Half-centuries for Denly, Pope and Buttler lift England away from trouble

George Dobell in Whangarei16-Nov-20191:11

Buttler, Pope, Denly fifties shore up England

Joe Denly proved his form and fitness for next week’s first Test against New Zealand with an increasingly assured half-century in Whangarei.Denly damaged his ankle ligaments ahead of the T20I series just over two weeks ago. Tripping on a boundary rope as he attempted to take a catch in training, the early prognosis was that he would be struggling to recover in time for the Test series.But he not only demonstrated his fitness here, he showed the tempo and technique that England require from their No. 3. And while there were moments when he looked hurried – he was a little fortunate to survive one delivery from the admirably hostile Kyle Jamieson that reared on him and produced a fence that flew between slips and gully – he was, for the most part, admirably compact. On the drive and pull, he is as elegant as anyone in this team.”When I first did it I was probably thinking my tour was over,” Denly said afterwards. “It was pretty nasty. I was lucky not to do some really serious damage and it was always touch and go to get ready for this game. There was a bit of doubt.”But it’s settled down nicely. Whether it’s the running between the wickets or playing all the shots, it feels fine. There’s no discomfort. It’s just a case of monitoring it and making sure it doesn’t swell up overnight.”Joe Denly made an encouraging comeback from injury

Denly’s intervention helped ensure it was, in the end, a pretty decent day for England. Having set themselves the challenge of batting for a full three sessions – if that sounds like a modest aspiration, it’s worth remembering that this is a side which has been bowled out for under 100 three times this year – they did so for the loss of eight wickets (and seven on the day) gaining time at the crease and acclimatising to the slower pace of life in this format of the game.It wasn’t entirely comfortable. The first hour or so saw New Zealand’s fast bowlers extract life from the pitch that was absent for all but Jofra Archer when England had the ball and, had Ollie Pope been dismissed on 7, nibbling outside off stump, they would have been 126 for 6 and in some trouble.As it was, however, Scott Kuggeleijn (playing, with England’s blessing, as a far from like-for-like concussion replacement for Hamish Rutherford who had been struck by an Archer bouncer the previous day), had over-stepped and Pope was reprieved. He and Denly subsequently added 90 in 20.4 overs for England’s sixth wicket.Pope’s contribution was, perhaps, just as important as Denly’s. Despite his excellent record – he goes into the Test series averaging 59.52 in first-class cricket – Pope still has the reputation as something of a dasher. So it was encouraging to see him leave the ball shrewdly here, while still picking up runs from deflections off his hip and steers into the covers as much as from putting away the loose ball.”Chris Silverwood has said he doesn’t care how long it takes, he just wants big runs from us,” Denly said. “That’s what we’ve spoken about as a group: scoring big runs in the first innings, especially.”Earlier England had struggled against an admirable new-ball attack. Dom Sibley, struck on the helmet by a well-directed short ball from the impressive Jamieson, was then lured into an uncharacteristic drive outside off stump before Joe Root and Ben Stokes departed within a couple of minutes of one another.Root could, perhaps, count himself unfortunate: replays suggested there may have been an inside edge on the delivery that was adjudged to have trapped him leg before. Stokes edged to the cordon as he attempted to leave one that bounced on him more than he anticipated.Ollie Pope leans into a drive

As the evening wore on, there were runs for Jos Buttler, too. The most dramatic phase of his innings came towards the close as England looked to set-up a declaration; at one stage, his successive scoring strokes were 4, 4, 4, 2, 4, 4, 4, 6, 6, 4. Impressive as it was – few hit the ball as cleanly as Buttler in full flow – it was the manner in which he built his innings before that point that was most assuring for England.Buttler is, in some ways, fortunate to make this tour. While Jonny Bairstow was dropped having averaged 23.77 in the Ashes, Buttler was retained having averaged 24.70. But the England management reasoned that Buttler went into that series suffering more than most from the emotionally draining World Cup experience and that, having benefitted from a rest, he would rediscover his best form.On this early evidence, that would appear to have been sound judgement. Buttler has sometimes looked solid and sometimes dazzled in his Test career to date, but has rarely put the two together in a way that suggested he had found a method that maximised his undoubted abilities. He has, at this point, scored only one first-class century since June 2014 and five in total.But while Denly, pulling straight to midwicket, and Pope, slogging to mid-off, squandered their chances of a century, Buttler got his head down and showed he had been listening to the orders of his new coach. He looked not just a fine strokemaker, but a fine batsman.

It’s the last weekend of the regular season in the WBBL with the final push for a spot in the knockouts

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2019Sydney Sixers v Adelaide StrikersSarah Coyte’s three-for and Tahlia McGrath’s 2 for 19 and a 35-ball 30 amplified Sydney Sixers‘ chances of missing out on a place in the WBBL semi-finals for the first time in history of the tournament as the Adelaide Strikers chased the paltry target of 94 down with 29 balls to spare.In the injury-enforced absence of regular captain Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy opted to bat in the first of the two must-win weekend fixtures against the Strikers. But it didn’t pay off at Hurstville Oval as Healy and No. 3 Ashleigh Gardner fell inside three overs to Megan Schutt, who finished with 2 for 12.The Sixers never recovered from the early wobble as Coyte and McGrath dented the middle and lower-middle order with regular strikes, Coyte returning an outstanding 3 for 9 – with a maiden – off her full allocation. Marizanne Kapp top-scored with 20 while Dane van Niekerk made 19, but their efforts could only help the Sixers to 93 for 9.Strikers opener Suzie Bates’ dismissal in the first over, courtesy Kapp, raised hopes of a fightback. However, a 72-run stand between McGrath and Sophie Devine – the latter making 46 not-out on her way to becoming the first overseas player to 2000 WBBL runs – steered Strikers to their tenth win of the season – and the top of the table – in only 15.1 overs.Melbourne Stars v Melbourne RenegadesJess Duffin continued to carry the Melbourne Renegades on her shoulders as they pushed for a place in the semi-finals with a superbly-paced chase against the Melbourne Stars to win by six wickets with a ball to spare. Duffin struck 76 off 57 balls after coming in at 2 for 11 in the second over, initially steadying the innings with Tammy Beaumont before adding 81 in 10 overs with Courtney Webb (30). Georgia Wareham then played a vital cameo in a tense finish with eight need off the last over. The Stars had fallen away after a tremendous opening stand of 118 in 13 overs between Elyse Villani (45) and Lizelle Lee (70). That pair departed in the space of three deliveries and the Stars could only add 44 in the remainder of the innings, 20 of those coming off the last over.Perth Scorchers v Hobart HurricanesErin Fazackerley’s first half-century of the season set up Hobart Hurricanes‘ emphatic six-wicket win over the Perth Scorchers. Hurricanes’ successful chase of 108 gave them only their fourth win of the tournament, but pegged back the third-placed Scorchers on their path to consolidating their position in the top two, heading into the final day of the league stage.The Hurricanes attack bowled the Scorchers out for a meagre 107 after opting to field at the Lilac Hill Park. Tayla Vlaeminck accounted for openers Amy Jones and Meg Lanning with two outstanding inswingers inside the Powerplay. Medium-pacers Belinda Vakarewa and Nicola Carey and wristspinner Maisy Gibson then combined to take five wickets between them, bowling the opposition out off the last ball of the 20th over.Opening the innings for the Hurricanes, 21-year-old Fazackerley anchored the chase, hitting five fours and two sixes in a 48-ball 58 – the second half-century in her WBBL career. Although medium-pacer Taneale Peschel’s double-wicket second over – she was on a hat-trick when Fran Wilson was on strike – caused a scare early in the chase, captain Corine Hall and South Africa allrounder Chloe Tryon – the latter hitting a six for the winning runs – ensured the Hurricanes overhauled the chase in 15.4 overs, six balls after Fazackerley fell.The final set of league games will be played on Sunday, with the Sixers and the Melbourne Renegades vying for the fourth and final berth in the knockouts. The Strikers, Scorchers, and Brisbane Heat are already through.

