In a remarkable display of cricket, England clinched a resounding victory over Pakistan by an innings and 47 runs in Multan on Friday. After a stellar performance that earned him the player of the match award, England’s Harry Brook shared his thoughts on the challenges faced during the Test match. Brook emphasized the difficulties of batting in the intense heat, saying, “Enjoyed it a lot. It was tough out there in the heat. We were just batting for as long as possible, to be honest.” During a crucial lunch break, the team discussed their strategy for the second half of the day.

“We had a chat at lunchtime, knew we were going to be batting out there for a little period after lunch. Just have to try and enjoy batting, build a partnership, and keep trying to rotate strike–put the bowlers under pressure,” he explained in the post-match presentation.

Brook also highlighted the importance of hydration and nutrition in maintaining energy levels.

“I was taking as much fluid on board as possible, and the energy gels, and eating as well. It was tough, but that was a good surface to cash in on. Hopefully, many more to come,” he added.

Looking ahead, Brook noted that the pressure on the Pakistani team is only going to increase following their defeat. He pointed out that the squad announced was only for the first Test, and it will be interesting to see how they approach the next two matches.

“Their main bowlers are down on pace, while Babar is having a horrendous run as he’s gone without a fifty in 18 innings. Abrar, the lone spinner, also went wicketless and is now unwell,” he remarked.

Analyzing the conditions, Brook acknowledged that the pitch only offered assistance when the ball was new.

“The only time that the pitch offered something was when the ball was hard and new, and they made the most of that phase, reducing Pakistan to 82/6 as the likes of Carse and Atkinson extracted a bit of variable movement from the cracks,” he said.

He added that the morning play further reinforced the difficulties faced by the bowlers as the ball softened.

“Whatever play we had this morning only reinforced how difficult it was for the bowlers once the ball got softer. Pakistan would be kicking themselves for some of the shots they played yesterday. If only they had made a better fist of it in the first 20-25 overs, the draw would still have been there for the taking,” Brook concluded.

Coming to the match, Pakistan etched an unwanted record in Test history, becoming the only team to lose by an innings after scoring 500 in their first innings. England wrapped up the game inside the morning session on day five, marking their second innings victory in Asia.

By the end of day four, Pakistan was struggling at 152/6. Despite valiant efforts from Salman Agha, who scored 63, and Aamer Jamal, who remained unbeaten on 55, Pakistan could not save the Test. The duo batted through most of the fifth day but ultimately fell short.

Salman Agha, who had scored a brisk century in the first innings, showed resilience under pressure. He managed a fifty in the second innings, demonstrating his ability to adapt to different match situations. On the other end, Jamal bravely faced Brydon Carse’s short-ball barrage, even taking a blow to the helmet but continued to fight, reaching his second Test fifty.

The seventh-wicket partnership between Salman and Jamal added 109 runs, giving Pakistan a glimmer of hope. However, Leach broke through, trapping Salman with his fourth ball. Shaheen Afridi (10), the next man in, briefly counterattacked but was caught and bowled by Leach.

After Salman’s dismissal, Naseem Shah (6) was stumped by Jamie Smith off Leach’s delivery, and with Abrar Ahmed unable to bat, Pakistan was all out for 220. Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse each took two wickets, while Chris Woakes managed one.

England’s first innings score of 823/7 declared proved insurmountable for Pakistan.Pakistan’s captain, Shan Masood, faced criticism as his team suffered yet another defeat, marking his sixth consecutive loss as captain. This series of losses includes three in Australia, a home defeat by Bangladesh, and now, a defeat against England.

Masood surpassed Javed Burki’s record of three consecutive defeats, making it a challenging period for Pakistan under his leadership.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood still could not find his first win under his belt, so far he has led Pakistan in six Tests, where they have lost all the games.

Under his captaincy, they have lost all the three matches in Australia, after that they were stunned by Bangladesh at home. Now, a defeat against England.England’s comprehensive win in Multan, spearheaded by Leach’s exceptional bowling, underscores their dominance and Pakistan’s ongoing struggles.

Following England’s second successive loss to Australia in the five-match ODI series, former World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan said that right-handed batter Harry Brook’s captaincy is a “baptism of fire”. The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 champions, Australia, defeated hosts England by 68 runs in the second match of the series at Headingley in Leeds on Saturday, continuing their winning streak in ODI cricket with their 14th consecutive victory. Morgan pointed out that one of the positive aspects from the second match was the Three Lions’ batting.

“I think the positives from Trent Bridge would have been the batting. Both Ben Duckett and Will Jacks, the partnership they formed, provided a good platform and a forward-facing, commanding score against a strong Australia side. Today, the positives are probably with the ball,” Morgan said while speaking to Sky Sports.

