HUSSAIN: Forget ‘Bazball’ batting, England’s win in Multan was about Ben Stokes and his bowlers

Everyone’s been talking about England’s batting under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, but this win in Multan was a reminder that they’ve done some special things with the ball.

In nine Tests since those two joined forces, England have taken all 180 wickets. And if it’s one thing to do it at home with Dukes, when the ball is seaming and swinging, it’s another matter altogether to do it on the pitches we’ve seen here in Pakistan.

That was an incredible effort, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mark Wood more exhausted than he was at the end there, both physically and emotionally.

Mark Wood (centre) took two crucial wickets before lunch to thwart Pakistan’s chase of 355

Wood wasn’t even bowling at the more helpful end, which had a couple of cracks outside the right-hander’s off stump – as we saw when Ollie Robinson bowled Babar Azam on the third afternoon. But that’s what Wood gives you – the hard yards, in the hardest conditions.

He’s always been a guy who’d run through a brick wall for his captain. And when that captain is his buddy Ben Stokes, the effect is magnified.

If Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Nawaz had survived until lunch yesterday, that might have been Pakistan’s Test, and we’d be going to Karachi all-square. But Stokes knew he could turn to Wood with the game on the line, and his response said so much about his character.

The England captain turned to Wood with the game on the line and his fast bowler delivered

He may be short in stature, but he’s massive in heart. It seems like he falls over after every other ball. And his body always has bits dropping off it. But when things get tough, you find out about people – and every Test captain needs a Mark Wood in their side.

Don’t forget, either, his 36 runs in England’s first innings. They’ve ended up winning by 26, so he’s contributed in every facet of the game. And he does it all with a smile on his face, which is crucial when you’re confined to your hotel and getting to the ground every day with a police escort.

Make no mistake: this is a monumental series win for England, because Pakistan have put in a shift in both Tests. They haven’t just rolled over. In other circumstances, they might be 1-0 up rather than 2-0 down.

Wood dismissed Saud Shakeel on 94 thanks to a smart catch from wicket keeper Ollie Pope

But Stokes has found a way to get the best out of his players, whether it’s his use of Jack Leach, who took the crucial wicket of Imam-ul-Haq late on the third evening, or getting Joe Root to bowl his off-breaks at the left-handers, which did for Faheem Ashraf on the fourth morning.

And they know they can still improve. Stokes won’t admit in in public, but he may look back at that third morning, when England missed a chance to add another 50 runs and bury Pakistan, and say we can do that better next time.

It’s a bit like Eoin Morgan’s white-ball side, who learned it wasn’t all about being gung-ho, and worked out how to get a score in difficult conditions – a mindset that served them well in the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand on that tricky surface at Lord’s.

Stokes and Brendon McCullum have notched eight wins in nine Tests since taking the reins

But I think they got most of their calls right in this game, not least the counter-attack on the first morning by Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope, when the pitch was tacky and helped the spinners more than at any other time in the game.

Without their efforts, England might have been 80 for five at lunch, not 180 for five – and it would have been a long road back from there.

To win here, playing the style they have, is a huge achievement. When we won in Pakistan 22 years ago, we played turgid cricket and pinched a late winner in the Karachi gloom. 

Jimmy Anderson delivered one of the balls of the series so far to dismiss Mohammad Rizwan

But this lot are getting everyone talking – even Indian opener KL Rahul was asked about Bazball the other day!

A word, too, for Rob Key. When he took over as managing director, English cricket was at a low ebb. But he got all his appointments right, and England are reaping the rewards. 

If they can make it 3-0 in Karachi, it will go down as one of their best wins of all time.