A year had been a long time for the English cricket team. Beaten by New Zealand in the summer of 1999, England dropped to the bottom of the unofficial world rankings and the start of the new captain/coach partnership of Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher suggested that the road to recovery would be long.
In fairness, the bowling conditions were ideal as England slumped to 2/4 in the opening Test of the series in South Africa. But despite going down to a 2-1 series defeat - the one win coming after the notorious Hansie Cronje declaration in the final match - there were small signs that Hussain was moulding a side in his image.
Beating Zimbabwe and the West Indies at home in the summer of 2000 - the latter the first time England had won the Wisden Trophy since 1969 - there was hope for English fans desperately searching for crumbs of comfort. Yet the realistic among us saw the forthcoming tour to Pakistan as an examination on a completely different level.
It was far from a vintage Pakistan team. Losing their last three home series against Zimbabwe, Australia, and Sri Lanka, there was a vulnerability to the side captained by wicketkeeper Moin Khan. But England's perceived weakness against spin, and their lack of experience in Pakistan, suggested that a drawn series would be a fine achievement.
None of the squad had played a Test match in Pakistan, hardly surprising seeing that England had not toured the country since the infamous 1987/88 tour. Umpiring controversies, the Shakoor Rana affair, and subsequent ball-tampering allegations made against Pakistan had strained relations between the two cricketing nations. As well as building on a successful summer, the tourists were also building bridges.
Writing in the Guardian before the first Test in Lahore, Mike Selvey justifiably concluded, "On paper England have not got a prayer." Even the staunchest of England followers could not argue with this opinion. Hussain spoke honestly about a tour that would reveal a lot about his players.
"It is a formidable side," Hussain said of the hosts. "Just think of the questions they pose, when you first go in with men round the bat, or when Wasim is coming at you with the new ball. Think of their batsmen when they get in on a flat one and hit through the line of the ball."
Getting off to a good start in the Test series was crucial. Having lost the ODI series 2-1, Marcus Trescothick and all-rounder Craig White scored runs in the two warmup matches, with Darren Gough taking wickets. But the first real test was just around the corner on November 15.
Hussain won a good toss, and with Graham Thorpe grinding out a century assisted by White (93), Michael Atherton (73) and Trescothick (71), England declared on 480/8. At one point Pakistan were 273/8 in their reply, but Mohammad Yousuf (124) and Saqlain Mushtaq (32 from 167 balls) dug the home team out of a hole.
The match petered out to a draw, and although Hussain would have been delighted with the team performance, his form with the bat was causing him great concern. This was hardly helped in the second Test when he was on the end of two shocking decisions. Putting all his energy into captaining the team was taking its toll on his personal output.
Again England competed well in the second Test at Faisalabad. Reducing Pakistan to 151/5 after losing the toss, the home team dragged themselves past the 300 mark, yet the visitors achieved another first innings lead. Pakistan declared second time round, and there were a few wobbles along the way in England's 125/5, but the teams would go to Karachi all-square.
There were question marks being raised about the form of Hussain, Graeme Hick, and leg-spinner Ian Salisbury. Nevertheless, England named an unchanged team for the third time, whereas Pakistan had been shuffling their pack. Mushtaq Ahmed had been dropped at Faisalabad for debutant leg-spinner Danish Kaneria. And Wasim Akram would be replaced by Waqar Younis for the series decider.
Hussain was his usual forthright self before the match. "I've told my team we are absolute mugs if we do not give it everything over the next five days after all we've been through. We came to Pakistan to learn and we will from this game. But we also want to achieve something special."
Winning in Karachi seemed a dream. Pakistan were unbeaten in 33 Test matches at the National Stadium, and England had won just one Test in 20 matches in Pakistan (in October 1961). After the first day, breaching Pakistan's fortress looked like a far-fetched fantasy.
Losing the toss did not help. Nor did umpire Mohammad Nazir Junior. His decision to dismiss a strong lbw shout from part-time bowler Trescothick against Inzamam-ul-Haq looked pivotal, as crucial as Javed Miandad's reprieve in the 1992 World Cup final. Inzamam had scored 4 at the time. But aided by Mohammad Yousuf once more, their partnership looked like taking the game away from England.
Ending day one on 292/3, the pair stretched their stand to 259, Inzamam scoring 142, and Mohammad Yousuf 117, as England battled to stay in touch. England would have been reasonably happy to dismiss the hosts for 405, after Pakistan had reached 323/3. But a big challenge awaited just to avoid the follow-on.
If there was one man you wanted for the job at this time then it would be Atherton. Scores of 73, 20, 32 and 65* suggested that a big knock was coming. What followed was a masterclass in grinding the opposition down, although not everyone was enamoured with this approach.
