THIS is with reference to the editorial ‘Series win, at last’ (Oct 27). The remar-kable and emphatic win against England was, indeed, long-awaited and much-needed to help dispel the pall of gloom that had descended on both the players and the nation at large after a string of four disappointing winless home series, particularly the humiliating 0-2 home series upset defeat to Bangladesh earlier in the year.

It is a timely morale-booster for the team, and has brought back smiles to our faces, further strengthening the belief that the team is talented enough to reach the apex of success, provided it plays to its true potential.

The role of the selection committee also deserves to be acknowledged. Some of its bold and daring decisions were behind the thumping series win. Resting the seniors, and bringing in the two spinners — Sajid Khan and Noman Ali — in the team could not have been easy decisions to make.

The wizardry of spin bowling from the two bamboozled the English batters, exposing once again their frailties against the spinning ball. The fact that the duo together claimed 39 of the 40 England wickets in the last two Tests is a testament to their skills.

The English batters had no answer to their craft. It was indeed a treat to watch them dominate the game and bundle out their opponents to their lowest ever total in Pakistan. It was the same batting line-up that had scored more than 800 runs against Pakistan in a single outing during the first Test of the series.

Shan Masood, the team captain, also deserves a pat on his back for having proved his mettle. His resilience in the face of failures one after the other, and the confidence-shattering manner of those defeats was remarkable.

Now, it is time for the national team to keep its focus, build on this series victory, and get ready to meet even tougher challenges in the days ahead.

Khadim Hussain Subhpoto
Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2024