We should have expected a lot of runs.
Everything surrounding England's first Test in Pakistan for 17 years was extraordinary, so it should have come as no surprise when the cricket itself turned out to be absolutely amazing.
Two and a half hours before the scheduled start, they could only confirm a fit XI because of the illness.
The match would have been delayed for 24 hours if there weren't enough players. A day's delay would have made a difference. They might want to keep sending them away for another 17 years.
The captain said that they don't want to be held back by the narrative of how Test cricket needs to be played
We're trying to let spectators view the game in a different way and that's what I'm trying to do with English cricket.
Joe said it was more succinct.
"Smack it, score fast and get the job done" He said it's pretty simple.
England are practicing what they preach.
The way Test cricket is played could be changed by these people.
It will take a long time to know for certain, but we could be witnessing an irreversible shift like when Babe Ruth brought home runs to baseball or the Netherlands played their brand of 'total football'.
England doesn't like the term 'Bazball' so maybe we should look for a different one. It can be anything before or after coach McCullum arrives.
The English summer felt like a wild fling that could not last. Against New Zealand, the Trent Bridge chase was their fifth highest in Test history.
Is it possible for England to do it again away from their homes? Is the fire still bright when they are together again?
On a day that was historic for England's return to Test cricket in Pakistan, as well as for the records they smashed in one of the most dazzling collective displays of batting the answers came immediately.
The fastest ton by an England batter in an overseas Test and the fastest team to 400 and 500 in a Test are all by Zak Crawley.
On the first day of a Test, England only faced 75 overs because of the close-of-play score of 509-4. Their scoring rate of 6.74 would have gotten them to 607.
To downplay England's achievement is like saying The Beatles sold a few records.
If you want to know how different England's effort is to the rest of the world, Australia needed 152.4 overs to declare in the first Test against the West Indies.
The faith of knowing they will not be punished if they fail is how England have done it.
Some of the comments made by McCullum seemed a little ridiculous.
Zak is not a consistent cricketer because of his skill set. "He isn't that type of player."
The first of four England batters to register a hundred is the one who bats like he did on Thursday.
Ben Duckett tipped a beer over James Anderson in a Perth nightclub. He had to relearn how to hold a bat after breaking his hand.
At the end of the summer, he was brought back into the Test set-up and given a second chance. He cracked his first century despite being hit the hardest by the virus.
Pope's promotion to number three has made him a leading candidate to become England's next captain. He helped himself to the least flashy hundred you will ever see even though he was behind the stumps for Ben Foakes.
The coup de grace came from Brook, who had a poor T20 World Cup and, with only one Test cap to his name, could easily have been moved aside to accommodate England's spin bowling all-rounders.
It isn't a lot of it. He took Saud Shakeel for six fours in a single over and only missed Gilbert Jessop's 120-year-old mark of 76 balls by four deliveries.
There is a lot of violence going on in Pakistan.
The lead-up to the first Test included the Sky commentary team inadvertently commandeering the TMS bus, as well as Tim Peach getting a large electric shock when trying to fix the broadcast equipment.
England may just be getting started as well.
Liam Livingstone, one of the world's premier white-ball destroyers, and Will Jacks, owner of a century in The Hundred, are still to come.
If we can get a big one and score a thousand, that would be great.
This is a new type of cricket.
Don't get caught up in the chaos.
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