“They weren’t as consistent as Australia would have been if they had bowled first, but that comes with experience, consistency, and skill–traits exhibited by two different sides at different stages of their development. It is a baptism of fire for Brook at the moment, with some heavy defeats against a very strong side,” he added.

The 38-year-old concluded by saying that the England side will likely look entirely different for either the India tour or the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy next year.

“If you consider the timeline for player selection, the ODI side could have a new look for something like an India tour or the Champions Trophy. You could have the likes of Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, and Joe Root back in the mix. So, for these younger, inexperienced players, it’s important to make your mark in this series and the upcoming West Indies series, as opportunities may be scarce in the new year and heading into the Champions Trophy,” Morgan concluded.

At Headingley on Saturday, England appeared to be in control after reducing Australia to 89/3, but skipper Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey hit vital half-centuries for the visitors.

Carey’s fighting knock of 74 off 67 balls, along with a crucial 49-run stand for the final wicket with Josh Hazlewood, helped Australia recover and post 270 from a precarious position.

In response, the Australian pacers dominated England’s top order, reducing them to 65/5 before Jamie Smith, Jacob Bethell, and the lower order rallied to take the team to a respectable total. The next ODI will be held at Chester-le-Street on September 24, with Australia aiming to claim the No. 1 ranking in men’s ODIs.

Quinton de Kock made a coruscating fifty and bowlers responded bravely to the challenge of defending a sub-par total as South Africa thwarted a late England surge to eke out a tight seven-run win in their Group 2 Super Eight match in the T20 World Cup at Gros Islet, St Lucia on Friday. England had done well to keep South Africa to 163/6 in spite of De Kock’s 38-ball 65, but lost their way despite a spirited fightback from Harry Brook (53) and Liam Livingstone (33). They eventually finished at 156 for six.

South Africa’s perfection in executing their plans of taking the pace off the ball corresponded with England’s refusal to show intent as the defending champions did not find a single boundary between the fifth and the 12th over.

Brook and Livingstone did extremely well to stage a fightback to bring England back into the game but South Africa held their nerves, despite making plenty of errors, to keep their winning run in this World Cup intact.

England were still significantly far from target needing 46 runs to win from the final four overs but Ottneil Baartman, who had been measly throughout the group stage, sent down plenty of full-tosses as 21 runs were knocked off in the 17th over.

But Kagiso Rabada (2/32) stamped his class as he had Livingstone (33 off 17b, 3x4s, 2x6s) caught at deep backward square leg in the 18th over.

Marco Jansen then allowed only seven runs in the penultimate over to leave England needing 14 runs off the final over, in which Anrich Nortje (1/35) did well to remove Brooks and seal Proteas’ win.

Brook and Livingstone came together in the 11th over with England needing 103 to win from 58 balls. They added 78 from 42 but it was not enough as England paid a heavy price for being meek in the beginning.

Reeza Hendricks deserved all credits for pulling a catch out of thin air, putting a stunning effort at extra cover while diving to his left after Phil Salt (11) hit one hard against Rabada in the second over.

With Salt was dismissed early, England were neither quick off the blocks nor did they change approach to counter South African tactics.

Jonny Bairstow (17) failed to make the most of a lifeline given to him when Heinrich Klaasen dropped a regulation catch running in from backward square leg off Rabada in the third over.

However, with South African bowlers keeping it tight another chance came their way when Keshav Maharaj lured Bairstow to slash one wide of the off-stump and the batter obliged by hitting in the air. Nortje grabbed the chance.

The wily Maharaj then foxed England skipper Jos Buttler by taking the pace off a delivery which he hit straight to deep midwicket, where Klaasen did not make any mistake.

Moeen Ali (9) was bounced out by Baartman with Maharaj taking the catch as England skidded to 61 for four around the halfway mark.

Earlier, South Africa squandered a blistering start by Quinton de Kock (65) as England managed to keep the Proteas to a low total.

With De Kock (68, 4×4, 4×6) going hammer and tongs to take the scoring rate to nearly 10 an over for most of their first half, England fought back hard with regular wickets courtesy excellent fielding which remained the highlight of their effort.

Apart from De Kock’s fireworks, David Miller’s late resistance, 43 off 28 balls (4×4, 2×6), saved SA the blushes.

From 86 for no loss at one stage, South Africa had slipped to 113 for four by the 15th over, losing the momentum.

Amid the steady fall of wickets at one end, Miller held his ground and his late charge helped South Africa go past the 150-mark.