Ben Stokes admitted England failed to measure up as they crashed to a series defeat against Pakistan but suggested there would be no scapegoats for the rout in Rawalpindi.
The tourists were railroaded for 112 in the second innings of the decisive third Test, with their lowest total since Stokes took charge two and a half years ago, leaving their opponents chasing just 36.
It took Pakistan only 19 deliveries to put England out of their misery as home skipper Shan Masood blitzed Shoaib Bashir for six to seal the deal before lunch on day three.
It was all a far cry from the opening Test at the start of the month, an innings victory that saw England declare with a merciless score of 823 for seven on a flat track in Multan.
In the next two matches, both played on extreme turning pitches, they scored 814 across four innings for the loss of all 40 wickets.
Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, Pakistan’s spin bowling brothers in arms, accounted for 39 of those as familiar failings and a series of wild dismissals came back to haunt Stokes’ side.
“Losing games for England hurts,” he said. “We’ve obviously underperformed because we’ve lost the last two games. We got thrown challenges and weren’t able to stand up to those challenges for long enough to get the results we wanted.
“It doesn’t always work out the way in which you want. With the ability our batters had, we felt we were still in with a very good chance of winning this game but credit to Noman and Sajid for the way they bowled. We’ve got to hold our hands up and say those two were too good for our batting line-up.”
The make-up of that batting order is back under scrutiny after three defeats in the last four games, including a shock reverse at the hands of Sri Lanka at the Oval.
Ollie Pope is attracting most attention at number three, having managed a threadbare 55 runs in five innings on tour.
He increasingly resembles an all-or-nothing player, with three fine centuries and 11 single-figure scores in an up-and-down 2024 that sees him average a modest 32.
Stokes, though, appeared steadfast in supporting his vice-captain.
“You can’t shut the door on everything, then you are being single-minded to what you want to do, but there is no doubt in my mind that we have the best top-six batsmen in England,” he said.
“Everyone goes through highs and lows. I’ve played a lot of cricket and I know that
“When you take very small games or series and use that to assess what you’re doing going forward, it’s a bit of a cut-throat way to go about it.
“We’ve got some batsmen who’ve come off a really good summer, got some hundreds and some good scores that allowed us to be successful throughout our English summer.
“We’ve celebrated a lot of Popey’s individual brilliance over last couple of years.”
England are likely to make good on those supportive words in the coming days, when they announce their squad for next month’s Test tour of New Zealand.
Pope is virtually certain to take his place, but is in need of a strong end to his rollercoaster year.
Stokes’ opposite number Masood was a contented man, having overseen his country’s first series win at home since early 2021.
“When we played in Multan, we were told that it’s not sustainable, that we can’t take this forward,” he said.
“I thought the gloss was taken off a bit from our (second Test) win by people saying that the toss was very important. So I’m very satisfied we lost this toss and won the match.”
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UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old - Max Dowman (Arsenal)
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16 years, 68 days old
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In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
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- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
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Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
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- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
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- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
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The specs
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
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The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
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THE%20FLASH
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Explained
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