England spun to record low
Pakistan's spinners set up their first whitewash against England by picking up 48 of the 60 wickets to fall in the series
Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan
06-Feb-2012
England started the series as favourites following their 4-0 result against India, but on spin-friendly surfaces Pakistan were clearly the superior team, completing their first whitewash of England. Here are some of the key stats from the third Test and the series that illustrate Pakistan's highs and England's lows.
- Pakistan completed their first ever whitewash of England, and their fifth overall in series of three or more matches. It is also their first whitewash since their 3-0 win against Bangladesh in 2003. It was the second time a subcontinent team whitewashed England; they lost 3-0 in India in 1993. Overall, they have lost all Tests in a series (minimum three matches) on seven occasions, including three series against Australia and two against West Indies. For the second time in eight months (the first being India's series in England), the No. 1 Test team has lost all Tests in a series.
- Pakistan became the first team in over 100 years to win a Test after scoring less than 100 in the first innings of the match. The last time this occurred was when England scored 76 but still defeated South Africa in 1907. It is also the ninth time overall that a team has won despite a score of less than 100 in the first innings.
- England's batting average of 19.06 in the series is the second-lowest for them in a series of three or more matches, and the lowest since 1888. It is also the lowest average for any team in a series of three or more matches against Pakistan. England's average fell below 30 for the first time in their last seven series (three or more Tests).
- No England batsman scored a century in the three-match series. This is the first time since the 1999 series against New Zealand and the eighth time overall that England have failed to score a single century in a series of three or more matches.
- Pakistan's win had a lot to do with the performance of their spinners. They picked up 48 wickets in the series at an average of 15.64. This is the highest number of wickets taken by Pakistan spinners in a three-Test series with the previous highest being 45 against England in 1987-88. The average of the Pakistan spinners (15.64) is the second-best in a series of three-plus matches against England. The series also witnessed 75 wickets falling to spin. Only twice before have spinners picked up more wickets in a three-Test series.
- Saeed Ajmal finished the series with a haul of 24 wickets. His tally is fifth on the list of most wickets taken by a Pakistan bowler in a three-Test series and the second-highest by a spinner after Abdul Qadir, who picked up 30 against England in 1987-88. Abdur Rehman ended the series with 19 wickets at 16.73.
- Misbah-ul-Haq won his ninth Test as captain. Among all Pakistan captains to have led in at least 15 Tests, Misbah's win-loss ratio of 9.00 is the best.
- England were dismissed for less than 200 four times in six innings in the series. Since 2005, England have been bowled out for less than 200 more than four times in a series only once, in the Ashes 2006-07 series when they lost 5-0.