Five things we learnt from Pakistan vs England series

Barnaby Read 16:33 06/11/2015
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  • As the dust settles on Pakistan’s 2-0 Test series win over England in the UAE, the two teams will begin taking stock of their performances with new challenges drawing on the horizon.

    While Pakistan will wait a further seven months before playing another Test, England head to South Africa this winter in search of an immediate return to form in the format.

    Here, Sport360 looks at five things we have learnt from the three matches in the Emirates.

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    1) Pakistan are unbeatable in the UAE
    Pakistan’s unbeaten record in the UAE extended to nine series with their latest win and it was clear for all to see just why they are so potent in these conditions.

    Blessed with a side at home batting for long hours on slow turners and a bowling attack mixed with equal ferocity and control, they are set up to dominate any team in the world on home soil.

    It will be interesting to see what happens when Misbah-ul-Haq finally retires – and later Younis Khan – as a bulk of their runs and experience will suddenly be lost.

    However, as long as they keep producing spinners of the quality of Adbur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal and this series’ heroes Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah, the matter of taking 20 wickets will remain a mere formality.

    2) James Anderson and Stuart Broad are the best in the business
    Speaking of taking wickets, there are no seamers better at it than the English in the UAE.

    English quicks have taken 54 wickets in 6 matches in the UAE at a table-topping average of just 25.40 – standing above the next best Aussies’ average of 30.74.

    In Stuart Broad and James Anderson, England caused Pakistan all kinds of problems whenever one of them had the ball in their hand.

    The control they exerted in Pakistan’s first innings exemplified their overall performance, taking 6-30 in 28.1 overs between them.

    In this heat, on these pitches, their efforts were truly remarkable and it is little surprise that Anderson finished just two wickets behind series leader Shah, while Broad ended up with the fifth best bowling average.

    3) England still have massive spin issues
    Had Anderson and Broad been more ably supported by their spinners they would have pushed Pakistan even further and probably come away with a series win.

    Adil Rashid shone in the first Test with a second innings five-for on debut but from then on it was only his batting that impressed.

    His inexperience at this level was brutally exposed and there is no doubt that the leg-spinner is not ready-made for Test cricket but still has all the ability to become a leading spinner.

    Moeen Ali ended up England’s second highest wicket-taker with nine (one more than Rashid) but if you compare England’s three spinners’ return of 20 to Pakistan’s 35 from Shah, Babar and Shoaib Malik then the difference in class is clear.

    4) Yasir Shah is the best spinner in the world
    For most, this was clearly evident before a ball was bowled in this series but for others Shah was yet to leave one of ‘the big boys’ feeling dizzy.

    Shah was missed by Pakistan in the first Test, England securing a draw that could so easily have been a victory had some dubious ICC rulings over bad light not halted their progress.

    And when he overcame the side strain that kept him out of that match, Shah showed the world just how good he is.

    Big turning leggies, mixed with clever googlies and a seemingly unerring line and length saw Shah leave England bamboozled as he claimed the man of the series award for his 15 wickets at 21.53.

    5. Misbah-ul-Haq is one of Pakistan’s greats
    The Pakistan captain splits opinion in his home country with the regularity that he splits fielders with punching drives, pulls, sweeps (you name it) on the pitch.

    One thing that should never be doubted is Misbah’s significance to this Pakistan team, both as captain and their premier middle-order bastman.

    His wicket is prized, his brain a tactical bank so affluent that he never need worry about withdrawing his next golden nugget.

    Having taken over as captain at one of his country’s darkest times (and let’s be honest, there have been a few of those), Misbah has led Pakistan in 40 Tests, winning 20, losing 11 and drawing another 11.

    It is a remarkable record from a remarkable player who would be remembered as a legend of the game had he come from anywhere else in the world.

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