Time to lick wounds and learn lessons

There hasn't been much to smile about for England, but at least Paul Collingwood made some runs © AFP

And a breathtaking year 2005 ends as it began for England - with a whopping great big spanking in a remote corner of a foreign field. In January it was South Africa who overwhelmed them by 196 runs at Cape Town, and now Pakistan have produced their second final-morning surge of the series, as if to prove that their heist at Multan was no heist at all. Two-nil to Pakistan - pick the positives out of that one if you can.

Michael Vaughan, to his credit, didn't even try. Instead he hoped wearily that some lessons would be learned ahead of the India tour in March, when - with their confidence shaken - England's mettle will be even more severely tested. Just as the Ashes triumph can only be truly assessed in the light of this disaster, so too it is true of England's next engagement. If the same mistakes are being made in three months' time, then it'll be time for some serious questions to be asked.

In the meantime, all England can do is hark back to Multan and wonder "what if?" What if the satisfaction of four days' solid professionalism hadn't permeated their gameplan and persuaded them to surrender that match in a rash of extravagant strokes? What if they'd won the toss at Faisalabad and given themselves the chance to bounce back immediately from defeat, just as they had done in each of Vaughan's five previous defeats as England captain? And what if they'd capitalised on a century opening stand at Lahore, and posted the 500-plus total that the conditions were crying out for?

In the end, of course, such questions are academic. They didn't, they haven't, they won't, and a proud run of six straight series wins has ended with an unmitigated hammering. In truth, this morning's capitulation was written in the stars. Andrew Flintoff's weary demeanour on the fourth afternoon was a clear indication of the fate that awaited if Pakistan managed to get among them today.

Mentally, this team is spent. Already this year they have fought so many battles on which their careers have been staked, starting at Johannesburg and trooping stoically through every twist of the Ashes series, that it was improbable that they could rouse themselves for a mission so menial as halving the margin of a hefty defeat. By the time Shoaib Akhtar began scything through the tail, England's footsoldiers were already resembling their forebears on the retreat from Kabul. Then as now, they had marched with hope bordering on expectation, but ended up being routed to a man.

And yet, the retreat seemed so orderly at first. Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood were the men on whom England's hopes rested, and as they batted through to lunch it looked as though the worst had been weathered. All through the Ashes, the unifying factor in England's performances was that, if one man failed, another would always arrive to cover his team-mate's backs. Bell and Collingwood were the odd men out in this regard. Both played a part, but neither produced a significant moment that they could claim as their defining contribution. This was their chance to shine, to come to the fore while their exhausted team-mates rested up in the dressing-room. But in a harum-scarum half-hour after lunch, all that changed.

Kevin Pietersen and Flintoff, for contrasting reasons, were never likely to fill the void today. Pietersen has already played his rearguard for the ages - a magnificent 158 at The Oval in September that was compiled on a tide of passion and secured, in turn, fame, fortune and the gratitude of the nation. Today, and indeed, this tour, has not been his stage, and a horrid three-ball stay ended with a predictable prod to slip.

Which brought Flintoff to the crease for his final Test innings of a triumphant year. As last hurrahs go, this one first inhaled a crumb before coming back out as a splutter, as Danish Kaneria diddled him with an immaculate googly. But to all intents and purposes, Flintoff's year ended at Faisalabad, when from the depths of 20 for 4, he bailed out his team-mates with a now-unremembered 56.

That was his last act of heroism, one final teeth-to-the-wind effort that carried the series into the final match, and he looked pretty jaded even then. Flintoff's only contribution at Lahore has been a back-breaking spell of 36 overs, which yielded a single wicket and left him looking as pedestrian as some of the Australians he had demolished with bat and ball in the summer.

Even so, those 36 overs are twice as many as Shaun Udal managed, and given that he went at more than five an over, it's safe to suggest that Udal's Test career may not be extended beyond these three games. Not for the first time, Ashley Giles's under-rated influence is only noticed in his absence. The last significant fixture that Giles missed was the fourth Test against West Indies in Antigua 18 months ago, when Brian Lara clobbered the small matter of 400 not out. Food for thought, for those who deride his role.

Still, the measure of a team is how they respond to adversity. After losing eight wickets in 12.1 overs today, you might argue that they don't respond particularly well at all. But this cause was a lost cause, just like the Ashes Test at Lord's last summer, when England's last six batsmen contributed nine runs between them. We all remember what happened next.

For four days at Multan England showed what an inspired and confident team can achieve in adverse conditions, as they chivvied, chased and hustled a talented Pakistani side into a corner. Alas, they forgot Imran Khan's old World Cup adage about cornered tigers, and allowed themselves to be mauled as they got too cute on the final day. But no doubt, with a refreshed mindset and a cleaned slate, they can scale the heights once again. For the moment, though, they can only lick their wounds.