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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Sector: EdTech
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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US Industrial Market figures, Q1 2017
Vacancy Rate 5.4%
Markets With Positive Absorption 85.7 per cent
New Supply 55 million sq ft
New Supply to Inventory 0.4 per cent
Under Construction 198.2 million sq ft
(Source: Colliers)
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Brave CF 27 fight card
Welterweight:
Abdoul Abdouraguimov (champion, FRA) v Jarrah Al Selawe (JOR)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (TUN) v Alex Martinez (CAN)
Welterweight:
Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA) v Khamzat Chimaev (SWE)
Middleweight:
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Rustam Chsiev (RUS)
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) v Christofer Silva (BRA)
Super lightweight:
Alex Nacfur (BRA) v Dwight Brooks (USA)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) v Tariq Ismail (CAN)
Chris Corton (PHI) v Zia Mashwani (PAK)
Featherweight:
Sulaiman (KUW) v Abdullatip (RUS)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) v Mohammad Al Katib (JOR)
The national orchestra
Day 2, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dinesh Chandimal has inherited a challenging job, after being made Sri Lanka’s Test captain. He responded in perfect fashion, with an easy-natured century against Pakistan. He brought up three figures with a majestic cover drive, which he just stood and admired.
Stat of the day – 33 It took 33 balls for Dilruwan Perera to get off the mark. His time on zero was eventful enough. The Sri Lankan No 7 was given out LBW twice, but managed to have both decisions overturned on review. The TV replays showed both times that he had inside edged the ball onto his pad.
The verdict In the two previous times these two sides have met in Abu Dhabi, the Tests have been drawn. The docile nature of proceedings so far makes that the likely outcome again this time, but both sides will be harbouring thoughts that they can force their way into a winning position.
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What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
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Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
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Tomorrow 2021
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
