England win 3rd Test, complete historic clean sweep in Pakistan

Published December 20, 2022
England’s captain Ben Stokes and Ben Duckett celebrate after winning the third Test match between Pakistan and England at Karachi’s National Stadium on Tuesday. — Reuters
England’s captain Ben Stokes and Ben Duckett celebrate after winning the third Test match between Pakistan and England at Karachi’s National Stadium on Tuesday. — Reuters
England’s captain Ben Stokes (R) plays a shot during the fourth day of third Test match between Pakistan and England at the National Stadium in Karachi on December 20. — AFP
England’s captain Ben Stokes (R) plays a shot during the fourth day of third Test match between Pakistan and England at the National Stadium in Karachi on December 20. — AFP

England beat Pakistan by eight wickets in the third and final Test in Karachi on Tuesday to sweep the series 3-0 and hand the Pakistanis their first home whitewash.

Resuming on 112-2, England reached the modest 167-run target in just 38 minutes, with Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes finishing unbeaten on 82 and 35 respectively.

England won the first Test in Rawalpindi by 74 runs and the second in Multan by 26 runs.

This was England’s first Test tour of Pakistan since 2005, having refused to tour the South Asian country in the years since because of security concerns.

Duckett cracked his 12th boundary off fast bowler Mohammad Wasim to seal the victory on the fourth day, with England finishing on 170-2.

Agha Salman dropped Stokes off spinner Abrar Ahmed with the English captain on 22 and just 19 needed for victory.

With nine wins in their last 10 matches, England have vindicated their newly adopted freewheeling approach to Test cricket dubbed “Bazball”, after the nickname of coach Brendon McCullum.

McCullum and Stokes took charge of a misfiring side in May that had won just one of their previous 17 Tests, including a 4-0 humiliation in the Ashes in Australia.

England played power-packed cricket right from the start of the Pakistan tour, smashing 506-4 to set a record for the most team runs on the opening day of a Test.

Four batters — Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Duckett — scored hundreds that day, another record.

Stokes was also bold in his captaincy, setting a tantalising 343-run target for Pakistan in Rawalpindi and then setting unusual fields to get wickets.

Pakistan’s problems were compounded by injuries to their fast bowlers, with Shaheen Shah Afridi ruled out before the series with a knee injury.

Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah missed the last two Tests with fitness problems. But Pakistan suffered major batting collapses, losing their last six wickets for 108 in the first innings in Karachi and seven for 52 in the second.

Tuesday’s defeat means it is also the first time Pakistan have lost four home Tests on the trot, having been beaten by Australia in Lahore in March.

Opinion

Editorial

Growth to stability
Updated 29 Apr, 2026

Growth to stability

THE State Bank’s decision to raise its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 11.5pc signals a shift in priorities...
Constitutional order
29 Apr, 2026

Constitutional order

FOLLOWING the passage of the 26th and 27th Amendments, in 2024 and 2025 respectively, jurists and members of the...
Protecting childhood
29 Apr, 2026

Protecting childhood

AN important victory for child protection was secured on Monday with the Punjab Assembly’s passage of the Child...
Unlearnt lessons
Updated 28 Apr, 2026

Unlearnt lessons

THE US is undoubtedly the world’s top military and economic power at this time. Yet as the Iran quagmire has ...
Solar vision?
28 Apr, 2026

Solar vision?

THE recent imposition of certain regulatory requirements for small-scale solar systems, followed by the reversal of...
Breaking malaria’s grip
28 Apr, 2026

Breaking malaria’s grip

FOR the first time in decades, defeating malaria in our lifetime is possible, according to WHO. Yet in Pakistan,...