England completed a 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan on Saturday, winning the third and final Test at Edgbaston by eight wickets after one of the most dramatic finishes of the series — a match Pakistan very nearly saved after being bowled out for just 133 in their first innings.
Match Summary: Edgbaston, 3rd Test
| 1st Innings | 2nd Innings | |
|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | 133 all out | 449 all out |
| England | 453 all out | 130/2 (won) |
Venue: Edgbaston, Birmingham | Dates: September 9-13, 2026 | Result: England won by 8 wickets | Series: England won 3-0
How Pakistan Nearly Turned It Around
England batted first and piled up 453, built on half-centuries from Harry Brook (75), Jamie Smith (69), Dan Lawrence (65), Emilio Gay (60) and Ollie Robinson (50), with debutant seamer Razaullah picking up 4 for 148 despite the battering. Pakistan collapsed to 133 in reply, a deficit of 320 runs, and were made to follow on.
That is when the match turned. Pakistan slipped to 52 for 2 at one stage in their second innings, but a middle-order recovery pulled them back into the game: Shan Masood made 95, Babar Azam 76, and Azan Awais 59. The standout, though, was Razaullah again — batting this time, the debutant smashed 81 off just 63 balls with nine sixes, equalling the world record for most sixes in a Test debut innings, according to Yardbarker’s report on the innings. A late 42 from Mohammad Abbas took Pakistan to 449 all out, just enough to wipe out England’s lead and leave them a target of only 130.
Razaullah’s 81 off 63 balls, combined with Mohammad Abbas’s 42, helped Pakistan reach 449 and wipe out England’s first-innings lead.
England Get Over the Line
Chasing 130, England lost both openers, Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay, in the very first over. But half-centuries from Joe Root (62) and Jordan Cox (59) steadied the chase, and England closed it out by eight wickets to complete the sweep.
A Series England Dominated
- 1st Test, Headingley: England won by an innings and 103 runs
- 2nd Test, Lord’s: England won by 194 runs
- 3rd Test, Edgbaston: England won by 8 wickets
Former England captain Alastair Cook, reviewing the series, pointed out an unusual pattern: English batters recorded 14 half-centuries across the three Tests but not a single century, a quirk he linked to pitch and ball conditions holding up throughout the innings, as Dawn reported.
A Mid-Series Shake-Up That Didn’t Change the Result
The Pakistan Cricket Board had already reshuffled the squad after the series was lost 2-0, releasing seven players and fielding five uncapped names — including Razaullah — for this Test. Interim red-ball coach Mike Hesson distanced himself from the reshuffle, saying he had “no involvement in selecting this side” since he operates within the white-ball setup rather than red-ball selection.
Hesson Wants to Stay On
Despite the result, Hesson said he’d be open to continuing as Pakistan’s Test coach. “I’d be open to it, for sure. I love Test cricket, and there’s enough talent around the system in Pakistan that if we provide some good direction, we can make some strides going forward,” he said, as quoted by Yahoo Sports.
Our Opinion
The scoreline says 3-0, but Edgbaston was closer to a near-miss than a whitewash game — Pakistan’s second-innings 449, built around a debutant equalling a world record, deserved a different ending. That gap between performance and result is exactly the problem with judging this team by series scorelines alone.
Releasing seven players and fielding five uncapped debutants after the series was already lost is not really selection strategy — it is a symptom of an administration reacting rather than planning. Hesson’s willingness to stay on despite the result is a good sign of stability, at least on the coaching side. But another whitewash quietly repeats a pattern PakDaily readers have seen before: whoever holds the job rarely gets more than a series or two before the next shake-up. Pakistan cricket does not need a new coach every year. It needs someone to actually keep the current one long enough to build something.
