Alastair Cook's side can become an irresistible force, provided they show the same consistency that inspired their comeback in the third Test
It’s often reasoned that cricket – an 11-a-side game based on solo battles between batsmen, bowlers and fielders – is a team sport almost entirely led by individuals.
Even so, England’s reliance on that theory over the last couple of years has gone beyond common cricketing parlance.
Heading into last week’s third Test against Pakistan, Joe Root and Alastair Cook were the only English batsmen inside the top 15 of the ICC world batting rankings.
Jonny Bairstow was just outside in 16th place while Gary Ballance was way down in 41st, with No. 4 James Vince yet to even overtake Adam Lyth – who hasn’t played a Test match for nearly 12 months – for a place in the top 100.
Their failure to score heavily has had England followers pining for a middle order containing recent reassuring presences such as Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell.
The bowling rankings painted a marginally brighter picture, with James Anderson and Stuart Broad making up two of the top three.
With Steven Finn down at 22, though, there is still a clear divide between the best and the rest.
By way of comparison, Australia boast four of the top 16 bowlers while India have seven inside the top 35, underlining just how much the top sides must share the burden.
And after one of England’s best victories in years, the celebrations at Edgbaston on Sunday will have been fuelled by the genuine team effort which earned it.
Each of the top seven – bar Vince, who still scored 81 runs in the match – made a half-century.
This consistency was emphasised by the fact that Ballance was the lowest scorer among the dismissed batsmen in the second innings with a respectable 28.
The five-man bowling unit then took two wickets apiece to wrap up an outstanding turnaround.
Broad and, particularly, Finn, have been bailed out by Anderson and Woakes in this series so far, but each upped their game to chip in.
The dismissals of the well-set Sami Aslam and captain Misbah-ul-Haq represented an impressive comeback for Finn, who has struggled for rhythm all summer.
The much-maligned Moeen earned himself the man-of-the-match award after a solid game with bat and ball – but the victory was reliant on contributions from the entire XI.
The best sides in history, such as Steve Waugh’s Australia and Viv Richards’ West Indies, were never forced to carry passengers.
With Test cricket losing its battle for attention with T20, the standard across the world game has diminished.
The current field is there to be dominated, therefore, and England have the talent to do so.
Pakistan could still reach No. 1 in the world by the start of next week, so Cook’s side are clearly not far off the best.
With a series-clincher starting on Thursday followed by a difficult assignment in India, a little more reliability from one to 11 will see England become an irresistible force.
The second half of the Edgbaston victory set a standard which they should aim to regularly emulate.
For that to happen, though, the fringe players must facilitate the stars’ efforts much more often.
