Pakistan vs England day five: Tourists fall to 2-0 series defeat despite Alastair Cook's best efforts

Pakistan 234 & 355 England 306 & 156 (Pakistan win by 127 runs): England collapsed to a 127-run defeat on the fifth day of the third Test

Alastair Cook looks dejected following his side's series defeat (Getty Images)

In its raw form, the review of England’s second excursion to the UAE will be grim. The team lost 2-0, their spinners were exposed by top-class batting, their batting unravelled before top-class spinners, and there were far too many fielding errors. That takes care of most of the game’s elements.

On the 15th and final day after a horrendous time on the 14th, the tourists were equally brittle. A day that needed heroes to track down an imposing target of 284 and level the series against Pakistan found none. Most of them with potential had disappeared within the opening 15 minutes, by which time England had gone from an unpromising 46 for 2 to a catastrophic 59 for 6.

The recovery from there to the eventual 156 all out and defeat by 127 runs was a minor triumph of the purely academic variety. The impoverished measure of this tame display lay in the contributions of the five batsmen occupying the positions three to seven in the order, what can be loosely termed the batting. It amounted to a grand collective total of eight runs, equalling a record that has stood since 1887 (the difference being that England won that match in Sydney).

All this has to be said, just as it all disguises the important footnotes, which tend not to be present in scorecards, that England held their own for much of this series. Whereas four years ago on the tour to Pakistan’s home from home, they were effectively beaten on the first morning and never properly challenged, this time they had opportunities.

They might, would, have won the first Test but for the fading light. That, in turn, might have changed things. Then they were in touch in the second match until a fateful third morning which cost them dearly. The third was similar – as the match unfolded England did not have enough skill or enterprise to stay the distance.

It would have helped hugely to win a toss, instead of losing it on all three occasions. The toss can mean nothing and everything but it meant that England were always staring at, worrying about having to bat fourth. Although they managed twice to establish a first-innings lead, it still left them with the problem.

Alastair Cook, their captain now for 41 Tests, is lord of all he surveys, scorer of runs, a wise leader. Hard to think that a little more than a year ago almost all his predecessors who were still alive, probably most of them who were dead, said it was time to go.

In the next few days there will be much hand-wringing about the dearth of England spinners. Reporters are being despatched hotfoot to the National Academy at Loughborough to ask the spin principal, Peter Such, to explain himself. The angst is not new. The unforgivable shortage of spinners has usually managed to be covered up – as it was most recently when Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar bowled in tandem and had a resounding triumph in India in late 2012.

Swann and Panesar, make no mistake, were top rank performers and yet when they came here in early 2012, England still lost 3-0. When the squad arrived they knew deep down – as did the bowlers themselves – that Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Samit Patel were no Swann and Panesar.

They would have to bowl many overs but it followed that much would be expected of the much more experienced and capable seam attack. Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad were magnificent, not least in the last match, and their apprentices, Ben Stokes and Mark Wood, learned quickly.

If the spinners were disappointing it came as no surprise. Rashid was in his first series against high-class operators and anyone who thought he was about to instil in them the fear of Allah was much misguided. Moeen remains a former temporary worker now on the permanent staff, who might have progressed but whose shortcomings have been partly concealed by the bowling of others. Patel never expected to be here.

This predictable failure was only partly to blame. England too often did not bat well enough. When they made almost 600 in the first innings at Abu Dhabi, they all but won and it was probably no coincidence that such scoreboard pressure helped Rashid to a five-wicket haul.

But never again did England bat with such conviction. It will be said (and it was) that this is a young line-up trying to cope in unfamiliar circumstances. But the batting has been failing for too long. This year alone there have been collapses at Bridgetown, Headingley, Lord’s, The Oval, Dubai and Sharjah. No matter where they play, no matter the weather, England have found a way to mess up.

There is no settled opening partner for Cook, the No 3 position has contributed 793 runs in 25 innings this year, the No 5 spot is equally unsettled. There is not a queue round the National Academy to fill these slots.

Cook and Joe Root scored 1,357 and 1,288 runs respectively in Tests for England this year, almost 37 per cent of the total between them. On their long year of Test cricket, which began in the West Indies in April, England have now won five matches and lost six, lost one series, drawn two and won one, fortunately the most important of all.

Certainly, they must find some spinners for their sub-continental assignments next winter but the most pressing need is to find a functioning batting order to play South Africa next month.