This was almost two series in one. The first part, the opening Test, was played on a dead-end surface in Multan, which saw England break some astonishing run-scoring records.

Pakistan, defeated in six consecutive Tests and winless in 11 at home, opted for radical change. Star batsman Babar Azam and pace bowlers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi were out.

Noman and Sajid entered. The field in Multan was reused, after which the surface in Rawalpindi was dried with heaters and fans. Coach Jason Gillespie was effectively sidelined by the tactic, but success was achieved.

Remarkably, England scored more runs in one innings in the first Test, 823-7 declared, than in four innings in the other two Tests combined. It is the first time they have led 1-0 and then lost a three-Test series.

Merely depending on the turnaround would be a disservice to Pakistan. England had the advantage of winning the toss in the third Test but then squandered it.

The tourists’ spinners were no match for the home tweakers as the England batters struggled for the right pace on the Rawalpindi pitch, possibly spooked by all the talk of an angry turner.

On the second afternoon, when Saud Shakeel’s century presided over Pakistan’s recovery from 177 to 177, England were bafflingly passive in their tactics.

England, which preaches stability and togetherness, will not panic or make wholesale changes, not least because the circumstances were so strange. After five test trips through Asia since the start of 2021, they will not return until a visit to Bangladesh in 2027.

Yet questions will travel with them to New Zealand, not least about the form of captain Stokes and vice-captain Ollie Pope.