England are on the brink of delivering the most decisive series whitewash against Pakistan after they skittled the visitors to 52 for 2, still trailing by 268 runs, when rain forced an early stoppage on the second day of the third Test at Edgbaston. Pakistan's modest total at the close of play actually marked a modest recovery, because their situation looked even bleaker earlier in the innings, mirroring the gathering clouds above. The visitors had slumped to 0 for 2 in Ollie Robinson's opening over, a collapse that set a grim tone.
Robinson, who finished the spell with figures of two wickets for ten runs, began by edging Saim Ayub onto the first ball – the opener, one of four players hurriedly flown into the squad after seven members were sent home, was dismissed for a pair. Just three deliveries later Abdullah Shafique fell, nicked behind to the slips. Robinson’s haul now stands at 28 wickets in his four Test appearances this summer, an astonishing average of 7.75 runs per wicket. Within the current series his average improves even further to 6.66, underlining his dominance with the new ball.
Joe Root’s sharp catch at slip to dismiss Shafique also pushed him ahead of Australia’s Steve Smith, taking his personal tally to 220 catches – the highest ever recorded by a fielder in Test cricket. The wicket‑taking frenzy that characterised Pakistan’s first innings did not continue in the same vein in the second. Azan Awais (29 not out) and Shan Masood (21 not out) managed a modest fifty‑run partnership before the rain intervened.
Masood, however, was soon trapped on 13 by Ben Duckett, who claimed his third wicket of the match, aided by a wayward delivery from Gus Atkinson. **Scorecard snapshot** - Pakistan 1st innings: 133 all out (33.5 overs) – top scores Saud Shakeel 43, Mohammad Abbas 21; England bowlers Josh Tongue 4‑42, Ollie Robinson 3‑15, Jofra Archer 3‑25. - England 1st innings: 453 all out (89 overs) – Harry Brook 75, Jamie Smith 69, Dan Lawrence 65, Emilio Gay 60, Ollie Robinson 50; Pakistan bowler Razaullah 4‑148.
- Pakistan 2nd innings (so far): 52‑2 (12.4 overs) – Azan Awais 29* , Shan Masood 21* ; Ollie Robinson 2‑10. Earlier in the match England had been dismissed for 452, giving them a massive 320‑run first‑innings lead thanks to half‑centuries from Dan Lawrence (65), Jamie Smith (69) and Ollie Robinson (50) that complemented Emilio Gay’s 60 and Harry Brook’s 75 on day one. Brook added a quick 23 runs to his overnight total before becoming the first wicket on the second morning.
His dismissal came just as he and Lawrence were accelerating, having put on 73 runs in the opening ten overs of the day, seemingly crushing Pakistan’s morale. Brook’s wicket was something of a gift; he attempted a risky single to mid‑wicket, only for Masood to complete a direct hit that saw the English batsman run himself out.
The momentum did not stall, however. Smith joined Lawrence at the crease and the pair compiled a 64‑run partnership before Lawrence was caught behind off a miscued shot from Mohammad Imran (2‑47) just before lunch. Smith soon reached his own fifty, doing so off 54 balls, but was unable to convert it into a larger score.
After Gus Atkinson (19) fell to a clean bowled by Imran, Smith edged a ball back to the in‑form Pakistani pacer Razaullah, who claimed his fourth wicket of the innings (4‑148). Smith later had to leave the field when his regular wicket‑keeping partner Jordan Cox stepped in, the original keeper nursing a finger injury sustained on day one. Robinson, who notched his second Test fifty, and Jofra Archer (32 not out) added a touch of flair lower down the order, finding the boundary with regularity and helping England push their total well beyond the 400‑run mark, cementing a lead of more than 300 runs before the innings was finally wrapped up.
Pakistan’s tentative fielding continued into the start of their second innings. After Robinson’s double strike in the very first over, the possibility of a two‑day finish seemed real, but the resilience shown by Azan and Masood, coupled with the onset of rain, halted any further rapid progress. Dan Lawrence expressed disappointment at missing out on a maiden Test century.
The 29‑year‑old, who has already recorded scores of 51 at Headingley and 54 at Lord’s in this series, said: "I’m obviously gutted that I didn’t push on and make a really big score, but I’m pretty happy with how I performed overall. I felt I was playing very well on a good surface against a tiring attack. I thought I would make a huge score, but it just didn’t happen. I’ve missed two chances to make big contributions – at Headingley and here – but I’m still satisfied with three fifties in four innings.
If someone had offered me 65 at the start of the day, I probably would have taken it." Meanwhile, seamer Ollie Robinson has been the star of the series, claiming 21 wickets at an astonishing average of 6.66. When he dismissed Shafique for the fifth time in six innings, his average against the Pakistani batsman was an even more impressive 6.19.
England slip fielder Dan Lawrence admitted that the fielding cordon must stay on high alert whenever Robinson is on a spell. Lawrence remarked: "When he’s bowling, he hits the same spot almost every ball, and you can feel the pressure building.
The wickets have been offering a lot to us, and all the seamers are on fire. You really feel the game behind the stumps when someone is at the peak of his powers." Sky Sports Cricket analyst Nasser Hussain was critical of Pakistan’s selection policies, particularly the inclusion of Saim Ayub. "He shouldn’t be here," Hussain said. "He came from the Caribbean Premier League and hasn’t played first‑class cricket in eleven months.
Flying someone over from foreign conditions and expecting them to cope with a Duke ball and Ollie Robinson’s pace shows a lack of respect for Test cricket." He added that the constant reshuffling – sending seven players home and bringing in new faces – has created a sense of instability within the squad. "How you treat players is crucial. It’s a two‑way street when you hand out a Test cap – the players must uphold the core values of representing Pakistan, but the board also has a duty to look after them. When you send seven teammates home, the remaining players start looking out for themselves.
Why should they care about a team that doesn’t care for them? This side looks like a group that says ‘what will be, will be’ and simply looks after itself." The third Test continues on day three, with live coverage available on Sky Sports Cricket from 10:15 am.
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