Irked Cook to rally England troops

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq lined up his troops and ordered them to perform press-ups on the hallowed turf at the home of cricket, just as he did after scoring a first-innings century. "It's never nice to lose at Lord's and see the opposition like they were at the end. We'll use that as motivation." Cook said.

Published : Jul 19, 2016 12:49 IST

Pakistan's team celebrates at Lord's, military style.
Pakistan's team celebrates at Lord's, military style.
lightbox-info

Pakistan's team celebrates at Lord's, military style.

Alastair Cook said England will use Pakistan's Lord's military-style celebrations after winning the first Test at Lord's as motivation to mount a fightback in the four-match series. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq lined up his troops and ordered them to perform press-ups on the hallowed turf at the home of cricket, just as he did after scoring a first-innings century.

>Report: Pakistan completes 75-run victory at Lord's

The tourists also stood to attention for a salute to express their gratitude to members of the army who put them through a boot camp before the tour of England after wrapping up a 75-win on Sunday.

England were left waiting to shake hands with the Pakistan players as they basked in the glory of their success at the home of cricket and captain Cook said his men will use the scenes after day four to spur them on in the remainder of the series.

"It's never nice to lose at Lord's and see the opposition like they were at the end. We'll use that as motivation." said the opening batsman.

'No offence'

"I didn't take offence, but certainly at that moment in time it's not pleasant for the first 20 minutes when you've just lost a game of cricket. They're entitled to do what they want. "Obviously it's united them and it shows what a challenge we've got in the next game. But the cricketing gods…"

Cook felt England's "naive" batting cost them dearly as they prepare to try and level the series in the second Test at Old Trafford, which starts on Friday.

"We had a few poor shot selections to certain types of balls. We played some naïve shots at times to certain angles. You could see what Pakistan were trying to do and we fell into the trap.

"We're striving to become the best side we can be, but naïve is the word. To allow Yasir [Shah] to get six wickets [in the first innings] when the ball wasn't turning was frustrating. It's disappointing, but the beauty of a four-Test series is there are three more chances to put it right. We’ve been beaten before and come back strong."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment