England retreat into safe and familiar embrace of Broad and Anderson | Jonathan Liew


What did England discover in this series? That their 85mph seamers play well in home conditions?

So there we have it. A Test summer billed as English cricket’s financial salvation, organised at considerable expense and to a staggering degree of logistical precision. A summer, too, in which England would seek to hone an attack that could lead them to victory overseas. It was with a certain bemusement, then, and not a little anticlimax, that shortly after 5.30pm a global television audience was treated to the sight of Dom Sibley jogging in to bowl his club-level leg-spin.

Related: Jimmy Anderson reaches the magical 600 and Pakistan bat out for a draw

The low-flying debate over Archer’s best role for England has often strayed into over-complication

Related: England v Pakistan: Anderson gets to 600 as third Test ends in draw – as it happened

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