England Test captain Stokes willing to take positives after enduring "disappointing" series result against Pakistan
Oct 26, 2024
Rawalpindi [Pakistan], October 26 : England Test captain Ben Stokes was left "disappointed" after watching his side fall to a 9-wicket defeat in the third Test and overall a 2-1 series loss against Pakistan on Saturday in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan's decision to completely revamp the squad for the remaining two Tests changed the dynamics of the series. The new inclusions, unknown yet familiar faces, stood out against the established greats of the format.
Stokes was left disappointed after facing a major setback following their failure to rise up to the challenge, especially in the final two games.
"Disappointing, losing games and losing series. We weren't able to match the challenges in the last two games. Credit to Pakistan," Stokes said in the post-match presentation.
The result that England will carry as they head back home isn't the one that they would have hoped for. At the end of next month, the Stokes-led side will head to New Zealand to engage in a fierce three-Test series.
Stokes is looking forward to what the future holds for them and taking all the positives that they can from their failure in the subcontinent.
"Moving forward, we'll look to match those challenges as we come up against them. A couple of weeks time, we'll be up against New Zealand. The summer finished late, and the lads worked really hard, but when you get out there in the middle, it's all really different. All you can do is work hard. Whether you do well or not, you always try and take the positives out," he added.
Irrespective of the result, Stokes was delighted to see the way Pakistan-origin spinners Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed performed in front of their families.
"Regardless of the result, there have been some unbelievable individual performances, so certainly a lot to take out. You take that aspect and that look on it, Rehan and Bashir coming here to play cricket in front of family, it's something massive for them. They're two incredible cricketers who're just starting their career, so it's massive for them.
England had now answers to the questions posed by Pakistan's seasoned spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan throughout the second and third Tests.
The duo combined for 39 wickets across both Tests, which proved the massive impact that they had on Pakistan's victory.