Buttler says England must learn from New Zealand’s approach to first Test

George Dobell in Mount Maunganui24-Nov-2019Jos Buttler believes England must learn from New Zealand’s approach in the first Test in Mount Manganui.While England were kept in the field for more than 200 overs as New Zealand amassed more than 600 runs, Buttler felt it was England’s batsmen who had most to learn from New Zealand’s disciplined approach to the game. England were dismissed for 353 in their first innings; a score that looks ever more below par the longer the match progresses.”If we’re really critical, it’s the first-innings runs with the bat [which have cost us],” Buttler said. “New Zealand played a very patient game with the bat. They showed the value of that patient game of batting on flat wickets and setting your sights very high. BJ Watling and Mitchell Santner really set their stall out and batted for a long time. They put a lot of overs into our legs and built that score.”We have to learn to be able to do that. You look at the top sides around the world on flat wickets and they get very, very big scores and bat for a very, very long time.”That’s a big learning point for us. With the bat, just when you think you’re getting to a place where you need to be, there’s a lot more hard work to come to build those big scores.”You can’t fault the bowlers’ efforts. I thought the effort of everyone was outstanding.”Also read: Watling knock raises questions on England’s gameWhile Buttler accepted England had struggled to adapt from the “fast-forward cricket” played in England in recent times, he rejected the suggestion the Kookaburra ball should be adopted in Championship cricket. Instead he insisted the Dukes ball, which generally provides bowlers with more assistance, created more entertaining cricket but suggested the pitches in county cricket should be improved.”Test cricket with a Dukes ball in England is fantastic,” he said. “It’s very watchable. It’s a good contest between bat and ball. I think most people talk about introducing a Dukes to the rest of the world as opposed to the other way around.”The product we have with Test cricket in England is up there with the best product in the world so I wouldn’t want to tamper with that very much.”One thing potentially we can do in England is play on better batting wickets. The Dukes ball still offers the bowlers enough, especially in England if you get the overhead conditions. But we could look at playing county cricket on better batting wickets.”But we have played a lot of Test cricket in different conditions over the past year where it’s been fast-forward cricket. We have to be adaptable. There’s some education for all of us as batters.”What had looked a docile pitch when New Zealand batted suddenly looked full of danger when England began their second innings. But Butter suggested that was a reflection of the match situation and the pressure England were under as much as it was anything to do with the pitch. And, he said, it was another area England had to learn from New Zealand.”We have to learn about scoreboard pressure as well,” he said. “If you have got those runs on the board, if you have put miles into the legs of batsmen who have to field for 200 overs, it puts those guys under a lot of pressure when they come out to bat 10 minutes later.”Scoreboard pressure is massive. If we had made 450-500-plus in the first innings, it would have been a completely different outlook for the team batting second.”Buttler also defended Jofra Archer from any criticism, providing a reminder that he is only five Tests into his career.”I think you all forget Jofra is very new to international cricket,” he said. “It’s his first overseas tour and the first time he’s bowled with a Kookaburra ball. He is a very special talent but he is only five games into his Test career. You can’t ask too much of him too soon.”He’s a very special talent and we’ve got to look after him. He’s a fantastic guy and has a great attitude as well. He’ll learn from this and he’s a great attribute to us.”

Australia’s all-time leading wicket taker joins the cause as the disaster continues to ravage large parts of the country

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2020Australia’s all-time leading wicket-taker Shane Warne has announced that he would be auctioning off his baggy green cap, which he wore throughout his 145-match Test career, to raise funds for the bushfire appeal as the disaster continues to ravage large parts of the country.According to the auction site, all funds raised by this effort will be donated to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. The item would also contain an autographed certificate of authenticity from Warne. Australia is in the midst of one of its worst-ever bushfire seasons which has led to loss of life and property, and a number of cricketers, including Chris Lynn and Glenn Maxwell, have come forward to support the cause. The Australia team had also auctioned off signed shirts from the Boxing Day Test and helped raised over AUD$40,000. Earlier, Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts had also said that he was open to the idea of staging a charity match to raise funds for the bushfire appeal, adding that the ODIs between Australia and New Zealand in March will be used to raise money.

“It’s going to be good place to see where we are in terms of bouncing back from the defeat in Australia”

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2020Fit-again Trent Boult is “very excited” at the prospect of bowling to Virat Kohli in the two-Test series starting Friday, and has already set the India captain’s wicket as his prime target as New Zealand look to bounce back after a 3-0 series defeat in Australia late last year.Boult is back after suffering a broken hand during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, and is set to be reunited with Tim Southee and Neil Wagner to spearhead the pace attack in the Tests in Wellington and Christchurch.”I’m very excited to bowl to Virat again,” Boult said. “He’s an exceptional player. Everyone knows how great he is. That is personally why I play the game, to get guys like that out and test myself against them, so I can’t wait to get stuck in.”Boult had missed the first Test of the Australia series in Perth because of a side injury but had recovered in time to play in Melbourne. But he fractured his hand while batting at the MCG and was ruled out of the rest of the tour as well as the limited-overs leg of India’s tour.”I suppose breaking a hand, you don’t really know how much you use it until it’s broken,” he said. “Everything has gone well but catching would be the biggest issue for me at the moment. I’m 100% fit and hungry.”It’s been nice just to be able to bowl. I had some time away from the game and having my second son a couple of weeks ago, it actually came at quite a good time, but I’m hungry to be here and can’t wait to get back in the whites and get the red ball moving around.”While fast bowlers, especially with the new ball, will be key at Basin Reserve, of late the surface has tended to dry out quickly and tilt in favour of the batsmen. And considering they are facing the No. 1 Test side, Boult is expecting an even contest despite New Zealand’s home advantage.”I’m preparing for a solid wicket. It generally is very good here and goes the full distance (five days),” Boult said. “I do enjoy playing here, the history that’s involved, and it’s going to be an exciting week building up. I can’t wait to get out there.”They [India] are a great side and they are leading the ICC Test Championship. They are very clear on how they wanted to play the game. It was a tough learning curve in Australia but it’s going to be good place to see where we are in terms of bouncing back from the defeat in Australia.”

The pair have both promised items of memorabilia to be auctioned on behalf of the Centre for Disaster Philanthropy

George Dobell03-Apr-2020Wasim Akram and Darren Gough are among the latest cricketing personalities attempting to combat the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.The pair have both promised items of memorabilia to be auctioned on behalf of the Centre for Disaster Philanthropy who have set up a
COVID-19 Response Fund.Akram, Pakistan’s highest wicket-taker in both Test and ODI cricket, has pledged a signed bat and ball while Gough, England’s second-highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket, has pledged a signed ball.Stars from other sports involved in the fundraising include Jack Nicklaus, Mike Tyson, Nick Faldo, Rory McIlroy, Martina Hingis,
Stephen Curry, Michael Phelps and Rose Lavelle. To enter the competition, visit athletesrelief.orgAkram and Gough join a long list of cricketers who have made charitable efforts to help out during the crisis, including Jos
Buttler, who is auctioning the shirt he was wearing when England won the World Cup.Ravi Bopara has offered free chicken from his restaurant in London to NHS staff, the umpire Aleem Dar has offered free food from his restaurant in Lahore to those who have lost their jobs, and Kent’s Sam Billings has offered to shop for vulnerable people in his area.England women’s captain Heather Knight and the Surrey allrounder Rikki Clarke and are among those to have signed up as NHS
volunteers, while Sam Curran has launched a fundraising campaign.

However, PCB offers domestic contracts to 192 players starting August 2020

Umar Farooq19-Jun-2020There is considerable doubt over Pakistan’s upcoming domestic season starting on time in August due to covid-19. The Pakistan Cricket Board, however, has tried to mitigate the impact of that by offering 192 players annual contracts from August 2020.There have been more than 160,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 3000 deaths in Pakistan, with cases expected to peak by end of July and early August according to prime minister Imran Khan.While the government has eased lockdown by throwing open businesses, industries and the tourism sector, encouraging people to follow health protocols, all contact sport, indoor clubs, gyms and facilities continue to remain shut. Cricket in the country has been on hold since March 16, when most players were last active in the yet-to-be completed Pakistan Super League.”There is no guarantee in this,” Ehsan Mani, the PCB chairman, said on Friday during a video conference.”Other than what PM said about peak in July and August, I am also reading medical advice and the cases will take another peak before things start to get better. We are monitoring and will have to plan accordingly, considering every aspect.”It [domestic season] maybe delayed after all. If you look around, the county season in England has been cancelled and they are looking to start in August. Almost everywhere in the world cricket has stopped. So, unfortunately it’s not in our control. We are not going put any player and any stakeholder at risk. If we feel or even suspect that this is going to infect the health then we are not going to take any chance (to start).”PCB

