When England won their first away Ashes series for 24 years back in 2010-11, they marked it with the ‘sprinkler’ celebration that some in Australia felt rubbed salt into the wounds of the vanquished.
It was no surprise then that when Michael Clarke’s men seized back the urn three years later with victory in Sydney sealing a 5-0 whitewash Brad Haddin repaid the compliment in front of a dejected Barmy Army.
The sprinkler was never intended to cause offence, but was a sign of the confidence and togetherness in an England squad that knew it was capable of achieving something special.
And that’s exactly what Pakistan’s memorable celebration at the end of this pulsating contest at Lord’s symbolises too.
Quick Single: Dramatic win gives Pakistan 1-0 lead
The sight of the visiting players lining up on the outfield, saluting Misbah-ul-Haq, their captain, and then dropping to the floor to do a series of group push-ups told of their joy at pulling off their country’s first Test win at this ground in 20 years.
Misbah had celebrated his hundred on the first day here with a series of press-ups, a nod to the army training camp his squad underwent before leaving Pakistan for the UK last month and an exercise that has imbued the tourists with a real sense of togetherness and unity.
However, the routine was not to everyone’s taste; Tim Bresnan, part of that England squad that won in Australia six years ago, tweeted: “That might bite you boys. Carma (sic) catches up with you eventually. It did with the Sprinkler.”
England captain Alastair Cook, whose 766 runs in the 2010-11 Ashes did much to spark the sprinkler, then bit in his post-match media conference at Lord’s.
He was not in a position to condemn Pakistan for their celebration. Yet it was clear the routine, carried out in front of the home dressing room, irked him.
“It’s never nice losing at Lord’s, and seeing the opposition celebrating like they were at the end, so we’ll use that as motivation,” Cook said.
“You don’t take offence but certainly at that emotive time in the first 20 minutes or so after the game it isn’t pleasant viewing when you’ve just lost.
“It’s not pleasant, they’re entitled to do what they want. It’s united them and shows what a challenge we’ve got.”
Quick Single: England v Pakistan: by the numbers
And it will be some challenge to stop Pakistan from unveiling the ‘push-up’ again during the remaining three Tests of this series.
Aside from the individual brilliance of Misbah’s first-innings hundred and leg-spinner Yasir Shah’s 10-wicket match haul, this was a victory forged upon a common bond that was built during the pre-tour boot camp in Abbottabad, the military town in northern Pakistan famous for being the place where Osama Bin Laden was captured and killed by US special forces in 2011. Misbah’s eloquent explanation of the motivation behind the post-match celebration would have softened even the most hardened of cynics.
“It’s a small tribute to all those army men who were working really hard for us at the boot camp,” he said. “It’s a good message. One thing we learned from there was those army people are not getting much of a salary but for this flag and this Pakistani nation they want to sacrifice their lives.
“So that’s a big motivation for all of us. I think everyone now is really putting in the effort for that flag and nation.”
This victory also owes a lot to former Australia coach Mickey Arthur, who has instilled a sense of purpose and discipline into this Pakistan squad since taking charge in May.
The South African may be best remembered for the debacle that was ‘Homeworkgate’ during Australia’s 2013 tour of India.
Yet his authoritarian ways and meticulous planning have no doubt contributed to helping Pakistan achieve this memorable result.
In an era when many teams struggle to fit in meaningful preparation time on foreign tours, it is notable Pakistan have been in England for almost a month now, having had another camp, this time for skills, in Southampton and two first-class matches against Somerset and Sussex – both teams that, unlike Australia’s warm-up opponents last summer in Kent, Essex and Derbyshire, play their cricket in the top tier of the County Championship.
“Whatever we needed going into a Test match we did it – a boot camp, a skills camp 20 days before the first Test, two first-class matches against strong opposition,” Misbah said.
“That was something emphasised by the coach to the Pakistan Board and it has worked.”
It might be tempting to say Pakistan’s victory at Lord’s was achieved thanks to military-style planning. So if we’re going to embrace clichés, it’s probably apt to end by saying England have one hell of a battle on their hands to come back and win this series.
Source: Cricket.com.au
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