FOR four days they fought. Toe to toe. Eye to eye. Neither team willing to concede a blade of grass at a resplendent Lord’s. Four days of attrition boiled down to a single session, the final of the fourth day.

Winner takes all. Pakistan fought with honour. They fought with pride. They fought with the integrity that deserted them on their last tour to England in 2010.

With Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes grafting their way to the fourth innings target of 283, getting them in singles, the match hung on a knife-edge. Yet there was a sense that one wicket might bring four, and when Bairstow played across a short, gently turning leg break from Yasir Shah, Pakistan smelt not only England’s blood but also their guts.

Bairstow, bowled. Broad, bowled. Woakes, caught at slip. Ball, bowled. One wicket brought four, as Pakistan’s world class bowlers, Mohammad Amir and Yasir, sprinted and whirled in ecstasy on the Lord’s outfield, bringing delight to the many Pakistan supporters in the crowd. They last saw their team win a Test at this ground in 1996.

A fairy-tale might have been scripted for Mohammad Amir, breaker of hearts, hero turned villain seeking redemption. And Amir played his part, bowling England’s captain Alastair Cook in the first innings. Otherwise, he persevered, overcoming early nerves to hassle and harry England, without the thrust of old until the win was in sight.

First, Amir bowled Stuart Broad with an in-swinging full ball to the left hander. He followed with two more full swinging deliveries to Steve Finn that were within a fraction of dismissing England’s tall bowler. In one over, with only one wicket to his name, Amir announced that normal service was resumed. Then, in a moment of grand irony, Pakistan’s once disgraced bowler shattered Ball’s stumps to win a memorable Test and help his team to a 1-0 lead in this four-Test series.

In time bigger personal performances will come for Amir, but the fairy tales belonged to others. Rahat Ali, the least feared of Pakistan’s left armers, unsettled England in their run chase with three early wickets, including the chief scalps of Cook and Joe Root. Cook feathered one behind. Root casually pulled to deepish square leg, where Yasir matched him for casualness, nonchalantly leaping in the air to extract Root, England’s prized wicket.

Surprisingly, Pakistan’s opening bowlers lacked control in both innings, gifting England quick starts. On each occasion, Rahat began to set the world to rights. On each occasion, Yasir Shah was next to pick up the cudgels.

With control that defied his billing as a leg break and googly bowler, Yasir delivered threat, economy and stamina to take 10 wickets in his first Test at

Lord’s, including a five-wicket haul that added his name to the famous ground’s honours board.

BOOT CAMP: At thirty years old, Yasir wasn’t the usual age for a Lord’s debutant. But then neither was his captain, Misbahul Haq, aged 42, who scored a memorable hundred in his first innings at this famous ground. Misbah played like a man with several Test series still in him, and celebrated his historic innings, the oldest centurion in 82 years, by saluting the Pakistan flag fluttering high

above the right balcony of the pavilion and performing 10 press-ups in honour of the boot camp that set Pakistan fair for this series.

The boot camp theme continued once the match was won. Misbah lined up his troops before the Lord’s pavilion, under a glorious sky, with the crowd hooting and cheering, and led them in a minute of physical drills - possibly the happiest physical drills of their lives. England watched on, irked and itching for instant revenge.

These four days at Lord’s once more proved that cricket is something beyond sport. It would be wrong to say that success at cricket matters more to Pakistan than any other nation but it would be fair to say that Pakistan needs success in cricket more than any other.

Six years ago, Pakistan left England in shame. Coming back this year feels like a return from the wilderness, a return that some imagined might never happen, especially with such pride. For this

win, this rebirth, the salute goes to Misbah, his players, and the boot camp.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2016