‘A perfect storm’: Trescothick refuses to blame England bowlers after Razaullah’s onslaught

Pakistan’s ninth-wicket pair put on 121 in 123 balls ‘You’ve got to give a bit more credit to them’ Marcus Trescothick described ­Pakistan’s late-innings onslaught as a “perfect storm”, after the 21-year-old debutant Razaullah and the 36-year-old Mohammad Abbas ­combined to score 121 off 123 balls and force a ­fraying England to come in on the fourth day to chase a target of 130.

The interim coach refused to ­characterise England’s frequently puzzling efforts in the field as ­embarassing as Razaullah plundered nine sixes and four fours on his way to a score of 81, and Abbas two sixes – as many as he had scored in 46 career Test innings before the start of this series – in his 42, insisting: “You’ve got to give a bit more credit to them [rather] than trying to target everything that we’ve tried to do.” Continue reading...