England's thrilling Test series-clinching win against Pakistan in Karachi brought back fond memories for ex-Sussex skipper Ted Dexter.

He was the man who captained England to their last Test win in Pakistan during the 1961-62 tour. He spoke to our reporter Justin Allen about that day and how this win bodes well for the future of English cricket.

Ted Dexter played the Graham Thorpe role when England last beat Pakistan in their own backyard.

The former flamboyant Sussex skipper was captaining an inexperienced England team for the first time in Lahore in 1961 when he struck a decisive unbeaten 66 to guide them home to a five-wicket victory.

It was a triumph almost identical to Monday's.

Dexter, who made 4,502 runs in an England career spanning 62 Tests, was supported by an undefeated 39 from Rob Barber, a mirror image innings to the one played by Graeme Hick.

"There were a fair few similarities to our win back then," said 65-year-old Dexter. "We also batted second and Ken Barrington played identically to Michael Atherton in the first innings by hitting 139, and with a knock of 99 from Mike Smith, we were only seven runs behind them on 380 all out.

"Pakistan only managed 200 in their second innings and we gave chase on the final day. Things looked rocky as we were 108 for five, but Barber and I managed to put on an unbeaten stand of 101 in 85 minutes to win the Test. There was only 35 minutes to spare when we finally reached the target.

"Our celebrations were not quite on a par to those held by Nasser Hussain and his team, but I was equally satisfied, especially as it was my first Test as captain."

The Lords of Lahore did not include the big and great names at the time such as Fred Trueman. They were an experimental team, although the likes of Barrington and Smith went on to enjoy highly successful international careers.

"I suppose you could say it was the start of England A tours," said the former England captain. "That victory in Lahore proved that the tour did have its purpose and was the birth of experimenting with second string teams."

Dexter believes England's chances of winning the series on Monday were never in doubt once Pakistan were dismissed. Even in Test conditions, he always felt England could keep up with the four-runs-an-over run-rate and that the time-wasting tactics of Pakistan skipper Moin Kahn have been blown out of proportion.

Instead of setting an attacking field and attempting to bowl England out, Kahn opted to slow the over-rate and hope darkness would save his team from defeat.

But the current MCC Cricket Committee chairman believes it was his only hope of saving the series.

He said: "England were always going to get the runs in the overs remaining. There was never any danger of them not reaching the target over a short space of time with lots of wickets to spare.

"Even if Khan had gone for the kill, his side would have lost. It would've taken a freak show to stop England, so naturally he did what many captains would do in the same situation, hope the light saves him.

"I'm just glad the umpires were brave enough to keep the game going into the darkness as compensation for the Pakistan team bowling slowly. Justice was done and the best team won."

Dexter believes the outstanding leadership of Hussain and coaching skills of Duncan Fletcher have been the cornerstone of England's rejuvenation.

Although Hussain has had probably his worst year with the bat, Dexter thinks he has improved as captain, while Fletcher has shown his ability in getting the best out of every player.

He said: "You're always going to get a few men who miss out with the bat, like Hussain and Hick, but to win Test matches all you need is two top quality batsmen and two top bowlers. Then the rest can just come along for the ride!

"In this case it was Atherton and Graham Thorpe with the bat, while with the ball there were Ashley Giles, Darren Gough and Craig White.

"But Duncan Fletcher's coaching has seen players like Ian Salisbury, the weakest link in the attack, contributing a crucial innings with the bat and holding the fort when needed.

"The win in Karachi owed a lot to Hussain's positive and often inspired captaincy. That's what you get when the whole team trusts your judgement implicitly and acts accordingly.

"Much has to be credited also to the central contracts system. It proved to be an inspired idea and one that is reaping fine rewards. Because the team is winning, it changes the whole picture, because it means changes don't need to be made and players can settle in and improve all the time.

"But Ashley Giles' performance was the biggest plus of the whole series. He learned on the job. His bowling had definitely improved by the time the third Test came along."

So it's Sri Lanka in the New Year, Pakistan in early summer before the biggest series of them all - the Ashes and Australia.

Does Dexter think we'll get one over the Aussies at long last? "That my dear remains to be seen!"