1 month ago
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Two days ago, England had shipped 556, had an opener with a dislocated thumb and a stand-in captain out for a duck.
They were feeling the heat, literally and figuratively, in the unbearable temperatures that have accompanied the first Test against Pakistan in Multan.
Questions over preparation, Ben Stokes' hamstring and the lack of a reserve opener hung in the molten air. Why was there no fast bowler to cover for the injured Josh Hull and soon-to-be-married Olly Stone? Bowling consultant James Anderson had only just arrived from playing golf in Scotland.
Forty-eight hours on, a record-breaking response has put England on the verge of their most remarkable Test victory since the last time they were in Pakistan.
We'll get to Harry Brook, Joe Root and the numbers, but it is worth reflecting on the final month of England's summer, in order to give the beginning of their winter some context.
The defeat in the final Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval led to accusations of disrespecting Test cricket, and Brook was among those in the dock. It got worse with Brook's ham-fisted "who cares?" comment after the first one-dayer against Australia.
Maybe it was the mood music around the England team that made coach Brendon McCullum tetchy the day before this first Test in Pakistan. He did not entertain questions about Anderson's absence or the tightest-ever turnaround from a home summer to a winter tour. "No excuses," was the message.
McCullum is an optimist to his core. He has no time for British pessimism, falling back on a New Zealand "she'll be right" mantra. Once a good enough rugby union fly-half to keep Dan Carter out of a schools team, he is also inspired by the All Blacks' "no dickheads" policy, external.
He demands that his players buy in and give everything to the team. Full commitment is a non-negotiable. Not once in the build-up to the first Test, either in public or private, did an England player or member of staff say the heat would be an issue.
When the tourists were required to spend 149 overs in the field after losing the toss, their spirit was tested, but never close to breaking. Even after Ben Duckett mangled his thumb and Ollie Pope admirably stepped up to open, only to return to the dressing room two balls later, England were not cowed.
What followed were two days of the most glorious England run-scoring this side of World War Two, producing numbers that only previously existed in grainy black-and-white footage and timeless Tests.
Whichever way you cut it, the figures are mind-boggling, the sort that would have to be spelled out if they were on a vidiprinter – eight-hundred-and-twenty-three.
At the centre of it all was Brook, now only the sixth member of one of English cricket’s most exclusive clubs. In passing 300, he became the first man to make a triple-century for England since BBC TV cut to horse racing for Graham Gooch’s landmark in his 333 against India at Lord's in 1990.
Brook would probably like England to play of all their Test cricket in Pakistan. In four Tests here he has more runs, 785, than his 761 in 13 matches in the UK.
On this occasion, he credited an "unreal" pitch, and a surface ranked as the eighth-flattest across the first four days of a Test anywhere in the world since such data began being collected in 2007, adds perspective to England’s gluttony.
Was Brook required to show the batsmanship of Gooch against West Indies at Headingley in 1991, Michael Atherton against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1995, or Kevin Pietersen’s dismantling of India in Mumbai in 2012?
Almost certainly not, but this innings will be remembered for its sheer audacity, the dismantling of a bowling attack to reach 300 in 310 deliveries, the second-fastest triple of all time.
For Brook, who admitted he was merely trying to beat his father David's highest score of 210, it was also testament to a fitness regime implemented when he missed England's tour of India earlier this year.
Leaner, more agile in the field and with perhaps the safest pair of hands in the England team, Brook said he would have "got to 150 and slogged one up in the air" had he not got into such fine physical condition.
If Brook was bouncing back from a rough end of the summer, he had a partner in Joe Root who knows all about having his mistakes put under the microscope.
Root’s reverse-scoop at Jasprit Bumrah in the third Test in Rajkot earlier this year was a moment of national crisis, but since then he is averaging in excess of 90.
Root assured his place in English cricketing history by going past Sir Alastair Cook as the country’s all-time leading Test run-scorer on day three. In combining with Brook, he picked up another record, sharing 454 for the fourth wicket for England's highest partnership in Tests, a stand that challenged Pakistan to match the tourists' spirit. It was a challenge they failed spectacularly.
Mercurial at the best of times, Pakistan are enduring an abysmal trot. Beaten by the USA at the T20 World Cup in June, winless in 10 home Tests, including a 2-0 defeat by Bangladesh a few weeks ago, they were brittle before this contest began, then broken by England's will.
Their fielding fell apart, six of their bowlers shipped more than 100 runs and their batting was spooked by one Chris Woakes got to scuttle through Abdullah Shafique from the first ball of the second innings. Shafique stared at the hole where his off stump used to be, all too aware of what would follow.
England could have won by the end of the fourth day, only to end four wickets shy.
Still, they will probably wrap things up quickly enough for Anderson to be back on the golf course on Friday afternoon, and Stone can toast an England win on Saturday, just after he's mentioned how beautiful the bridesmaids look.
The touring fast bowlers have managed plenty of rest, so have a good chance of being fresh for the second Test on Tuesday and Duckett's thumb was working well enough for him to make 84 on Wednesday.
Even Stokes was prowling laps of the boundary on Thursday, like a caged tiger pawing at the ground.
Records are made to be broken. It is the spirit that is made to last.
English (US)