Leach four-for consigns Pakistan to historic innings defeat

England 823 for 7 dec (Brook 317, Root 262, Duckett 84, Crawley 78) beat Pakistan 556 (Masood 151, Salman 104*, Shafique 102) and 220 (Salman 63, Jamal 55*, Leach 4-30) by an innings and 47 runs

From the unthinkable to the inevitable. Pakistan became the first team in Test history to lose by an innings having scored 500 in their first attempt, as England wrapped up victory inside the morning session on day five at Multan. Jack Leach finished with four wickets, a century stand between Salman Agha and Aamer Jamal not enough to save Pakistan from an unwanted record.

Their fate had been effectively sealed when they slumped to 82 for 6 in blameless conditions on the fourth afternoon, any sense of fight crushed beneath the weight of England’s 823 for 7 declared. Salman and Jamal did their best to salvage some pride, putting on 109 for the seventh wicket – but Pakistan were so far adrift, despite posting an imposing 556 in the first innings, that it was not enough to make England’s batters put on their pads again.

Defeat extended a horror run for Pakistan under the captaincy of Shan Masood to six in a row, and twisted the knife into an abysmal home record that has seen them winless since February 2021.

With Pakistan a man down in the absence of the hospitalised Abrar Ahmed, England only had to remain patient and wait for an opening. Leach provided it with his fourth ball, after Ollie Pope had opted to bowl pace for much of the first hour, Salman trapped lbw by one that would have gone on to hit leg stump. Two wickets in the space of four balls then completed the victory, only England’s second by an innings in Asia.

It was set up by a record-breaking performance with the bat, Harry Brook’s triple-hundred and 262 from Joe Root helping England to post the fourth-highest total in Tests. And while the pitch continued to play pretty well even into the fifth day, with just the occasional assistance from the widening cracks, Pakistan’s initial collapse in the face of a 267-run deficit left the outcome a formality.

Resuming on 152 for 6, there was more gutsy resistance from Salman and Jamal. Memories of Salman’s first-innings hundred, when he skipped along close to a run a ball as Pakistan’s total mounted, had been eroded by the match situation but he showed an ability to apply himself in more straitened circumstances, a tickled boundary off Gus Atkinson taking him to fifty for the second time in the match.

At the other end, Jamal found himself in the crosshairs of Brydon Carse’s short-ball attack. A blow to the helmet required a visit from the physio and a concussion test but he continued to front up, putting several bumpers away to the boundary on the way to a second Test fifty. Carse kept coming, with a gloved pull flying over the head of Jamie Smith, before Pope put down what should have been a regulation catch after Jamal top-edged to square leg.

In between, Leach had provided the breakthrough when he beat Salman’s inside edge, the dismissal confirmed on review. Shaheen Afridi was in no mood to hang around, flat-batting his third ball, from Carse, down the ground. But Leach clung on to a sharp return chance and then Naseem Shah walked past one to be stumped, as England closed out one of their most remarkable wins – not just of the Bazball era, but of all time.

Alan Gardner is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick