England v Pakistan, 2016

Test matches (4): England 2, Pakistan 2
One-day internationals (5): England 4, Pakistan 1
Twenty20 international (1): England 0, Pakistan 1
Super Series: England 16pts, Pakistan 12pts

At the end of an enthralling Test series, Misbah-ul-Haq sat in the cavernous Ken Barrington Cricket Centre, deep in the bowels of The Oval, and reflected on his six years in charge of Pakistan. He spoke movingly - as much as his flat monotone allowed - of life on the road, of endless hotel rooms, of families and friends waiting indefinitely at home.

Yet when he looks back, both at this tour and a reign which began after the Lord's spot-fixing scandal of 2010, he will do so with pride. A drawn Test series - which could have been even better had Pakistan exploited a commanding position in the Third match at Edgbaston - was enough to keep them at No. 3 in the rankings. Three days later, following Australia's 3-0 defeat in Sri Lanka, they went second. The final step would come five days after that, when Trinidadian rain deprived India, briefly top themselves, of the chance to stay there. India did regain the No. 1 ranking in early October, but the temporary ascent of Pakistan, shorn of home comforts since the Lahore terrorist attack in March 2009, was a story for the ages.

Free from the conflict that had marred previous England-Pakistan encounters, this one developed a compelling narrative nevertheless. And, following the lukewarm Sri Lanka series, it lit up the summer. Not since the visit of South Africa in 2003 had any Test series ended 2-2. Fans craved a decider. Pakistan, who had not played a Test since hosting England in the UAE in late 2015, arrived fitter than usual, after a two-week military boot camp in Abbottabad in May. It sparked a series of tributes to the country's soldiers: as so often, 42-year-old Misbah led by example, with ten press-ups at Lord's to celebrate his century on the opening evening of the series. Once a memorable victory had been secured three days later, the whole squad followed suit. This irritated Alastair Cook, who said it was hard to watch the tourists' massed ranks hitting the turf, then jumping up to salute, and muttered grumpily about the "cricketing gods". No matter: the press-ups went viral. The Pakistanis were making friends.

From Abbottabad, they had headed for a week-long skills camp in Lahore, and teamed up with their new coach, the South African Mickey Arthur, back in international cricket for the first time since his axing by Australia before the 2013 Ashes. Next came acclimatisation in Southampton. If anything, Pakistan seemed better prepared for the First Test than an England side without Ben Stokes or Jimmy Anderson, who was wrapped in cotton wool by the selectors, despite his insistence he was fit to play after recovering from a shoulder injury. It was another decision which annoyed Cook, as well as coach Trevor Bayliss; England's denials of a rift down the middle of the selectorial table were unconvincing.

The return of Mohammad Amir occupied thoughts on both sides, as well as column inches. Cook stated repeatedly that, though Amir had served his punishment for bowling deliberate no-balls at Lord's in 2010, anyone now found guilty of corruption should be banned for life. But it was impossible to ignore the symbolism of a Test return at the venue where Amir's career and reputation had come crashing down six years earlier.

Expecting a media maelstrom, Pakistan employed a (British) PR consultant, Jonathan Collett. Yet, while Amir's reception at Lord's did produce stray shouts of "No-ball!" to balance out a smattering of sympathetic applause, the public reaction was, on the whole, forgiving. His reception at Old Trafford and Edgbaston was livelier, but most seemed to think he had done his time. His bowling added to the compassion: not helped by several dropped catches, Amir managed only 12 Test wickets at 42. One or two opening spells aside, he lacked the diamond edge that memory had bestowed.

The incision was provided initially by the leg-spin of Yasir Shah, who claimed ten for 141 at Lord's, in his first Test outside Asia. But England worked out he did not turn it as much as they thought, and resolved to play him straighter. In Manchester, where they drew level, in Birmingham, where they secured a brilliant come-from-behind victory, and in the first innings at The Oval, Yasir racked up figures of four for 562. It was to his credit that he took five for 71 in the second innings, as Pakistan put their two defeats behind them with a series-levelling win.

If Yasir earned plaudits for his three-dimensional cricket - 19 wickets, 92 gritty runs and five catches (no fielder outside the slip cordon took more on either side) - he met his match in Chris Woakes. After taking two wickets for 197 in South Africa over the winter, Woakes laid a claim to regular inclusion in England's Test team with 26 at 16, including 11 at Lord's. No England bowler had claimed so many in a series against Pakistan. He also weighed in with 177 runs at 35, mainly from No. 8. Something had clicked. Likeable and modest, he attributed the improvement to consistency of selection, extra pace brought about by a more aggressive run-up and more dynamic use of his front arm, and even the use of a yo-yo to hone his wrist action. It seemed an appropriate toy given the ups and downs of his career, though this series felt like the end of the metaphor.

England had three centurions in Cook, Joe Root and Moeen Ali, with Root producing the finest innings of his career: 254 at Old Trafford, full of glorious strokemaking and unbending discipline after two airy dismissals at Lord's. He and Cook, who also reached three figures in Manchester, shone so brightly that both Misbah and Arthur suggested England were perilously close to becoming a two-man batting line-up. That seemed a little harsh on Moeen, who made two delightful fifties as England fought back in Birmingham, and Jonny Bairstow, whose keeping improved markedly, made four half-centuries. But the rest had forgettable series. James Vince, repeatedly undone by his love of the cover-drive, and Alex Hales managed one fifty between them. Hales also suffered a meltdown at The Oval after being given out caught at square leg by a tumbling Yasir, then storming into the third umpire's office to remonstrate about the legality of the catch. It cost him £1,500 (Stuart Broad, perhaps disproportionately, was fined £2,000 for tweeting about the dismissal).

