Harry Brook has the rhythm of Joe Root and the brute strength of Kevin Pietersen – he showed ruthless instinct in a sensational 300m against Pakistan, writes NASSER HUSSAIN

Having conceded 556 in the first innings, I thought England would have to be near perfect to force a win – and they did.

The way the two Yorkies, Joe Root and Harry Brook, batted was truly amazing. Yes, Multan has a flat pitch, but the skill, concentration and fitness they showed in the scorching heat was extraordinary.

Of all those who scored 250 in a Test, Root made the lowest percentage of boundaries runs, which meant he had to make most of them and yet batted for 10 hours.

And on the other end was Brook. Only Virender Sehwag has 300 runs-a-ball in Test cricket, but Brook had skills that almost matched him without looking mad or chaotic. He has the strength of Kevin Pietersen and the rhythm and hunger of Root – two of England’s best players.

There were times when Brook’s ruthlessness and focus were questioned. Like Lord’s in last year’s Ashes, when he faced the fielders with five back and was caught in the deep. Or against Sri Lanka at the Oval when the tourists ‘hide’ the ball behind the off stump and he kept going and picked one up to hide it. But here he showed truly ruthless instinct.

Harry Brook (pictured) has shown the rhythm of Joe Root and the brute strength of Kevin Pietersen in his Test career

He struck up a record-breaking partnership with Root (pictured) as England took over the team against Pakistan

Brook has Pietersen injections (pictured) and on day four he showed ruthless instincts

When Brook retired from the game earlier this year after his grandmother’s death, he had been working hard on his fitness and it really showed. The level of fitness of this English team is incredible and incomparable to older generations.

For England to score 800 points and get there so quickly was great. They batted just one more than Pakistan in the first innings and scored 267 more runs.

Because England are scoring points so quickly, it gives them enough time to win. It was the same when they beat Pakistan in Rawalpindi and New Zealand at Trent Bridge, the only time they conceded 550 runs in the Bazball era.

England timed their declaration perfectly and then we saw a tired and demoralized Pakistan team.

Remember, the same was true for England. They were on the field for 149 overs but still came out and made a change with the bat.

It was a testament to England’s excellent fitness and mental toughness, while Pakistan had plenty of loose shots in their second-innings collapse. They have become accustomed to this in recent months.

What happened on Thursday proves once again why Test cricket is the best format because it is all about being mentally strong. This match was boring to watch at times, but Test cricket is still intriguing because if you don’t tune in for one session like Pakistan did on Thursday night, it could cost you.

England had to be excellent to beat Pakistan and now they are on the verge of achieving that goal

They threw better than the hosts, they hit better distances, and Brydon Carse showed his skills and proved that he is not one-dimensional

England also bowled to a better length than Pakistan. You have to throw a hard, heavy ball and find the cracks on the pitch. All English sailors did this.

Brydon Carse in particular has proven that he is not one-dimensional. In the first innings, he was asked to bowl the ball to mid-off, but on Thursday he had to bowl a long length and hit those cracks, which he also managed to do. England’s bowlers were well served by stand-in captain Ollie Pope. He kept them moving and turning at the right time.

The only thing I would change is that Shoaib Bashir was asked to bowl the defensive line on leg stump with the field prepared for him. Last night, when Pakistan scored 82 for 6, it was the perfect opportunity to give Bashir an extra fielder on the offside and force him to play with an attacking line targeting the stump.

However, this is just one minor criticism of what was a great performance by England, which was a pleasure to watch.