England’s overseas woes continue following disastrous loss to Pakistan in UAE

After a gradual build-up in performances over the last few months, England have once again fallen back to their struggling ways of the yore. They had arrived in UAE with great hopes, with the intent to prove their ability on foreign soil. That, unfortunately, was not to happen as they collapsed to an embarrassing 127-run defeat in the third and final Test to succumb to a 0-2 series defeat. Amit Banerjee feels England need to improve their overseas performances if they are to call themselves world-beaters in the longest format. SCORECARD: Pakistan vs England 2015, 3rd Test at Sharjah

England have had a great run in recent times, especially since their disastrous first-round exit in ICC World Cup 2015, which is considered by many to be an all-time low for the team. Following the appointment of Andrew Strauss as the Director of Cricket for England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the team went places, defeating New Zealand 3-2 in a bilateral One-Day International (ODI) contest before regaining the Ashes in emphatic style this summer.

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One would have expected this side, dubbed by the media as the ‘New England’, to put up a fight more intense than they ever did, ahead of their scheduled tour of UAE against Pakistan. That was, however, not to happen.

Barring the first Test, England were completely outplayed by the Pakistanis in all departments to lose the series 0-2. To sum up the performances of the two sides in a nutshell, England let go of key moments which could have given them control of the proceedings, while Pakistan did not. Other than Alastair Cook and Joe Root, none of the batsmen were able to handle the pace and accuracy of Wahab Riaz or the guile of Yasir Shah. Their disappointing first-innings batting performance in the second Test was the foundation for their eventual 178-run defeat.

England had the platform to bring up a series-levelling win setup for them during the final Test at Sharjah, in which James Anderson’s (4 for 17) and Stuart Broad’s (2 for 13) destructive spells of bowling reduced Pakistan to 234, while James Taylor’s comeback innings of 76 guided them to 306, giving them a lead of 72.

They let that go when Mohammad Hafeez struck a flamboyant 151 in the second innings for Pakistan to finish on 355, setting them an improbable target of 284 on a decaying pitch. Given England’s reputation of being poor chasers in Tests, especially on foreign soil, it was always going to be a tough prospect.

The way England crumbled on the final day against the spin trio of Yasir, Shoaib Malik and Zulfiqar Babar was spectacular, falling from 48 for 2 to 59 for 6 in what was a hell-like session for the tourists. Captain Cook managed to save some grace for his side with yet another neat performance, an attribute to the batsman’s extraordinary ability to adapt and excel in any conditions against any attack in the world.

It is therefore harsh but accurate to say that England have lost the credibility that they have built over the past few months, to great extent. People did not expect them to become better opponents at their own backyard: very rarely do teams fail to perform in their own conditions. Their performances had instilled hopes in the Barmy Army and the rest of the English cricket fans of becoming world beaters (some may find that term to excessively endearing).

One can only hope that this series defeat would have knocked some sense into Cook and newly-appointed head coach Trevor Bayliss, who encountered his first defeat in the new job. Till then, let us appreciate some of the more positive individual performances, such as those of Cook and Anderson, during the series. Let us give the individuals credit where it is due.

(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)