Karachi: England have already pulled off one race against the setting sun on this tour, thanks to their epic victory in the first Test in Rawalpindi, but this week they are back at the scene of the most iconic heist of them all. Twenty-two years, almost to the week, have elapsed since they last played a Test in Karachi … since Graham Thorpe scuffed the winning runs down to fine leg with darkness already enveloping the National Stadium and with Pakistan's fielders powerless to intervene as the ball sped past them through the gloom.

On the face of it, the circumstances of this rematch lack the urgency that was on show for Nasser Hussain and his men back then, with England already 2-0 up in the series and entitled to coast through to Christmas after the exertions they've already put in. But that's not really the mindset of Ben Stokes and his merry men. They've been creating their own intensity since the start of this remarkable run back in June - eight wins in nine Tests now, and each one of them a humdinger - and having lived up to their stated intention to play for a result come what may, we'd best buckle up and see what variation on the theme they serve up this time.

It takes two to tango, of course, and Pakistan will still be smarting from the narrowness of their losses in both games - particularly at Multan, when a marginal umpiring decision went against Saud Shakeel on the fourth afternoon, at precisely the moment he might have been primed to make a considerable name for himself. But on both occasions, the thrill of Pakistan's chase came down to the ingeniously weighted targets that Stokes had been willing to dangle - through a bold declaration at Rawalpindi, then through what was effectively an auto-completed second innings at Multan, where England's loss of five wickets for 19 runs seemed to matter less than the desire to keep their quarry interested in a nominal target of 355.

It's only ingenious if it works, of course - and until Mark Wood got busy on that fourth afternoon, there was maybe just a whiff of hubris in the air. And yet, there's really no way to quibble with England's current methodology; a living, breathing embodiment of the late, great Shane Warne's most enduring mantra, that you've got to be prepared to lose to win. In taking the draw off the table, they've backed their matchwinners to be precisely that, and from the tireless displays of the seamers to the precocious stylings of Harry Brook, they've found an abundance of heroes.

And who knows, maybe this week, there will be another special tale to be related. By the close of day one in Multan, with the mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed already seven wickets to the good, and Pakistan seemingly well set in reply, there was reason for England to regret not blooding their teenaged leggie, Rehan Ahmed. And though the weapons at Stokes' disposal proved more than sufficient in the end, they've decided, in keeping with their zeitgeist, not to duck the opportunity a second time.

Ahmed's impending debut offers a fascinating insight into this team's current mindset. On the one hand, it's bold to the point of impetuous - the boy is barely 18, and has played the grand total of three first-class matches - but on the other, it's a perfectly calculated risk. As Rob Key related in the lead-up to the series, the plan had always been to add him to the tour, but without fanfare - so as not to drench the moment in hype - and, crucially, not before Brendon McCullum had had a chance to assess his character up close and in person. And it seems that McCullum liked what he saw - Ahmed's thwack-happy innings of 26 from 10 balls in the warm-up match in Abu Dhabi was every bit as revealing as the eight expensive and wicketless overs that preceded it. With full licence to rip his variations, and no doubt armed to the teeth with attacking fielders, it's unlikely to be dull viewing when his big moment finally comes. But spare a thought, when it does, for the luckless Matt Parkinson, a permanent passenger in the previous England regime, and a man who probably ought to have made his own debut in similar circumstances on the tour of the Caribbean in the spring.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 17 2022

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