Andrew Strauss – 5: That his charges refused to give up is a testament to his leadership and no-one dug in more than the captain with his 82 runs in the match covering 226 balls and nearly five and a half hours of blood, sweat and toil.
Alastair Cook – 4: Tried to atone for his feeble 1st innings dismissal by digging in second time around, but fell one run short of fifty to a spectacular diving catch at slip by Younis.
Jonathan Trott – 2: This series has even scrambled Trott’s brains. First, he didn’t review a LBW decision that would have missed leg stump then he succumbed to a completely uncharacteristic slog second time around.
Kevin Pietersen – 4: Looked much better than in the first two matches of this series and was dreadfully unlucky with his 1st innings dismissal - just as he appeared to be in full flow – a decision that would never have been given pre-DRS.
Ian Bell – 1: A shocking end to an awful series as last summer’s Prom King countered his inability to read Ajmal by tamely chipping a Gul long hop to Shafiq at cover point.
Eoin Morgan – 3: At least went down fighting in the 2nd innings but the suspicion that he is as horribly out of his depth at this level as a Premier League footballer on University Challenge persists.
Matt Prior – 7: Ended the series as he started it with a good knock to top the England batting averages for the series. Was his usual consistent and vocal self behind the stumps – although he was positively mute compared to his Pakistani counterpart.
Stuart Broad – 9: Was once again let down by his batsmen after another lethal exhibition of bowling on a flat track in Asia had reduced Pakistan to rubble on day one. A shoo-in for a current World XI.
Graeme Swann – 5: Outbowled by Monty for the second game in a row and looked a bit out of sorts, but did at least pick up his new bunny Rehman in both innings. Would have been deadly if Pakistan had 11 left-handed batsmen - unfortunately they only have two.
James Anderson – 7: Like Broad was brilliant on the first morning as Pakistan capsized. Looked more self-assured with the bat than several of his top order.
Monty Panesar – 7: A second successive five-for in his second match back sealed his spot on the plane for the tours to Sri Lanka and India later this year. Surely, he won’t blame himself for this defeat too?
Where next?
3rd Test: Pakistan vs England - Pakistan marks out of 10
2nd Test marks out of 10: Pakistan and England
1st Test marks out of 10: Pakistan and England
Resurrection: A drastic cure to England's spin woes in Asia
Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes
If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep
I find myself thinking that the middle-order needs some new blood. I've never been happy with Morgan in Test cricket, and I'd be tempted to shake Bell and KP up a bit too. The trouble is, who would come in? I don't have any great confidence that Ravi Bopara would have done any better here, and as much as I would like to see England be bold and select one of that little clutch of promising young middle-order batsmen on the horizon, it seems a bit harsh to throw the likes of Taylor, Stokes or Bairstow into the middle of this shambles on a tour to sub-continent. On the other hand, it's Sri Lanka next, whose attack ought to be a less daunting proposition than Ajmal / Rehman / Gul, to be honest.
Glad I'm not a selector at the moment. What would you do?
Posted by: wilo | Monday, February 06, 2012 at 19:48
Bell and KP are both class players who had a fantastic 2011 - in other words they have plenty of credit in the bank.
I agree with you on Morgan who whilst not lacking in self-belief is probably a bit short at this level.
Bopara has earnt his place next in line and should be given a chance at six in Sri Lanka.
Of the next generation, Taylor seems the best equipped for Test cricket. Bairstow and Stokes both struggled against India's spinners in ODIs, so they'd find it even harder in Tests in Asia. I like Yorkshire's Joe Root too.
Posted by: The Reverse Sweep | Monday, February 06, 2012 at 21:43