England needed 130 to finish the job at Edgbaston. Inside the first over they were 0 for 2, Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay both bowled by Mohammad Abbas, and Joe Root had edged his opening delivery through a vacant slip cordon for four. It was the last thing that went wrong all morning. Root and Jordan Cox added the remaining runs without being separated, England reached 130 for 2 in 24.2 overs before lunch on the fourth day, and a 3-0 sweep — the first time England have whitewashed Pakistan in a home Test series — was complete.
Two wickets in the first over, then nothing
Abbas, 36 years old and bowling with the new ball on a surface that had flattened out since Wednesday, found movement immediately. Duckett went first, Gay followed, and for a few minutes a target of 130 looked like an argument rather than a formality. Root’s streaky boundary off Razaullah did nothing to settle it.
What settled it was Root doing what he has done at this ground for a decade. He finished unbeaten on 62, scoring quickly enough to take the game away from Pakistan before their bowlers could build pressure, and Cox — promoted and unhurried — made 59 not out. England’s captain has now led his side to a 3-0 series win, his most emphatic result since taking the job back after Ben Stokes’s retirement and Brendon McCullum’s departure. Root’s previous series success as captain came in Sri Lanka in early 2021.
The chase was the smallest part of a match England had controlled from the first session. Pakistan, inserted, were bowled out for 133 in 33.5 overs: Josh Tongue took 4 for 42, Jofra Archer 3 for 25 and Ollie Robinson 3 for 15. England replied with 453 in 89 overs — Harry Brook 75, Jamie Smith 69, Dan Lawrence 65, Gay 60 and Robinson a maiden Test fifty from No. 9.
Razaullah turned a rout into a contest
That should have been that. Pakistan were still 320 behind and had lost three of their top four by the close of day two. Instead they made 449 second time around, and the reason the fourth morning happened at all was a 21-year-old debutant.
Razaullah had already taken 4 for 148 with his leg-spin. Coming in at No. 9 with Pakistan barely in front, he hit 81 off 63 balls with nine sixes, equalling the record for the most sixes by a debutant in a Test innings, and put on 121 for the ninth wicket with Abbas, who made 42. Pakistan went from facing a third defeat inside three days to setting England a target at all.
The rest of the innings had its moments too. Shan Masood made 95, five short of the century that has eluded him all summer; Babar Azam made 76 and Azan Awais 59. Gus Atkinson took 3 for 109, Robinson 2 for 54 and Lawrence 2 for 17 with part-time seam.
- First Test, Headingley: England won by an innings and 103 runs
- Second Test, Lord’s: England won by 194 runs
- Third Test, Edgbaston: England won by eight wickets
What the sweep is worth
England will take the result and the context separately. The bowling has been the story: Robinson, recalled at the start of the summer after two and a half years out of the side, finished the series with 23 wickets at 8.35, figures that belong to a different era of the game. Archer and Tongue bowled fast and full. Atkinson’s 3 for 109 in the second innings was the only sustained spell any England seamer bowled on a flat pitch all series, which is the caveat worth keeping.
Because Pakistan were a broken touring side long before Edgbaston. Seven players were sent home after Lord’s and replaced; head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant Umar Gul were sacked mid-tour. A team that changes a third of its squad and its coaching staff inside a fortnight is not a reliable measure of anyone. England beat what was in front of them, and did so ruthlessly — 133 all out in a session is a session’s work, whoever is batting.
The real examinations start in December, when England travel to South Africa, and continue into next year’s Ashes. On the evidence of this series, England have a fast-bowling group and a captain settled in his second spell in charge. What they have not yet had is a top order tested by a good attack on a helping surface — Duckett and Gay have made runs, but Abbas removed them both in four balls when the ball moved. For Pakistan, Razaullah is the one thing to take home: nine sixes, four wickets, and a debut that briefly made a 3-0 scoreline look like it might be 2-1.
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**Word count:** 748 (article body)
Sources used to verify the facts: [ESPNcricinfo match report](https://www.cricinfo.com/series/pakistan-tour-in-england-2026-1496563/england-vs-pakistan-3rd-test-1496584/match-report), [ESPN scorecard](https://www.espn.com/cricket/series/23806/scorecard/1496584/england-vs-pakistan-3rd-test-23806), [Gulf News](https://gulfnews.com/sport/cricket/england-seal-3-0-series-win-over-pakistan-at-edgbaston-1.500672257), [The Tribune](https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/babar-azam/england-thrash-pakistan-by-eight-wickets-to-complete-3-0-test-sweep), [Enfield Independent (Robinson series figures)](https://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/sport/national/26507973.ollie-robinson-powers-england-series-win-pakistan/).
Two things I deliberately left out rather than risk an error: the Player of the Match/Series awards (one source listed Dan Lawrence for the match, but I couldn’t corroborate it elsewhere) and Root’s balls faced (sources disagreed — 57 vs 69).
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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