England crush Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley; player ratings from three-day Test
England beat Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley on day three of the Test, with BBC Sport publishing player ratings for the three-day contest.
After a turbulent summer, England recorded a much-needed Test victory when Pakistan were dismissed by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley on day three; Joe Root’s return as captain was noted for bringing calm and he scored 66 on day two.
England’s top order produced several notable contributions: Emilio Gay only batted once, scoring 33, and his dismissal was the fourth time in his four-Test career he has been caught nicking to the wicketkeeper or the slips (rating 4); Ben Duckett made 15, burned a review despite being plumb lbw and took a straightforward catch after Joe Root vacated first slip (5); Jordan Cox filled in for Jacob Bethell with a composed 73 at number three (8); Joe Root’s 66 on day two earned him an 8; Harry Brook scored 91 from 93 balls (8); Dan Lawrence made 51 on his return (6); Jamie Smith was out for 25 after playing a poor shot, but received credit for improved keeping and standing up to Ollie Robinson (6).
England’s seamers dominated the match: Gus Atkinson returned 1-51 but was judged to have bowled better than the figures imply (5); Ollie Robinson took 5-51 in Pakistan’s first innings and finished with career-best match figures of 8-80 — "Player of the match? Absolutely." — and the report added, "plug him in as attack leader for the next five Tests." (8); Jofra Archer struggled in the first innings and returned 0-26 in the second (6); Josh Tongue claimed eight wickets in the match, including a spell that produced three wickets in six balls after lunch, and was assessed as well-suited to a four-strong pace attack when Root could choose when to deploy him (8).
Pakistan’s batting offered few positives: Azan Awais fell first ball and made nine from 14 balls (2); Imam-ul-Haq made 42 in the first innings before a loose drive triggered a collapse from 97-2 to 171 all out (4); Abdullah Shafique was the only Pakistan batter to reach a fifty, scoring 61 in the first innings (6); Shan Masood scored five and 29 (4); Saud Shakeel was noted for a tame second-innings dismissal flicking to backward square leg after losing his balance, with a rating of 3; Salman Agha scored 25 across two innings, did not bowl and was criticised for his field leadership while standing in as captain (3).
Pakistan’s bowling produced mixed returns: Muhammad Rizwan showed fight with 41 in the second innings but was criticised for not attempting to stand up to the stumps to Muhammad Ali when Brook was batting (4); Ali Usman took 5-95, his first Test five-for in his third Test, though he bowled too many deliveries down the leg side (5); Khurram Shahzad was described as the pick of the seamers with three wickets for 133 runs at over six an over (4); Muhammad Abbas was called disappointing (4); the report said of Mohammad Ali that it was not his fault Pakistan selected an attack with limited pace and suggested Ubaid Shah, Naseem Shah's younger brother, should come in next week (3).
The ratings piece concluded with selection and leadership suggestions based on the Headingley outcome: the report recommended making Robinson the attack leader for the next five Tests, and it suggested Ubaid Shah should be brought into the attack next week, with a conditional reference to Babar Azam being fit again for Lord's affecting captaincy choices.