bit, you could maybe bring him in for the second spinner. If it's the same sort of pitch, it doesn't spin much... not until day four or day five.
"So could Stokes maybe come in for Shoaib Bashir. Pope almost gave things away (in his interview) that Stokes will be fit, but he can't play as one of only three seamers, that is for certain. He has to be one of four, leaving either a spinner or batter vulnerable."