Joe Root leads England to series sweep over Pakistan at Edgbaston

Chasing 130 for victory, England were reduced to 2 for 2 in the first over yesterday morning as Mohammad Abbas removed both Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay.

For a brief moment, Pakistan had a chance to produce the sort of unlikely finish that had seemed impossible when they began their second innings 320 runs behind.

Instead, Joe Root and Jordan Cox took control, combining for an unbeaten 128-run partnership to complete victory shortly after lunch.

Authoritative

Root finished 62* and Cox 59* as England reached 132 for 2, winning by eight wickets and completing their first Test series whitewash in two years.

For Root, it was an appropriately authoritative finish to his return to the England captaincy following Ben Stokes’ retirement.

He had survived a couple of alarms, most notably being bowled off a no-ball when Mohammad Ali overstepped, but thereafter played with the control that has defined his career.

The half-century was his 110th score of 50 or more in Test cricket.

Cox was equally impressive. Standing in for the injured Jacob Bethell, he had made two half-centuries earlier in the series and here produced another under pressure at the top of the order.

His ability to absorb the early threat of Abbas before attacking the rest of Pakistan’s bowling was central to England avoiding any late drama.

Yet the final day was almost an afterthought compared with what had unfolded 24 hours earlier.

Pakistan had appeared destined for a three-day defeat when they resumed on Friday at 52 for 2, still 268 runs behind.

The hosts had made 453 in their first innings, with Harry Brook top-scoring with 75, Jamie Smith making 69 and Dan Lawrence 65. Ollie Robinson then struck twice in the opening over of Pakistan’s second innings, leaving the visitors 0 for 2.

Making his mark: Dan Lawrence picked up the Player of the Match award after contributions with bat, ball and in the field

PICTURE: Alamy

Recover

Instead, Pakistan finally produced the batting performance that had eluded them throughout the tour.

Azan Awais made 59 and Shan Masood was in no mood to capitulate, the two compiling a determined stand that helped Pakistan recover from another disastrous beginning.

Masood and Babar Azam then took the score beyond 200, with Babar making a classy 76 before England’s short-ball assault eventually accounted for him.

Masood missed out on a century when he was brilliantly caught by Dan Lawrence for 95.

At 328 for 7, however, Pakistan were still 65 runs from making England bat again.

Then came Razaullah, who was in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region when he got the call to join the tour party last week, a call he only realised had happened when he got up for morning prayers the following day.

The 21-year-old debutant produced one of the most remarkable innings of the series, and indeed any series, smashing 81 from just 63 balls, including nine sixes.

His assault equalled the record for most sixes in a Test innings in England, previously held by Ben Stokes, and the record for most sixes in a debut match, held by Tim Southee. More importantly, it changed the mood completely at Edgbaston.

Freedom

Razaullah and Mohammad Abbas put on 121 for the ninth wicket, with Abbas contributing a Test-best 42. The pair attacked England’s seamers with extraordinary freedom, repeatedly clearing the boundary as the hosts struggled to close out the innings.

England eventually dismissed Pakistan for 449, leaving themselves a target of 130.

Dan Lawrence, who had already made 65 with the bat and contributed with ball and in the field, ended the innings by having Razaullah stumped for 81. His all-round contribution earned him Player of the Match honours.

The fightback nevertheless exposed one of England’s few concerns from the match.

Their decision to go without a specialist spinner meant they relied almost entirely on their four-man pace attack, while part-time off-spinner Lawrence was used sparingly.

Pakistan’s lower order exploited the lack of variation on a pitch that offered diminishing assistance to the seamers.

England’s pace attack had otherwise been outstanding throughout the series. Robinson was the standout, finishing with 21 wickets at an extraordinary average of 8.76.

He had entered the Test having already taken 16 wickets in the series and added more in Birmingham, underlining the extent of his resurgence.

A star is born: In a stunning debut, Razaullah bowled 90mph+ and hit nine sixes in an innings.
PICTURE: Mike Egerton/PA

Questions

Pakistan, by contrast, leave England with far more questions than answers. Their first innings in this match lasted only 133 runs, following a sequence in which they repeatedly struggled to build competitive totals.

They had already lost the opening Test at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs and the second at Lord’s by 194 runs, leaving England with an unassailable 2-0 lead before arriving in Birmingham.

The series was also played against a backdrop of considerable upheaval for Pakistan. Their squad was reshaped midway through the tour, while changes to their coaching structure and selection strategy added to the sense of uncertainty.

Saim Ayub, brought into the final Test from the Caribbean Premier League, made a pair of ducks, illustrating the difficulties of preparing players for Test cricket in English conditions.

There was, at least, something to build on. Razaullah’s debut offered Pakistan a glimpse of a potential new star, while Abbas demonstrated that discipline with the ball can occasionally translate into resistance with the bat.

The visitors also showed on the third day that their batting is capable of competing when they resist the temptation to collapse under pressure.

For England, the 3-0 scoreline represents a welcome response after a difficult period that included defeats by New Zealand and Australia.

Root’s return as captain has ended with a perfect result, while the emergence of Cox, Lawrence’s improving form and Robinson’s extraordinary bowling have given the side reasons for optimism.

The victory was never quite as straightforward as it should have been. Pakistan’s late resistance ensured England had to earn it, and Abbas’s first-over strikes briefly threatened another twist. But Root’s composure and Cox’s maturity ensured there was no repeat of the previous day’s drama.

In short

In their first innings, Pakistan failed to reach 200 for the fifth consecutive time, while none of the top five made double figures. It was the 12th time a team’s top five have all been out for single figures in a Test – but the first time it has happened in the first innings.

In England’s first innings Joe Root was lbw for the 10th time in 13 innings in Razaullah’s first over in Test cricket.

When Ollie Robinson had Saim Ayub lbw in the first innings, it gave Robinson his 100th Test wicket at an average of 19.34 – the first England bowler since Ian Botham to reach 100 wickets at an average below 20. He now has 104 wickets at 19.25.

Pakistan’s second wicket in this series has fallen with the score of 6 and 13 at Leeds, 16 and 7 at Lord’s, and 14 and 0 at Edgbaston.

Joe Root now has 200 catches, a world record, going one ahead of Steve Smith.

England have 22 50+ scores this summer and only one has been converted – Ben Duckett’s 113 in the third Test against New Zealand. That is the fewest they have managed since they didn’t score one at all in1999.