HPC director Nadeem Khan begins domestic revamp
The domestic department of the PCB has been disbanded and control has been transferred to the High Performance Centre (HPC),after a recent restructure. Nadeem Khan, the HPC director, is currently assessing the performance of the coaching staff of all six associations from the previous season. The PCB has extended their contracts by a month and has laid down a new selection process for each team.Last year, a three-member selection committee consisting Misbah-ul-Haq, Rashid Latif and Khan were asked to pick 32 players to make a first XI and second XI. This year, that process will be renewed as two of the committee members are with the PCB in different capacities – Misbah as head coach and chief selector and Khan as HPC director.”As part of a comprehensive and extensive review process, we are conducting appraisals of all coaches, which is a three-phase process including self-assessment, interviews and feedback from players and fellow coaches,” Khan said in a statement.”This is the modern 360 degree way of appraising professionals as we remain committed to put in place the best available coaches who can provide best coaching and training to the players, which, in turn, will contribute to further enhance the quality of our domestic cricket. Once the appraisal of the coaches is concluded, the six Cricket Association coaches will be involved in the team selection process.We hope to conclude the entire exercise by end July with 12-month contracts coming into effect from 1 August 2020. It is premature to predict when we will be able to start our 2020-21 domestic cricket season due to the evolving Covid-19 situation. But, internally, we need to be ready to start the season at a short notice.”

ECB events director confident venues will withstand external factors during West Indies series

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2020Steve Elworthy, the ECB’s director of events, believes that the plans for July’s Test series against West Indies are robust enough to withstand a second wave of Covid-19 outbreaks, following this week’s announcement that the Ageas Bowl and Emirates Old Trafford have been chosen to host the three games.Speaking on Sky Sports’ Cricket Show, Elworthy went into greater depth on the rationale behind the selection of the two venues, both of which have on-site hotels – which was the primary reason why grounds such as the Kia Oval, where the first Test of the summer had been due to get underway today, were ruled out in the ECB’s search for “bio-secure” environments.West Indies are due to arrive in England next week, with their initial training block set to take place at Old Trafford before England themselves gather at the Ageas Bowl in the build-up to the first Test on July 8. The two squads will then practice in closer proximity in the days leading up the match, before relocating to Old Trafford for the final two matches of the series, commencing July 16 and July 24 respectively.ALSO READ: Oval ticket-holders show faith in Test cricket after cancellationAnd while there have been concerns in the local media that Manchester, in the north-west of England, is particularly susceptible to a surge in Covid cases, Elworthy is confident that the series will go ahead without a hitch, especially if the ICC agrees to sanction the introduction of like-for-like replacements in the event of infection within the secure environment.”The way we have structured the ‘bubble’ is that it can operate under the most extreme circumstances,” said Elworthy. “All of our planning has been based on the worst-case scenario, from an infection and a rate-spike point of view. So external factors should not affect that because, if you are secure within the venue, and you don’t break the confines of that venue, then your game should be able to go ahead with no problems at all.”The likeliest opportunity for that bubble to break will come when the teams make the 220-mile journey from Southampton to Manchester, but Elworthy justified the need to vary the conditions in which the series is played from the point of view of cricket “integrity”, and also to provide a change of scene for players, support staff and media who might otherwise be confined to one place for up to a month.”If you were to hold your first two Test matches at the same venue, you could end up possibly winning a series in the same conditions in the same venue, back-to-back,” he said. “We felt that, to win a series, you should have to win it in two separate sets of conditions.”We’re trying to reduce the amount of time that stakeholders or groups of people are locked down in [a particular] venue for periods of time,” he added. “We’re trying to cover as many of those bases as possible.”ALSO READ: West Indies confirm 25-man squad for bio-secure England tourThe Ageas Bowl, Elworthy added, had been chosen for the series opener because its out-of-town location includes a full-sized practice pitch, situated right next to the main venue. “We wanted both teams to be able to practice and train and prepare for a Test match, and having two full grounds available to be able to train was key.”The provisions for bio-security, as outlined by the ECB when announcing the match allocation, include controlled access at the perimeter of the venues, as well as on-site medical screening and testing provisions, including designated areas for isolation of anyone presenting symptoms.Steve Elworthy has played a leading role in the ECB’s planning for behind-closed-doors cricket•Getty Images

“It’s not only the players we thinking about,” said Elworthy. “With circa 250-odd people within the venue, any one of them could possibly test positive in a period of a five-day Test match.”They would immediately be put into isolation, and our on-site Covid medical practitioner and Public Health England would be informed immediately,” he added. “And that player or person would then be put into isolation for a period of time based on the government guidance and the medical overlay.”Earlier this week, West Indies confirmed their squad for the England tour, and while it will be missing three players who chose not to travel due to fears of infection – Keemo Paul, Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo – Elworthy preferred to focus on the 25 names who had chosen to trust the contingencies that have been put in place.”Everybody was given the right to make their own decision, and that’s not the first time that’s happened across cricket, even with the England team at times,” he said. “But I look at it glass-half-full. It’s incredibly positive that we have a West Indian squad of 25 players who are coming to compete in a Test series against England. I think that’s fantastic for the game.”It’s incredibly challenging putting this all together, but at the same time I think it’s hugely, hugely rewarding for the game. As a cricket family, we’ve got to come together on this to make it work.”

