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.