Venue: Multan Dates: 9-13 December Start time: 05:00 GMT |
Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds and BBC Sport website & app. Live text commentary on BBC Sport website & app |
England are “just getting started” with their thrilling results and performances, according to assistant coach Marcus Trescothick.
“It is the start of a long journey when we are going to have some exciting cricket,” said Trescothick.
“You will see some young players really flourish and stand out.”
England will secure their first Test series win against Pakistan outside the UK in 22 years if they win the second Test in Multan, starting on Friday.
Former opener Trescothick, who played 76 Tests, was part of the last England squad to beat Pakistan away from home in 2000.
“This team is only getting started,” he said. “They are finding more opportunities and different ways of pushing the boundaries.”
England’s success under Test captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum has been built on a huge shift in mindset from the team that won only once in 17 Tests before the pair took charge.
They score their runs at a rapid pace and use unconventional tactics in the field. The win in the first Test came as a result of a bold declaration.
Trescothick was part of an England team that undertook a similar change in approach, when then-captain Michael Vaughan urged them to stand up to Australia after 18 years of Ashes series defeats, leading to the famous win in 2005.
“We created a different way of how we wanted to go about it,” said Trescothick. “For a couple of years before the pinnacle of 2005 we built a different style of play, a more aggressive style. We knew we had to come up against Australia and play in that fashion.”
Whereas Trescothick feels his England team were trying to “catch up” with Australia, he believes Stokes’ side are setting their own benchmark.
“It is up to everyone else to decide if they need to catch up and play this style,” he said. “It is not for us to judge. All I know is playing against us is exciting cricket and it moves forward very quickly.
“I think you will see the opposition trying it now and again.”
Australia will defend the Ashes in England next summer, but Trescothick said he wished the series could start next week.
“It is the exciting part,” he said. “If it continues on in this form then it bodes for a great series.
“We do not look too far ahead in what is going on but it is exciting because Ashes series are the pinnacle of what we do in Test cricket.”