Alistair Cook: England to use Pakistan celebration as motivation

Younis Khan leads the Pakistan team as they perform press ups to celebrate winning a test match against England. Photo / Getty

It's not every day you see a team celebrating with push-ups after four days of gruelling Test cricket.

It was the spontaneous military-esque routine that capped Pakistan's recent rise to form after completing a pre-series bootcamp to mend their horrific fitness woes.

The victorious team faced the crowd in military formation after taking the final wicket of Jake Ball and dropped to the turf and complete five push-ups before saluting and marching out of Lord's in victory.

England captain Alastair Cook vowed to use the demonstration as motivation for his team's comeback in the second Test, starting next week.

"It's never nice to lose at Lord's and see the opposition like they were at the end," Cook said. "We'll use that as motivation.

"Obviously it's united them and it shows what a challenge we've got in the next game."

The cheeky display was met with mixed reactions on Twitter.

Former England paceman Tim Bresnan suggested karma will catch up with Pakistan before long.

"That might bite you boys," Bresnan said on Twitter.

That might bite you boys. Carma catches up with you eventually. It did with the Sprinkler.

— Tim Bresnan (@timbresnan) July 17, 2016

Pakistan perform best victory celebration in cricket history.#PressUps #TenForTheMisbah pic.twitter.com/PtIioYsuJf

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 17, 2016

The decision to undertake the exercise camp came after half of their 31-man squad failed a fitness test in the lead-up to the series.

The results were so dire the army stepped in and shipped the team to the Army School of Physical Training in Abbottabad. Recently appointed Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur was in full support of the move, believing it would help the struggling side bond and boost morale.

"The boot camp will help improve chemistry between the players. When you train really hard together, you build team spirit and camaraderie and I feel it's a really good idea," he said.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq was the first to celebrate in military fashion after doing push-ups in celebration of his century in the first innings. The 42-year-old showed fitness beyond his years in what was one of the better knocks in a match dominated by bowlers.

Pakistan gave a bowling showcase with spinner Yasir Shah taking a stunning 10-wicket haul in his first Test outside Asia and the UAE. The leggie showcased his talents alongside recently returned Mohammed Amir, who once again proved his worth as Pakistan's premier speedster.

Pakistan were able to limit the home side to under 300 runs each innings with only one half-century scored against them the whole match.

England's bowling strength was limited after veteran paceman James Anderson was sidelined with a shoulder injury in June. Ben Stokes was another spearhead kept from playing after succumbing to a knee injury against Sri Lanka in May.

Seamer Chris Woakes more than made up for their absence, taking a career best 11/102 on a slow deck.

Cook admitted there being a "bitter taste" in the dressing room after losing to a side that was drastically unfit only two months ago.

"We weren't good enough today," Cook said post-match.

"It wasn't to be.

"It's really frustrating but we've lost games of cricket before and bounced back."

Cook slammed his batsmen for being too naive against the Pakistan attack, while also citing their embarrassment against Shah who dominated on a ground that is not generally known to have a deck suited for spinners.

Cook was confident his team would make a comeback and assured they will review their tactics for the upcoming game at Old Trafford, which is expected to have a spin-friendly pitch on offer.

"We're really confident we can beat them but we have to play better."

The second Test starts on July 22 at 10pm (NZT).