But a series haul of 145 runs at an average of just 18 was not enough for Hales to retain his Test spot for the winter, though he pulled out of the trip to Bangladesh for security reasons in any case. Cook's eighth opening partner in the four years since the retirement of Andrew Strauss had lasted longer than the other seven, but ultimately met the same fate. Gary Ballance, who admitted his surprise at his recall a year after being dropped during the Ashes, appeared at least to have a plan, even if he was able to execute it to good effect only twice. Both Anderson and Broad, who took 13 wickets without ever hitting one of his hot streaks, operated in Woakes's shadow. Anderson had returned at Old Trafford after recovering from a stress fracture to his right shoulder. A yard or two down on pace, he likened himself to an old defender in football - lacking the nip of a striker but staying "two steps ahead of him upstairs". About to turn 34, he said he hoped to make it to 37. Yet he had missed at least one Test in three of England's last five series and, with more than 50,000 competitive deliveries behind him, it was becoming necessary to manage his workload.

The news that he would miss the tour of Bangladesh to allow him more time to recover came as no great shock - and seemed to vindicate the selectors' earlier caution. Moeen's off-spin proved expensive, as Pakistan despatched him at 4.65 an over - the worst economy-rate of any of his nine series - yet he continued to take key wickets, snaring Misbah, Azhar Ali and Younis Khan twice each. If he was costly, he was by no means a luxury. And, after fatally charging Yasir at Lord's, he batted beautifully, passing 50 in three consecutive innings.

Pakistan shared their batting successes around. Misbah, Azhar and Asad Shafiq all scored centuries and, after three difficult Tests which led to questions about his future, Younis made a brilliant 218 at The Oval. It rivalled Root for the innings of the summer, and underlined his status as one of the game's alltime greats. The tourists belatedly discovered a tidy opener in Sami Aslam, who replaced Shan Masood after two Tests; at Manchester, Masood was dismissed twice by Anderson, which meant he had fallen to him in six innings out of six. In Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistanis could boast one of the best wicketkeeper batsmen in world cricket. Among their bowlers, the surprise success story was Sohail Khan, the lone right-armer of the main pace quartet, who returned for his first Test in almost five years and responded with five-fors at Edgbaston and The Oval.

But it was a different story in the 50-over matches, claimed 4-1 by a vibrant England. This was entirely expected: Pakistan were ranked ninth, and had not won a one-day series in England since their first, in 1974. Even so, they were well and truly thrashed, their pain eased only by a consolation win in Cardiff, then victory in the solitary Twenty20 international at Old Trafford, where Pakistan's fans turned out in numbers not seen all tour.

England's white-ball dominance had peaked at Trent Bridge, where they bludgeoned a world record 444 for three. Hales, clearly more comfortable in blue, broke Robin Smith's 23-year-old national record with a magnificent 171, as England won by 169 runs. It was men against boys. Woakes once again showed his versatility, finishing as the leading wicket-taker, with nine at 19. He truly had the summer of his life. But so too did Misbah, who had celebrated victory at The Oval on Pakistan's Independence Day. "Sometimes people think it's easy, that the UAE suits us and we win," he said in those indoor nets. "But just living every day away from our country, without family and friends - it's really difficult.

I see my mother and sister only once a year, and some friends not for three or four years." Like New Zealand the previous year, the Pakistanis left England supporters pining for their return. The contrast with 2010 could not have been greater. "Cricket matches are won and lost," said Misbah. "But to win an audience, people and supporters - that's important."

Match reports for

Tour Match: Somerset v Pakistanis at Taunton, Jul 3-5, 2016
Report | Scorecard

Tour Match: Sussex v Pakistanis at Hove, Jul 8-10, 2016
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1st Investec Test: England v Pakistan at Lord's, Jul 14-17, 2016
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2nd Investec Test: England v Pakistan at Manchester, Jul 22-25, 2016
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Tour Match: Worcestershire v Pakistanis at Worcester, Jul 29-30, 2016
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3rd Investec Test: England v Pakistan at Birmingham, Aug 3-7, 2016
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4th Investec Test: England v Pakistan at The Oval, Aug 11-14, 2016
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1st ODI: Ireland v Pakistan at Dublin (Malahide), Aug 18, 2016
Scorecard

2nd ODI: Ireland v Pakistan at Dublin (Malahide), Aug 20, 2016
Scorecard

1st ODI: England v Pakistan at Southampton, Aug 24, 2016
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2nd ODI: England v Pakistan at Lord's, Aug 27, 2016
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3rd ODI: England v Pakistan at Nottingham, Aug 30, 2016
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4th ODI: England v Pakistan at Leeds, Sep 1, 2016
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5th ODI: England v Pakistan at Cardiff, Sep 4, 2016
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Only T20I: England v Pakistan at Manchester, Sep 7, 2016
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