Atherton's 125 would be scored across three different days, consisting of 430 balls in 579 minutes. To the team it was a priceless knock. Yet the Telegraph's Michael Henderson found it less than enthralling. Describing the innings as "insufferable viewing" and one of "monumental tedium", Henderson pondered if Atherton had eliminated the chances of an England victory.
In his autobiography Dazzler, Darren Gough defended his former skipper. "You almost have to lull the opposition into a false sense of security, convince them that you are more concerned about losing than they are. It was all about getting into a position on the final day that would allow us a chance of victory."
With Hussain registering a gutsy 51 - passing his previous Test highest of 26 in 2000 - England crawled up to a total of 388 as day four came to an end. Pakistan reached 71/3 at the close, but two of those wickets in the final session opened up a tiny window of hope for the tourists.
Thorpe's superb catch on the boundary to remove opener Saeed Anwar proved vital, as would the wicket of Inzamam. Left arm spinner Ashley Giles found some turn from the rough, ripping a delivery past Inzamam's defences to remove the first innings centurion. For Giles the tour would be a triumph. His one previous Test in 1998 had seen him take 1/106 against South Africa. In Pakistan he took 17 wickets at 24.11.
Realistically, it looked as if the pitch would be the winner. But on a dramatic 15th and final day of the series, England came out like Rocky Balboa, having defended stoically for 14 rounds before launching some knockout blows in the last.
There seemed little sign of danger when Pakistan reached 128/4. Yet when White removed the constant thorn in man of the series Mohammad Yousuf, the house of cards collapsed. Dismissed for 158, Pakistan melted under the weight of history and scoreboard pressure. Attack may have been the best form of defence, yet Giles, White, Gough and a panicked run-out left Pakistan reeling.
Set 176 in a minimum of 44 overs, the required run rate of four an over seems a stroll in this era of Bazball. But time was England's biggest enemy. With Pakistan understandably slow in bowling their overs - 11 in the first hour, and constant adjustments to fielding positions and shoe-laces - umpire Steve Bucknor became a central figure as darkness descended.
Hussain had considered shuffling the batting order, a tactic that Atherton wrote about in his Opening Up autobiography. "Frankly, it pissed me off. As a batsman, you play according to the situation." A brisk 26 from 33 balls proved England's opener right. But with England 65/3 and time running out, could they force victory?
Hick, freed to play his attacking game, scored an important 40 from 64 balls, but again England owed a lot to Thorpe's brilliance. With Hussain joining the Surrey left-hander with 20 runs required, Moin continued to slow things down, and complained about the light to Bucknor.
The umpire would not be moved though, as Thorpe politely informed Pakistan's beleaguered skipper that the match would be played to a finish. Quite how Thorpe could see any of Saqlain's final over is a mystery. Certainly the Pakistani fielders had no idea where the ball was going as a Thorpe boundary reduced the runs required to two.
The winning shot was an ugly under-edge from Thorpe who finished on 64. But to England supporters and Hussain in particular, it was a thing of beauty. Hussain leapt in the air. punching his arms in triumph to the barely visible dressing room. England's players shrieked in delight, although White temporarily disrupted Atherton's elation by accidentally clonking him on the nose with this bat.
"England have achieved some remarkable things under the direction of their captain Nasser Hussain and the coach Duncan Fletcher," Selvey wrote in the Guardian. "But nothing thus far can compare with the scenes played out in almost total darkness here yesterday." "There are wins and there are wins - and yesterday's was a win and a half," Matthew Engel added in the same paper.
Hussain was naturally proud of England's second Test series win in Pakistan. "We showed a lot of spirit to come back and win. I wouldn't pick any performance - it was just a pleasure to play in that side. You can name so many people, all of whom performed in the whole series. We have stuck together."
The ability of the England team to hang on in there and tough things out neatly reflected the way in which Hussain led his men. Already there were signs that the foundations for future success was being laid. Another astonishing win in Sri Lanka followed to complete England's fourth consecutive series victory.
That win in Karachi remains an all-time favourite of mine. So unexpected, a win ground out via the determination of a team that were playing at a level greater than the sum of its parts. From the rock bottom of August 1999 to this thrilling climax on December 11, 2000.
The last word should go to Hussain. "These are the moments I played the game for," he wrote in Playing With Fire. "Not the money. Not the quest for an average of 40 or a hundred caps. The scenes in the dressing room after that were priceless."
"Silly things that mean so much. Like, for some reason, the team song at the time was 'Who let the dogs out?' so there we were, all were singing it with this serious, middle-aged man in Duncan Fletcher in the middle woofing like a dog." Getting Duncan Fletcher to sing a Baha Men song; now, that is a win and a half.
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