England Test captain Ben Stokes backed his faltering top order despite his side slumping to a 2-1 series defeat in Pakistan, saying he had “no doubt” he has the best players in the country.
England racked up a massive 823 runs in their innings victory to open the series on a flat pitch in Multan – Harry Brook hitting a triple-century and Joe Root 262 – but the batters have otherwise struggled during the two subsequent losses on turning tracks.
Ben Duckett struck a first-innings 114 in the second Test, but the rest of the top order have contributed little; Zak Crawley averaged 27.80 over the three Tests, Ollie Pope only 11.00 and Stokes himself just 13.25 in his two appearances since returning from a hamstring injury.
Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain said: “Three of your [England’s] top six seem to be lost.
“I’m talking about Crawley, Pope, or even Stokes in Asia… his last 10 scores are very low in these conditions.”
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Nasser Hussain says the Pakistan spinners are of the highest quality which exposed England when the ball does spin
But the skipper stood by the players picked, telling Sky Sports: “There’s no doubt in my mind or Brendon [McCullum]’s that we have got the best top-six players in England.
“Sometimes guys will reap the rewards of performing well out in the middle and, unfortunately, some other guys will miss out.
“How you deal with disappointment, how you deal with failure, and how you overcome that, is a massive part of you as an individual.”
As for his own struggles for form with the bat, Stokes added: “I’m always trying to adapt and evolve as a player, be that against spin or against pace.
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Stokes will not want to watch back his dismissal on day three, out lbw after leaving a straight ball
“I’ve played so much cricket that the disappointment is always there, it always hits hard, but when you have so much experience to fall back on, it’s always easier to take.”
Stokes: England’s approach hasn’t paid off
Stokes added on the disappointing series loss to Pakistan: “The last two games, we had some challenges thrown at us and a good way to reflect on it is that we weren’t able to stand up to those challenges.
“When that happens, you’re probably going to fall on the wrong side of the result – and that is what’s happened.
“It’s very easy to sit here and say, at the end, when everything’s unfolded, ‘could we have done things a little bit different, comparing ourselves to how Pakistan went about it?’
“But when we walk out on the field, we are very clear with how we want to go about things and I’m sure Pakistan would have been the same.”
Sajid Khan celebrates the wicket of Ollie Pope, who averaged only 11 over the three-match series
England’s bold approach, christened ‘Bazball’ since he and head coach Brendon McCullum took over the team in the summer of 2022, catapulted them to a 3-0 series win on their last tour of Pakistan later that year.
All three surfaces they faced two years ago similarly favoured the batters like the series-opener this year, but when the ball spins in the sub-continent, England have struggled – a 4-1 defeat to India earlier this year coming on predominantly turning tracks
Despite that, Stokes said the team remain committed to how they want to play.
“We’ve seen on quite a few occasions where that approach has worked for us, has worked for individuals,” the captain added.
“When it comes off, it’s obviously spoken about in terms of it being a great way to counteract what the opposition has shown you.
“You’d rather it work more times than not, but definitely in these last two Test matches, our approach hasn’t paid off for us. That doesn’t mean that we’ve doubted our ability or how we want to go out there and play.
“And I’m not ever someone to ever live in hindsight… you can never go back and change your decision or what’s happened.”
What’s next for England?
England’s white-ball side head to the West Indies for three one-day internationals and a five-match T20 series, with the ODIs set to start in Antigua on Thursday October 31.
As for Stokes’ Test team, they are next in action in New Zealand for a three-match tour that begins in Christchurch on Thursday November 28.
Pakistan vs England Test series
First Test: Multan – England won by an innings and 47 runs
Second Test: Multan – Pakistan won by 152 runs
Third Test: Rawalpindi – Pakistan won by nine wickets
