England's capacity for an unlikely victory can leave you lost for words | Andy Bull


If it did not quite match last year at Headingley, this win over Pakistan shows a team at their best when the odds are longest

The Observer’s official policy about the use of swear words is right there in the official style guide, between the entries on Swaziland and swingeing. “We are more liberal than most newspapers,” it says, however, “we should use such words only when absolutely necessary to the facts of a piece, or to portray a character in an article; there is almost never a case in which we need to use a swearword outside direct quotes.” Which, yes, all makes good sense. Only, I’d guess the person who wrote it never had to take on the job of writing about this England team on a tight deadline.

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Related: Buttler and Woakes enjoy the silence as Pakistan's vigour is muted | Ali Martin

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