Why relations between England and Pakistan have gone from acrimony to harmony
There is only one aspect of England’s Test tour of Pakistan that has been as rewarding as their attacking cricket, which has pushed red-ball attrition into the long grass and should continue for as long as the County Championship and Tests are concerned.
The harmony of this series has been just as important as the cricket, if not more so given the overall state of relations between Pakistan and England. On the field, these two nations used to be at odds with each other more than any other nation in cricket, and their matches used to be a long series of arguments and squabbles.
In order to provide the best possible hospitality to all of the cricketers, supporters, and media from England during this tour, the Pakistan Cricket Board clearly received support from the government. Ben Stokes, the visiting captain, also contributed to the Pakistan Flood Relief Fund with his match fees during this tour to maintain this momentum.
No empty gestures have been made:
Brendon McCullum and Stokes aren’t leaders who do things for publicity and good looks. The England players’ warm welcome to Azhar Ali upon his arrival at the crease for his final Test innings and the handshakes he received as he left a few moments later could not have been more genuine. When England has played in Pakistan in the past, the farewells have rarely been kind.
Clearly, DRS and neutral umpires have improved relations between all international teams, but the appalling behavior that occurred before should not be forgotten. Evidence emerged during the 1987-1988 Test series in Pakistan that the martial law government told the PCB that Pakistan had to win at all costs because they had lost the World Cup semi-final to Australia in Lahore shortly before and the one-day series 3-0 to England, and the home-town umpiring ensured that result.
England, on the other hand, cannot be excused
At a match-turning stage of the Headingley Test in 1982, when the bat was nowhere near the ball and the series was 1-1, their close fielders put pressure on umpire David Constant to uphold a bat-pad appeal. And we haven’t even talked about all the rights and wrongs in the most ugly on-field argument ever, which took place in 1987 in Faisalabad between England captain Mike Gatting and umpire Shakoor Rana.
The ball, specifically whether the batsman picks it up to hand to a fielder after it has come to a standstill in or near his crease, is the best way to gauge the temperature of relations between two teams. By day three of the third Test, before, you would have anticipated that connections should have become to some degree somewhat drained and snappy, yet no: Jack Leach received the ball from Babar Azam, who then tossed it to Stokes, who then lobbed it to the bowler just before the end of the over.
Rehan Ahmed was born in Nottingham
but like Moeen Ali’s grandfather, his father left for Mirpur in northern Pakistan. Rehan ran down the field to his first ball from Abrar Ahmed and slammed it straight over his head despite this connection to Pakistan.
Joe Root or Jonny Bairstow will not serve as Brook’s captain at Yorkshire next season. Shan Masood, a Pakistani batsman who practiced some of his cricket in Durham University’s even more northerly speed, is going to win.
At the end of a game, we all want to see cricketers pumped up to concert pitch. However, this series has demonstrated that male players from completely disparate backgrounds can compete with old-fashioned respect and without retaliation.