England in Pakistan: Andy Zaltzman’s alternative statistics based on the tourists’ victory in Multan

England have now played 30 matches since McCullum and Stokes took over. In these matches, they scored 4.61 runs per over, which is an unheard of rate in Test cricket.

To give context to how unusual their approach was, the previous fastest sequence of 30 Tests was achieved by a near-winning Australian team in the early 2000s, which achieved a score of 4.00 for every score from August 2001 to December 2003.

England scored a fraction more than an over faster than the second highest-scoring Test team since 2022 – India, who scored at 3.60 wickets per over but have been picking up the pace lately and will provide a compelling opponent for Stokes’ side next summer.

For further context, in the 30 Tests immediately before Stokes became full-time captain, England averaged 3.09 per over.

Before the Bazball revolution, England’s fastest team had scored over 30 points in Tests – a rate of 3.58 per score – from May 2009 to August 2011, when Andrew Strauss’ team climbed to number one in the ICC rankings.

In the 1950s – one of England’s most successful Test decades – their figures were 2.23 per over and 2.18 in three Ashes triumphs in 1953, 1954-55 and 1956.

England have won 20 and lost nine of the last 30 Tests – the most wins they have achieved in a 30-match sequence since the late 19th century, although with more defeats and without the breakthrough series victories against elite teams that Michael Vaughan’s side achieved, they secured victory, winning 20 and losing four of 30 matches between 2003 and 2005.