England defeated Pakistan by 26-5uns in the second Test at Multan to win a historic series on the sub-continent but captain Ben Stokes said they should not rest on their laurels but rather pursue the big picture they are looking to achieve.
By winning the second Test, England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-Test series with Pakistan. It also won the eighth win for England in nine Test matches since the new team management of Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum took charge in May 2022.
The victory in the Multan Test also secured England a historic series win on their first visit to Pakistan in 17 years.
Stokes said his team was aware of what they achieved this week but would like to take it forward and
“Coming to the subcontinent, it’s always a tough place to come and win (games of) cricket. We know what we’ve achieved this week. We know that it’s something that’s not unheard of, but very rare to do, especially as an English team,” Stokes told broadcaster Sky Sports after the match
“We’ll take it all in. We do understand how special achievement this is this week, but as we keep saying, these series victories and these wins are part of a much bigger picture in what we’re trying to achieve at the moment.”
The victory in Multan was also the eighth win for Stokes since he took over as captain from Joe Root. He said he feels honoured and privileged to be a part of something like this.
“When I first got the job, I just wanted to come in and just try and change a few things up and get things going in a different direction. We were never focusing too much on results when I came into the job, and obviously the bigger picture and stuff like that, but sheesh, it’s been an amazing nine games to start with.
“I just feel very honored and very privileged to be a part of something like this and having everyone – not just the players but the backroom staff and everyone that works alongside us – being on the same path. It’s really, really good,” Stokes added.
