3rd Test, Karachi (Fourth Day of Five)
Pakistan 304 (Babur 78) and 216 (Ahmed 5-48)
England 354 (Brooke 111, Fowkes 64) and 170-2 (Duckett 82*)
England won by eight wickets.
England completed a historic 3-0 clean sweep of Pakistan within 40 minutes on the fourth day of the final Test in Karachi.
Needing 55 more runs, England took just 11.1 overs to reach the target of 167.
Ben Duckett scored 82 not out while Ben Stokes remained unbeaten on 35. The two left-handers put on an unbeaten partnership of 73 runs.
England, on their first Test tour of Pakistan in 17 years, became the first visiting team to win three matches in a series in that country.
It also ends a year in which England have undergone a remarkable turnaround under captain Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum – their ninth win in 10 matches since the pair took charge.
The focus will now turn to next summer, when England will try to regain the Ashes from Australia.
Stokes’ side will play two Tests against New Zealand in February, then complete their Ashes preparations with a lone match against Ireland in June. The white-ball team has limited-overs tours to South Africa and Bangladesh early next year.
Stokes’ history boys
Prior to this tour, England had only managed to win two Tests against Pakistan in 30 attempts in 61 years. They have now won three in three weeks.
Not only that, they have won their first series against Pakistan outside the UK in 22 years, ending a three-match series losing streak until the start of 2021.
This is only the fourth time that England have swept a series of three Tests or more.
What makes this achievement even more remarkable – one of England’s biggest away wins – is the turmoil they were in at the start of the year.
When England were beaten in Hobart at the end of the Ashes, then suffered a series defeat by the West Indies in Grenada, the idea that they would win six of seven home Tests and then a 3-0 win in Pakistan will go.
Yet, under the impressive leadership of Stokes and McCullum, England are shaping up to be one of the most formidable Test teams in the world.
Their form has come too late to reach next year’s World Test Championship final, but the clash with Australia is shaping up to be one of the most eagerly awaited Ashes series in some time.
Broom Seal on Historic Tour
The series will live long in the memory, not just for England’s historic comeback in Pakistan or the surprise scoreline, but for the sensational cricket played.
England’s win on the flat pitch of Rawalpindi, when they piled up for 506-4 on the first day and then dismissed Pakistan in the dying minutes of the fifth day, was one of their greatest ever victories. A 26-run win in the second Test at Multan almost leveled the drama.
This third Test was a new challenge – England lost the toss on a pitch more suited to spin bowling, conditions that have often undone them in the past.
Still, they achieved their biggest win in a match notable for the emergence of 18-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, the youngest man to play a Test for England, who took 5-5 in Pakistan’s second innings. For 48
Earlier, Harry Brook’s third century of the series put England in a strong position – the 23-year-old has given the selectors a tough decision when Jonny Bairstow returns from a broken leg.
Throughout the tour, Ollie Robinson has confirmed his status as one of the world’s greatest seam bowlers – the first Test England have played in 15 years and 197 matches since June 2007, when James Anderson or Stuart Broad Lives without one.
It was also the successful return to Test cricket of opener Dutt, who had been recalled after a six-year absence from the team.
Where Duckett led England’s frantic charge to complete the chase in fading light on Monday evening, Tuesday morning was more measured, even if his sweeping scoring rate was above five runs per over.
Stokes, tied with McCullum with 107 sixes – the most in Test cricket – made every effort to break the England coach’s record.
It was Duckett who scored the winning runs, meaning Stokes’ next record-breaking opportunity will come in New Zealand – the country of his birth and McCullum’s homeland.
‘England cricket is changing’ – reaction
England captain Ben Stokes: “It’s been perfect, we have a way of playing but this series was a challenge for us, but we stuck to our game plan and adapted really well, be it with the bat or the ball. .
“It all comes down to belief. I have the confidence to carry guys on the field with me.”
England opener Ben Duckett told Sky Sports: “It was appropriate that Ben Stokes was there. I know he wanted to hit a six to win and get Baz [McCollum] behind. He It wanted badly.”
Former England spinner Alex Hartley on Test Match Special: “Other teams have to do that – be more aggressive and ruthless. Stokes and McCullum have shown it works.
“This England team is changing cricket. They are playing every ball and hitting it in space.”
