Pakistan interim Test captain Salman Ali Agha reacted to the team’s defeat against England. The host nation secured a win by an innings and 135 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series. The match ended in less than three days, with the English team dominating across departments against an ordinary rival side. Joe Root’s team took a 238-run lead on the basis of the first innings and restricted Pakistan to 135 in the second essay.
Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue took eight wickets each in the game, which ended Pakistan’s hopes of staging a comeback. Robinson was named the Player of the Match for his role in a comprehensive victory.
Agha spoke to the media after the match, and he is confident of a better display in the second Test at Lord’s, starting August 27.
“England have outplayed us. They’ve been outstanding in every department,” Agha told the BBC. “We need to flush this game out and turn it around at Lord’s,” he added.
England’s new Test skipper Root hailed his teammates for their performances.
“Brilliant performance,” Root said. “You look at the prep we had leading in, coming straight from the Hundred, the fact we’re in a slight transition stage. I thought the way that we dealt with all of that, the clarity and the way the guys approached this week has been outstanding,” he added.
Root’s second stint as captain started on a positive note, with players giving their best under his leadership. He was given the captain’s armband after Ben Stokes’ retirement from international cricket. Brendon McCullum, who was the head coach, also parted ways with the national team after a series of defeats.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has appointed former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming as the new head coach in red-ball cricket, but he will team up with the players after a long break.
Brief Scores: England 366 for 8 (Brook 91, Cox 73, Root 66, Lawrence 51, Usman 5-92) beat Pakistan 171 (Tongue 5-46, Robinson 5-51) and 135 (Rizwan 41, Robinson 3-29, Tongue 3-43, Archer 3-50) by an innings and 103 runs
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