New Delhi [India], October 27 (ANI): England cricket team head coach Brendon McCullum has backed national team captain Ben Stokes following their 1-2 series loss against Pakistan in the three-match Test series.
On Saturday, the Three Lions lost the series decider by nine wickets at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
“That injury was quite significant. He had to work incredibly hard to get back. Being the driven athlete he is, he’s all in when he does something. He put in a lot of graft, and subconsciously, it can… not cloud things, but maybe you’re not as locked in as you could be in terms of decision-making,” McCullum said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“That’s natural, as long as you learn from it and make sure that the next time you’re in that situation, you block out the noise and stay crystal clear in the moment. He’s disappointed, but he’s our skipper, and we know he’s a tough competitor. He’ll come back, and it’s our job to support him and help him along the way,” the former cricketer added.
Coming to the match, England opted to bat first. Reduced to 118/6, a counter-attacking century stand between Jamie Smith (89 off 119 balls, with five fours and six sixes) and Gus Atkinson (39 off 71 balls, with five fours) lifted England to 267.
Sajid (6/128) and Noman (3/88) were the top wicket-takers for Pakistan. Thanks to a brilliant century from Saud Shakeel (134 off 223 balls, with five fours) and lower-order contributions from Noman (45) and Sajid (48), Pakistan reached 344, gaining a 77-run lead.
Rehan Ahmed (4/66) and Shoaib Bashir (3/129) were England’s top bowlers.
England struggled to build a significant lead in their second innings, collapsing for 112, with Joe Root (33) and Harry Brook (26) top-scoring. They set Pakistan a modest target of just 36 runs.
Sajid (4/69) and Noman (6/42) were again Pakistan’s top bowlers, as they easily chased down the target to secure a 2-1 series victory.
Shakeel was awarded ‘Player of the Match’ for his century.
At the end of next month, the Stokes-led side will head to New Zealand for a challenging three-Test series. (ANI)
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