A sheer lack of commitment from the Pakistan batsmen was responsible for a humiliating defeat in the second England Test at Old Trafford on Monday. Facing an uphill target of 565 and a task to rewrite history, skipper Misbahul Haq and his charges were bundled out for 234 in their second innings to ‘help’ the hosts level the four-match series 1-1. Pakistan won the first Test at Lord’s by 75 runs. Many were expecting, and wanted Pakistan to repeat the same performance. But with their pathetic show, Pakistan demonstrated that England performed poorly in the first Test as the hosts roared back with a sparkling performance to record the 330-run victory. Briefly, England showed the tenacity and the resilience to strike back. It was the second time in this match that England had gorged themselves on the Pakistan’s attack, with opener Alastair Cook making 105 and Joe Root a Test-best 254 in England’s first-innings 589 for eight declared. In reply of hosts’ mammoth score, the Pakistan’s batting line-up crumbled at 198. The second innings saw England’s two most experienced batsmen put on 105 in 85 balls for the second wicket, with the duo adding 75 runs in just nine overs yesterday before Root unbeaten on 71 and captain Cook (76 not out) declared. Cook’s men are no strangers to difficult situations and have, in the last few years, shown the ability to turn the game and the series, against both Australia and India around. If Pakistan had that kind of capability, things for Misbah and his men would have been a lot rosier and easier. But having a history of batting inconsistency, unpredictable Pakistan, as usual, caved in meekly at Manchester. What annoying was that the Pakistan batsmen did not stay at the crease for a longer time. The pitch at Old Trafford was good for batting and the Pakistan batsmen had a very good chance to make amends for their first innings failure. The seniors – Misbah, Mohammad Hafeez, Younus Khan and Azhar Ali – were the main culprits. Shan Masood and Asad Shafiq appear the most competent and gifted of the new generation, though they have yet to make a truly significant impact. On a pitch as slow-paced as Old Trafford, the Pakistan batsmen should have done a lot better than they did at Lord’s. But they did not. No team is a better judge of the conditions in England than England and they used them to the best of their ability. In fact the England batsmen taught the Pakistan batsmen how Test cricket is played. What was more painful that no Pakistan bowler – Mohammad Amir and Yasir Shah in particular – was able to break the England batsmen – Cook and Root – partnership. They literally put the Pakistan bowlers to sword. And the remaining contest was made easy for the hosts by the Pakistan batsmen. With two Tests remaining, despite being the world’s most mercurial cricket team, Misbah and his men need to understand they have a tough opposition to tackle and are left with little or no scope for complacency. Even if Pakistan somehow magically defy expectations to bat out of their skins and post competitive totals in the coming matches, the lessons of Old Trafford should not be forgotten. Forget fielding, batting is Pakistan’s real Achilles heel. A loss at Old Trafford, though, isn’t the end of the world for them. They need to stick together and come back stronger.