Former cricketer David Lloyd, in a Sky Sports podcast, recalled England’s famous Test victory over Pakistan in Karachi in 2000. It was also Pakistan’s first Test loss at the National Stadium, Karachi.
The game looked set to be heading towards a draw like the previous two Tests in the series. However, Pakistan suffered a dramatic collapse on day five, losing their last six wickets for just 30 runs.
England went onto chase 176 runs in a thrilling fashion, to register their first series win in Pakistan since 1961/62.
Lloyd, who was joined by former England cricketers Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain in the podcast, appreciated the umpire Steve Bucknor for not paying heed to Pakistan’s appeals to call off the game and continuing with the match under fading lights.
"I was working on commentary for that. They would never do that today; they would never play in those conditions and that light. Pakistan knew they were going to lose the game and they got into delaying tactics - as any team would - but umpire Steve Bucknor was saying, 'I know what you're up to, but we're staying out here'," said Lloyd.
“The fielders were running the wrong way, England were getting more frenetic, and Bucknor just kept them out there. They kept looking and appealing to him, but I thought it was a brilliant piece of umpiring. It was a great, dramatic game to work on, it must have been great for the players as well, but hats off to Bucknor because he kept them out there. They would never ever stay out in those conditions right now,” he added.
ALSO READ: Chopra slams Indian fans reaction after Afridi tests positive for Covid-19
Hussain reiterated Lloyd’s claim about the Men in Green trying to waste time in order to avoid an imminent defeat.
“Everything Bumble says was spot on,” said Hussain. “We had Inzi running in the wrong direction at deep cover. We had Steve Bucknor saying to Moin, ‘Whatever you do, however much you slow this game down Moin [Khan, Pakistan captain], we are finishing it off.’ By the time we got upstairs on that balcony, it was pitch black, unbelievable scenes. For us it was just a boring Test series, but you can imagine it made good viewing at home, here in England.”