Ben Stokes “masterclass” hailed after sealing “one of England’s finest ever” Test wins

England beat Pakistan by 74 runs in the first Test in Rawalpindi, with captain Ben Stokes earning huge praise for the way he and his side refused to settle for a draw

Ben Stokes guided England to a remarkable win in Rawalpindi (

Image: Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Ben Stokes has been lauded for a captaincy “masterclass” after leading his side to what will go down as “one of England’s finest ever Test match wins”.

On a lifeless Rawalpindi pitch, England never gave up hope of winning and Stokes marshalled his troops brilliantly. England scored incredibly quickly to move the game forward, made a bold declaration on day four and were inventive in the field as they somehow managed to take 20 Pakistan wickets.

And former England captain Michael Atherton was full of praise for Stokes, telling Sky Sports : “It has to be one of England’s finest ever Test match wins. I said last night I couldn’t think of another England side which could have won this game on this pitch.

“That wasn’t to disparage previous England teams, but the pitch was so flat what it needed was a team to score at an unbelievable rate of knots to give themselves enough time to win the game. It was a brilliant declaration by the captain at tea.

“Even if that had gone against England today – whether Pakistan had sneaked home or the game had been drawn – I don’t think you’d have found anyone criticising that. Well done to England, they’ve made all the running here and got that thoroughly-deserved victory in the end.

“I said yesterday Ben Stokes is going to go down as one of England’s most significant captains because of the way he is trying to re-order things, encouraging that freedom amongst his players and being prepared to lose.

Jack Leach takes the final Pakistan wicket to seal a remarkable England victory (

Image:

Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

“In the whole history of the game, only 13 captains have declared in the third innings and lost, and that tells you that captains generally err to the side of caution in Test cricket when it comes to declarations – especially in the first match of a series.

“Stokes erred the other way here and he got his rewards. It was a fantastic declaration and bold. It’s still a lot of runs to get, but this was the flattest of flat pitches and Pakistan certainly fancied their chances of getting close.

“Tactically and strategically, it has been a masterclass of a performance from Ben Stokes; the way he has led the way, encouraged England to score quickly, the declaration, and the way he has marshalled his seam-bowling resources today.”

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