Pakistan's next assignment was a meeting with Ashes-winning England late in 2005.

The first Test in Multan was a see-saw affair that could have gone the tourists' way but they collapsed on the final day to Shoaib and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria to hand the home side a 22-run triumph.

Twin centuries from the skipper followed in Faisalabad and a 2-0 series success was clinched in Lahore against a team which was starting to struggle with injuries.

Shoaib, a man Inzamam had been critical of in the past, was again one of the chief architects of that and the new disciplined approach was paying dividends.