Pakistan vs England Test series, reactions, results, summaries, Nasser Hussain commentary, Ben Stokes criticism

Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes Pakistan have found the kryptonite for Bazball as the England press pack has rallied behind Ben Stokes after their capitulation on the third day to lose the decisive third Test in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan had the upper hand by nine wickets after England bowled just 112 in the third innings, with finger spinners Sajid Khan (ten) and Noman Ali (nine) taking 19 wickets between them for the match.

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It was the latest example of captain Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum's ultra-aggressive approach failing to adapt to the spinning conditions.

They lost four consecutive Tests in India this year and were defeated in the second Test in Multan on the reused pitch that was flat as a pancake in the opening Test when Harry Brook scored a triple hundred and Joe Root got a double ton. .

India's losses were excused because of their phenomenal record at home, but New Zealand eroded their aura of invincibility by clinching the second Test and the series on Saturday, inflicting India's first home Test series defeat in almost 12 years.

But the commentary was much harsher this time as Pakistan had not won a Test match at home for three and a half years before this series and had experienced major instability off the field with a revolving door of coaches, administrators and selectors.

England's Bazball philosophy thrives on lifeless pitches where batters cannot be bothered by spin or seam movements, but Hussain is baffled by their lack of adaptability and says the discrepancy on the England side is worrying.

It shouldn't be so drastic that you play so well on flat pitches and you can hit through the line, but the moment it gets grippy and you can't play like that, you're a bit lost, Hussain told Sky Sports.

And three of their top six look set to be lost under these circumstances. I'm talking about Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, who has heavy hands, or Stokes in Asia. His last 10 scores are very low in these conditions, and he was one of our best spin players.

I want to learn to see more within that side. It can't just be that we play like this. I want to learn more and see improvement as the pitches change.

The most worrying thing for England is the question marks over their leaders.

Crawley played his 50th Test match in Rawalpindi but did not show the talent of an experienced player to adapt his game to face spinners with the new ball.

The right-handed opener scored 139 runs at 27.80 for the series – with a high score of 78 when England declared at 7/823 at the Multan Road – but that figure is only slightly lower than his career average of 31.98.

Inconsistency has been the nature of his career, but Stokes and McCullum love him for his ability to play out-of-the-box, big innings, as he did in Manchester last year with 189 against Australia in the rain-soaked fourth Ashes Test .

A player who likes pace and bounce, Crawley is one of many in the current England line-up who have been backed in the belief that they can flourish in Australia next summer, and Hussain has grown tired of that way of thinking.

All we ever hear about with England is The Ashes, gone [in 2025]. But we play so many series before The Ashes, and the conditions here are so different to Australia, Hussain said.

For someone like Zak Crawley, his position should be threatened, but when I say that, people say, well, I think things will be fine in Australia. That doesn't matter here this month. How will you play this month?

How are you going to be consistent in these circumstances? The same goes for Ollie Pope… with him it can't always be feast or famine.

It cannot remain with one series [The Ashes] every four years, away from home. You hardly take Pakistan seriously.

Pope captained England in the first Test against Pakistan and in their three-Test home series against Sri Lanka in August and September.

But the diminishing returns of the vice-captains at number three have put him under the pump.

He could only muster 55 runs at an average of 11 for the series, and in his last 12 Test innings he has passed 30 once – with 154 against Sri Lanka at his home ground The Oval.

During this series, Babar Azam was dropped by Pakistan due to a similar lean spot and in his last Test after 33 years, BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew wrote that Pope needs a grand tour of New Zealand – starting next month – to prevent the ax from falling on him.

Ollie Pope is mind-boggling. When he gets in, he makes teams pay, and his hundreds are regularly big hundreds. It's the entry that has become the problem, Agnew said.

He got a good ball in the second innings in Rawalpindi. He was sucked in by Noman's deception. It's something that happens when you're out of shape.

The New Zealand tour now looks like a very big series for Pope as he doesn't want to give England a decision. He should think long and hard about giving the first 30 balls of his innings to the bowlers to ensure he is still in at the end of that period.

Pope doesn't have to look far for an example, because (Joe) Root is one of the very best at it.

As for Stokes, the captain looked all at sea this series.

He has been endlessly mocked on social media for letting go of his bat and launching it high into the air, towards mid-wicket, when he was stunned in the final innings of the second Test.

In England's second innings, Stokes did a complete 360 ​​and got out leaving the ball.

It was clear the all-rounder's mind was in disarray on his return from a torn hamstring given his poor record in Asia – he averages 26.46 on the continent and has not featured in his last thirteen innings managed to reach half a century.

Ben Stoke's dismissal on the final day, failing to play a shot on a straight ball from Noman Ali, was a complete brain fade from one of the most clear-thinking cricketers I have ever seen, Agnew said.

Stokes usually has so much clarity about his game. It's really unusual to see such an error in judgment.

Stokes hasn't played for so long and is no longer himself. The captain had been out for more than two months due to a hamstring injury and was on his way back.

There were times when it seemed like he had a lot on his mind and he admitted it felt like a long tour.

What Stokes has in his favor is good technique. He'll be fine, I have no doubt about that. He could be pleased that England's next Test is in Christchurch, where he will be surrounded by plenty of family and friends.

For all the talk among themselves about how privileged people are to watch them play Test cricket and how they have transformed the format, followers of English cricket still wonder whether the old-fashioned approach would have served them better here?

There's no denying that Bazball has improved their overall record – this was only their second series defeat in the Stokes/McCullum era that started in 2022. They've won six series and drawn two.

But should they take a horses-for-a-course approach rather than a one-size-fits-all mentality with the bat?

British Telegraphs cricket correspondent Scyld Berry thinks so with a scathing assessment of their behavior in Pakistan.

Other Test teams in England history would have fallen for 144 and 112, or not much more, in the same circumstances of the last two Tests. But the point is that they would have sold their wickets at a higher price, Berry wrote.

This England team, under the current leadership of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, is more generous: take one wicket, get one free, or two, or three. Hurry, hurry, the sale has now begun: all wickets are going cheap.

And the knock-on effect of these sudden and seismic collapses, if only they could see it, is that England's batsmen are encouraging the opposition. The Australians can only be happy when they see England's one-sided naivety: they know that this English side is inherently fragile.

Pakistan just had to be patient and wait. This was the message from Pakistan coach Jason Gillespie, himself an Australian, after the first Test and an English batsman will attempt something completely inappropriate in the circumstances, a shot with excessive risk. The last thing they will do is dig in and fight.

England will not return to the subcontinent for Test matches until a tour of Bangladesh in 2027.

That means Stokes and McCullum will likely put this loss aside and focus on pumping up their boys ahead of the upcoming series in more favorable circumstances, but things won't necessarily get any easier.

New Zealand will face an intriguing battle as the inaugural Test world champions return home, buoyed by taking on the toughest challenge in Test cricket – India in India.

A huge assignment then looms for Bazball next year with India at home before he comes to Australia for the Ashes, where they have not won a Test in their last 15 attempts.

This loss in Pakistan has set the jungle drums beating, and they will only get louder if England's batsmen continue to put a low price on their wickets when they can't use the spinning ball as an excuse.