The former Kerala legspinner fills the vacancy left by Nitin Menon’s promotion to the Elite panel

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Aug-2020Former Kerala legspinner KN Ananthapadmanabhan has been promoted to the ICC’s international panel of umpires. Ananthapadmanabhan will be the fourth Indian umpire on the international panel and fills the vacancy created by Nitin Menon’s move to the ICC Elite Panel.The other three Indians on the international panel are C Shamshuddin, Anil Chaudhary and Virender Sharma.Ananthapadmanabhan has officiated in nearly every domestic tournament in India, including the IPL, an England Lions match, and Women’s List A and T20 games.Before moving into umpiring, Ananthapadmanabhan played 105 first-class matches for Kerala, starting in 1988-89, and represented them until 2003-04. He was the first player from his state to achieve the double of 2000 runs and 200 wickets in the Ranji Trophy, and was briefly in the reckoning for an India cap. Playing for India A against the visiting Australians in 1998, he took the wickets of Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Darren Lehmann.

Overnight rain pushed the start back to 4.15pm, eating away any chance of England pushing for victory

The Report by Matt Roller25-Aug-2020James Anderson became the first seamer to take 600 Test wickets as England’s third and final Test against Pakistan petered out into a rain-affected draw at the Ageas Bowl.Anderson had Pakistan’s captain and first-innings centurion Azhar Ali caught by Joe Root at slip in his third over of the final day after overnight rain and standing water had pushed back the start until 4.15pm. He was the second-fastest man to the landmark, six balls behind Muttiah Muralitharan, and the first Englishman.Despite Anderson’s early breakthrough, England never looked likely to bowl Pakistan out as they followed on on a flat pitch that offered little for bowlers throughout the Test match, particularly with the old ball. Root had Asad Shafiq caught at bat-pad three balls before the second new ball was due, but four overs later he had bumped fists with Azhar.After heavy overnight rain across the UK, it had initially looked unlikely that there would be any play at all on the final day. The Ageas Bowl ground staff faced a long clean-up operation, with a vast amount of standing water on the covers and several problem areas in the outfield. Following several inspections, the umpires decided that the ground would fit for play from 4.15pm, with up to 42 overs possible.All eyes were immediately on Anderson, who shared the bowling with Jofra Archer from the outset, as Azhar and Babar Azam successfully negotiated his first two overs with several fielders catching in front of the wicket and Joe Root positioning himself as the solitary slip.James Anderson celebrates taking his 600th Test wicket•Getty Images

The moment arrived at 4.37pm, from the second ball of Anderson’s third over. The ball pitched slightly short of a length in the off-stump channel, nipping away with a hint of extra bounce as it took the shoulder of Azhar’s bat. England’s slip catching has caused them problems throughout the summer, but this chance could hardly have been simpler for Root, who clung on to take Anderson to the 600 mark.He immediately burst into a broad grin, high-fiving substitute fielder James Bracey, embracing Root, shaking hands with Jos Buttler and Stuart Broad and then being congratulated in turn by each of his team-mates. He acknowledged the handful of backroom and venue staff in the ground by holding the ball aloft to them, beaming from ear to ear.That left England with seven wickets to get, and despite Anderson nipping one past Asad Shafiq’s outside edge, he was soon taken out of the attack. Babar and Shafiq ticked over towards the new ball, with Dom Bess and Root operating in tandem, while Dom Sibley’s part-time legspin was given a first outing in Test cricket.Babar raced towards fifty with a flurry of boundaries off Bess, reaching his second half-century of an underwhelming series by nudging Root through the leg side with the new ball almost due, but Shafiq fell the very next ball, prodding him to Bracey under the lid at short leg.Anderson took the new ball and found sharp movement in his first over, but not long after Root decided that he had seen enough and the captains bumped fists for the draw at 6.05pm.That meant a 1-0 England win – their first series victory against Pakistan since 2010 – with Anderson taking the headlines. Both of the Ageas Bowl Tests in this series were marred by inclement weather, but this one will undoubtedly be remembered – for Zak Crawley’s epic 267 as well as Anderson’s milestone.