It's about mindset," Brendon McCullum said on Saturday afternoon, while Pakistan's players were still celebrating on the outfield with their trophy and their fans. "It's about getting players who feel 10ft tall and bulletproof when they go out to play. It's not a matter of instructing people about what shots they can and can't play. That's got a very short shelf life. These guys are able to play the game a lot better than perhaps we could ourselves."
It is safe to say that none of his players felt 10ft tall at the time, having over the last two games of the series been reduced to rubble by the spin of Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, and by the batting of Kamran Ghulam and Saud Shakeel.
For a while in Pakistan they had stood tall, and shortly after drinks on the second day of the second Test England had over the series thus far scored a ludicrous 1,034 for nine. When Ben Stokes said that there were "many times in the last two Tests you would argue we were in front of the game and we let that slip", this was the one above all others, the moment victory was within their grasp. From there until defeat was confirmed in Rawalpindi they scored 603 for 38.
This story is from the October 28, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the October 28, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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