The England Test team has returned home from Pakistan, licking its wounds after falling to a 2-1 defeat.
So is the second defeat in Asia this year a serious setback for Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum as they look to build momentum ahead of next year’s Ashes Down Under? And whose place is under pressure?
Mail Sport columnist Nasser Hussain answers your questions…
England have returned home from Pakistan, licking their wounds after falling to a 2-1 defeat.
So is the second defeat in Asia this year a serious setback for Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum?
Q: England seem to bat the same way regardless of the pitch conditions or the match situation. I always thought you should play the situation. What is your position on this? – Alan Barnes
I still think the players should take advantage of the situation. That’s why someone like Joe Root is an all-time great: it’s what he’s done throughout his career.
I would say this summer there was a bit of a reset in the way England played. There were times when they absorbed the pressure. They got things right. In the first test in Multan, they also got it right.
Also, everyone is concentrating on batting. The fact is that Pakistan’s spinners outperformed ours. That’s a big problem.
Q: Is it time to ask questions about Ollie Pope’s future at No. 3? What other changes could be made to the order? Could Jamie Smith and Ben Stokes swap positions to allow Stokes to be more aggressive with the tail? – Liam Bono
Jobs in the England team cannot be a job for life. You have to constantly ask questions. His coin is run and Pope is inconsistent. A barren spell is followed by a magnificent hundred.
But I don’t think they will make the change because they have invested a lot in him and have named him vice-captain. But he needs a good tour of New Zealand.
As for Stokes moving on? I wouldn’t mind him coming in at number 3 if he’s not going to bowl much. I’d like to see him take on more responsibilities, but only if he wants to.
He has the captaincy and a workload with the ball to consider. If he bowls a lot, then it would demand a lot from him to bat higher.
I feel like the players should take advantage of the situation. That’s why someone like Joe Root is an all-time great.
Ollie Pope is inconsistent and that is worrying, but I don’t expect England to make a change.
I wouldn’t mind Ben Stokes coming in to improve the order at 3 if he’s not going to bowl much.
Q: What about Zak Crawley? Is there a possibility of selecting Keaton Jennings, a great spin player, as a specialist for these tours? – George Harding
Jennings’ question is a really good one. The bowling department always seems to have plenty of horses for the fields (we left out the seamers who would play at home), but the batsmen remain the same.
However, under those conditions, one could argue that Jennings is a better spin player. I guess one of the problems is that if someone like Jennings came and got a hundred, would you send them to New Zealand next month?
Q: What positives can England take from this series? It seems they have unearthed a real gem in Brydon Carse… – Jane children
I watch the players’ body language from the commentary box. If they are fast players, are they prepared for every first ball of the day? And are you prepared for the latest? Carse is always a yes to both things.
Against Pakistan, he continued to advance. Even when he had two catches in his bowling in one over, he maintained his composure. It was very impressive. Carse and Matthew Potts did a lot of good and I was also very impressed with Smith.
Brydon Carse really impressed me and it looks like England have unearthed a gem there.
Carse and his Durham teammate Matthew Potts did a lot of good in this series.
Q: Pakistan spinners stole the show to win the series, while Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach struggled to make the same impact. Where are we with them as test players? – Sheila Noble
We saw the potential of Bashir and Rehan Ahmed before lunch on the second day of the third Test. They bowled very well. But you can’t compare those two with Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, two bowlers who have a lot of experience in their own conditions.
Leach still bowls as he did when he joined the team six years ago, but his approach made a big difference with his change of pace. They dropped four or five miles an hour to catch their opponents. England’s spinners can learn a lot from their control of pace, line and length.
Q: I was surprised when Pakistan defeated England in the last two matches of the series. After England won the first Test so comprehensively, no one would have expected Pakistan to bounce back like this… – fatma bib
Listen, this is not the time to be too critical. Yes, England have lost their last two games, but before the defeat in Multan their record was six wins and one loss since the beginning of the summer.
This England team is still very good, very watchable, they just have to learn the art of batting against spin and the art of bowling.
We saw the potential of Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed on the second day of the third Test.
But you can’t compare those two with Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, two very experienced bowlers.
Jack Leach bowls much as he did when he joined the team six years ago.
There was always going to be a discrepancy between their first performance and the next because when conditions changed they would never score 800 again.
They just need to bring their performances closer so that there isn’t such a big gap between the cricket they are excellent at (arguing 50 partnerships for the first wicket at home in 4.2 overs) and the cricket they need to work on. , like when the ball spins in Asia.
Great players play well in all conditions. That is the challenge.
