Quite a few of their players came in for strong criticism from big figures after the first Test – the verbals between Michael Vaughan, the former captain, and Stuart Broad are ongoing – but they channelled all that angst into a strong performance here. While Broad and Jimmy Anderson were back among the wickets, Dom Bess provided hope for the future. And the Jos Buttler call-up proved a masterstroke.

All in all, it was a near-perfect display from the home side.

Final thought

An enjoyable Test series, and a pretty fair result. Pakistan were the best team at Lord’s, England came roaring back in Leeds. With a 1-0 win in Ireland, and 1-1 over in England, Pakistan will be pretty happy. Not many gave their young batsmen a chance in seaming conditions, but they held their own, especially in the first Test.

As for England, the victory at Headingley was desperately needed. There were plenty of critics – rightly so – laying into them after Lord’s, and as Root said afterwards, they showed character to bounce back.

Team ratings

England: 9/10
Pakistan: 4/10

Player Ratings

England

Alastair Cook: 7/10
Keaton Jennings: 6/10
Joe Root: 6/10
Dawid Malan: 6/10
Jonny Bairstow: 6/10
Dom Bess: 8/10
Jos Buttler: 9/10
Sam Curran: 6/10
Chris Woakes: 7/10
Stuart Broad: 8/10
James Anderson: 7/10

That’s Better..Outstanding Team display..Every single player contributing.. #OnOn

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 3, 2018

Pakistan

Imam-ul-Haq: 5/10
Azhar Ali: 3/10
Haris Sohail: 6/10
Asad Shafiq: 6/10
Usman Salahuddin: 7/10
Sarfraz Ahmed: 5/10
Shadab Khan: 7/10
Faheem Ashraf: 6/10
Hasan Ali: 6/10
Mohammad Amir: 7/10
Mohammad Abbas: 7/10