Pakistan were 318-8 in their second innings at Edgbaston on Thursday, four runs behind England’s first-innings 453 and staring at a 3-0 whitewash. Then a 21-year-old debutant from Mardan, batting at No. 9 with a borrowed-looking technique and three bats in his kit, hit nine sixes in 63 balls. Razaullah Mashwani’s 81 turned a dead Test into a live one: Pakistan were eventually bowled out for 449, England need 130 to win, and a fourth day nobody had planned for begins on Friday.
The innings that broke two bats
Razaullah came in with Pakistan still in arrears and left with them 129 in front. His ninth-wicket stand of 121 in 123 balls with Mohammad Abbas, who made a career-best 42 from 67 deliveries at No. 10, is the highest ninth-wicket partnership against England since 1984.
The sequence was relentless rather than lucky. His first six, off Gus Atkinson, gave Pakistan the lead. He then took three more off Atkinson inside four balls. A fifth six, off Jofra Archer, brought up a 50-ball fifty — the fastest Test debut half-century by a Pakistan batter on record. The sixth took Pakistan past 400. He broke two of his three bats along the way and finished on 81 from 63, striking at 128.57 with four fours and nine sixes.
Nine sixes equals Tim Southee’s 2008 mark for the most in a Test debut innings — a record now shared with the man who is England’s bowling coach. It also matches the most sixes hit in a Test innings in England, level with Ben Stokes at Lord’s in the 2023 Ashes.
“I was planning to take it long and deep,” Razaullah said. “They bowled in the slot so I was eyeing it up.” Asked about the entertainment, he was blunter: “I just had to bat, you are the ones who got to enjoy it.”
It was not his first mark on the match. Bowling consistently above 140km/h, he had removed Joe Root with his fourth delivery in Test cricket on day one and finished with 4-148.
England’s plan ‘got out of control’
The criticism from the Test Match Special box was immediate and specific. Alastair Cook said England had no method at all: “What I saw was no plan, it got out of control. That’s when you need the backroom staff and coaches to step up.”
The tactical detail underpinning that verdict is the short-ball plan with boundary riders set, which Razaullah simply cleared, and a bowling change that Jonathan Agnew called indefensible. “Dan Lawrence is a part-time off-spinner and he took the second new ball,” Agnew said. “If you’re looking for any aspect of the day that is utterly bonkers, that is it.”
Lawrence was preferred with the new ball to Ollie Robinson, comfortably the most economical seamer on view. The full card explains the frustration:
- Gus Atkinson 3-109 from 24 overs
- Jofra Archer 1-120 from 22 overs
- Josh Tongue 2-106 from 22 overs
- Ollie Robinson 2-54 from 23 overs
- Dan Lawrence 2-17 from 4.4 overs
Lawrence did eventually get Razaullah stumped, which only sharpened the argument rather than settling it. Michael Vaughan was unsurprised — “we shouldn’t be surprised by England, they’ve delivered tactically like this on a regular basis” — while interim head coach Marcus Trescothick accepted the position had been thrown away. “I’m disappointed, of course. We were in a position where they were eight down and the scores were level.”
England’s other decision now looks heavier: having bowled Pakistan out for 133 in 33.5 overs and led by 320, Root chose not to enforce the follow-on.
What 130 means on day four
The series is already England’s — wins at Headingley and Lord’s settled that — so what remains is a clean sweep that would be England’s first 3-0 home whitewash of Pakistan. A target of 130 at Edgbaston against an attack that has taken 20 wickets in this match should be routine for a top order that produced five half-centuries first time round: Harry Brook 75, Jamie Smith 69, Lawrence 65, Emilio Gay 60 and Robinson 50.
Pakistan’s route in is narrow but real. They were bowled out for under 200 in both previous Tests in this series and for 133 here; a fightback from 0-2 to 449, built on Shan Masood’s 95, Babar Azam’s 76 and Azan Awais’s 59, has given a touring side that had been comprehensively outplayed something to bowl at — and a pace bowler who can hit 140km/h and has already dismissed England’s captain once.
Whatever happens on Friday, Pakistan leave Birmingham with the one thing a 2-0 deficit could not supply: a 21-year-old with eight first-class matches behind him who took four wickets and hit nine sixes on debut. “Pakistan have unearthed a gem,” Vaughan said, “and he will be a superstar for many years.”
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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