Where Pakistan went wrong

Sarfraz Ahmed expressed his disappointment after the Headingley Test, which England won by an innings and 55 runs to square the series 1-1, that his young Pakistan side couldn’t replicate their heroics at Lord’s.

“We won the toss and elected to bat, and that was the right decision to bat first, but unfortunately we didn’t bat well and we lost too many wickets in those first two hours.”

Many judges said that it was a good toss to lose, considering the lateral movement on offer to England’s bowlers, but Ahmed refuted any suggestion that he should have bowled first.

“Yeah, obviously it was tough, but it was a good batting pitch and we wanted to use it first. But we were not as disciplined as the last game. Our batting was not up to the mark.”

Despite defeat at Leeds, Sarfraz is optimistic about the future for his team. “We have a very young side. We are going through the learning process. Every day we’re learning. The way we came back at Malahide [to beat Ireland] and the win at Lord’s, I’m very proud of my team.”

His points were echoed by the Pakistan coach, Mickey Arthur, who spoke afterwards to Sky Sports. “I think we’ve done a hell of a lot of good things in this series, I’m just disappointed at the final outcome. But we’re on the right track. The talent that we have in that dressing room is phenomenal.”

Arthur conceded that consistency will always be an issue with young teams. “We’re all about trying to get this consistency right – playing in the right style and right manner. We’re incredibly disappointed, but as long as that dressing room learns from it, hopefully we can grow and grow quicker.

“It’s a young, young dressing room. Guys are still feeling what it’s like to play tough Test cricket over a long period. There’s only four guys here who have played Test cricket in England before. But our expectation is still more. These guys know that.”

Arthur lamented how much of the good work his batsmen showed at Lord’s was undermined by their decision-making at Leeds. “What they did at Lord’s, they were patient, they committed to their defence, they committed to their attack, and they showed really good intent. We got that wrong here.

“After winning a good toss, we had to get through a session and a half there, because they were really good batting conditions later in the day, but we could never do that.

“The key thing for us across the series is that a number of our batters got starts but no one got a hundred. If we’re to grow as a team, someone in that top six needs to start making hundreds.”