PAKISTAN showed a new dimension to their cricket as they crushed England at Lord’s. The series began with doubts about the tourists’ experience at this level, and some worries about the smart watches that the players wore during play. In the end, a surprise realisation was that this fledgling team played some of the smartest cricket in Pakistan’s history.

Mickey Arthur, now two years into his tenure, has made it his mission to end Pakistan’s association with ‘unpredictable’ performances. That may prove to be the case in time, but Pakistan’s assured, disciplined and clinical display at Lord’s was as unpredictable as they come.

It’s rare that a group of Pakistan players should perform with such professionalism and at the height of their individual skills. This week’s Headingley Test may curb any enthusiasm but the evidence of Lord’s is that Pakistan’s prospects in Test cricket look good for the inevitably slow climb back up the international rankings.

Let’s not forget that only two years ago Pakistan reached number one in Test cricket following a memorable tour of England. Since then they have plummeted to seventh place with the retirements of Misbah-ul Haq and Younis Khan, and a transition phase to this new-look team.

Pace bowler Mohammad Abbas exemplified the team’s characteristics in taking 8 wickets to earn the man of the match award. Abbas was unplayable, bowling a tight line and perfect length as he moved the ball both ways. He proved the virtue of bowling like an Englishman in England, attracting comparisons with some of the greatest practitioners of the art of seam bowling. His style was most reminiscent of Terry Alderman, though, an Australian medium pacer who enjoyed relentless success in England.

What made Abbas’s display special wasn’t just the high skill required to bowl in dangerous areas and extract movement, but also his willingness to work hard and maintain his level of performance. The 28-year old from Sialkot bowled 31 overs at Lord’s, conceding only 64 runs on a reasonable batting track. While Abbas was a stand-out performer, that combination of technique and endeavour was typical of all of Pakistan’s pace attack and of Mohammad Amir in particular.

Pakistan’s bowling looked well balanced here, with the openers supported by another wholehearted effort from Hasan Ali. Most welcome, though, was a revival for all-rounders in Pakistan’s line-up as Faheem Ashraf and Shadab Khan added depth to both bowling and batting. It’s hard to achieve a balanced team without all-rounders, and that was a regular absence throughout the years of Misbah’s leadership.

Whether Shadab develops into a Test class bowler will be interesting to see. At Lord’s, he rarely carried the consistency or threat of Yasir Shah, but he more than compensated with an accomplished batting display. Shadab was one of four batsmen to score a half century, and each player followed the same blueprint: compact, patient, but ever willing to punish a loose delivery.

In an advance on previous times, the batsmen were quick to take singles and keep the scoreboard moving, an indication of their fitness and clear batting plans. They had some luck too with edges evading or eluding England’s slip cordon, but it was nothing more than Pakistan deserved for their dedication to the ancient disciplines of batting.

England’s players, by contrast, lacked Pakistan’s application. Their batsmen were eager to play a more expansive game, while the bowlers ran out of patience with line and length and decided that the way to get back into the match was by bowling short at Pakistan. The strategy caused some discomfort to Pakistan’s batsmen, injuring Babar Azam and taking wickets, but Pakistan were also able to score freely and race ahead. Ironically, England were guilty of the sins of past Pakistan teams, of impatience and poor decision making.

The only dent to Pakistan’s good humour was news that Babar will miss the Headingley Test. Along with Asad Shafiq, Babar looked the pick of Pakistan’s batsmen. He played a series of sumptuous back foot drives that raced along the turf, a spectacle that delivers unrivalled delight to spectators when ground strokes pierce the infield at Lord’s. Babar mastered the conditions and the Test format to silence anybody wondering about his ability to switch from limited overs mode.

Fakhar Zaman seems Babar’s best replacement, and his inclusion would allow Azhar Ali to drop to number 3 in the order. The rest pick themselves after Lord’s. Headingley is not the seamers’ paradise it once was, but overcast conditions may prove a sterner test of Pakistan’s batting disciplines.

The prospect of a series win was unthinkable when this Test squad was announced. Nonetheless, the selectors, the coaching staff, and the players themselves have developed an impressive formula for success on this tour and for future years. Sarfraz Ahmed’s Pakistan were brilliant, fascinating, and an uplifting surprise.

The era of the individual ended with Misbah’s term. He then crafted a team that was obstinate and dogged, which defied the odds with its success. A change in personnel, partly forced and partly deliberate, has allowed Arthur to take the team to the next stage of its evolution.

Players with natural talent, as inexperienced as they might be, are investing in fitness, discipline, and an overriding team ethic. Now that the world is alerted to this reformation in Pakistan cricket, the question is how long it can be sustained and where it will lead to?

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2018