Mike Hesson had packed for a reception with the King. By the time the New Zealander reached England, he was the interim head coach of a Test side that had just been stripped to its studs — seven players sent home, seven called up, and a series already gone.
“I was heading over to see the King and be part of a nice occasion,” Hesson said. “That got expedited.”
Pakistan arrive at Edgbaston on Wednesday 2-0 down, bowled out for under 200 in all four innings of the series, and bottom of the World Test Championship table with 16.67% of available points from eight matches. Asked how a squad copes with an overhaul of that scale 48 hours before a Test, Hesson offered the line that has defined the week: “The guys are probably more used to a little bit of chaos than I am.”
Seven out, seven in
The Pakistan Cricket Board released Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Khurram Shahzad, Aamir Jamal, Ali Usman and Muhammad Awais Zafar after the Lord’s defeat. Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed was relieved of his duties after five Tests in charge, along with bowling coach Umar Gul. Hesson, already employed as white-ball coach, was handed the Test side on a temporary basis; Ashley Noffke came in with the ball.
In came Saim Ayub, Abdullah Fazal and Arafat Minhas, all with previous international exposure, plus four players uncapped at Test level: wicketkeeper-batter Saad Baig, left-arm seamer Mohammad Imran Jnr, and pace-bowling all-rounders Mohammad Imran Randhawa and Razaullah.
Hesson was careful to draw a line around what he did and did not decide. “When I took over, three players had already left the squad — Rizwan, Imam and Salman Ali Agha,” he said. The bowling changes, he indicated, were his: an attempt to pick an attack for Edgbaston’s conditions rather than persist with one that had been comprehensively out-bowled.
Not everyone is convinced. Shahid Afridi called it “the most shocking decision ever by a selection committee”, queried the wisdom of drafting white-ball specialists into a Test in England, and asked why a head coach was removed after five matches.
The numbers behind the purge
The batting collapse was not a blip. At Headingley, England posted 409 and won by an innings and 103 runs as Pakistan managed 171 and 135. At Lord’s, England were dismissed for 290 and 208 — modest totals on a seaming surface — and still won by 194 runs, Pakistan folding for 110 and then 194 chasing 389. Saud Shakeel’s 97 in that fourth innings remains the highest individual score by either side in the series.
The rot runs deeper than one tour. Pakistan have lost 15 of their last 20 Tests, a run that has swallowed coaches, captains and selection panels without producing a settled XI. The squad that lines up at Edgbaston will be the product of a selection philosophy that has changed direction repeatedly inside two years — Babar Azam dropped for the second Test of this series, then named captain for the third, with his availability now clouded by a high fever picked up after Lord’s.
Hesson’s most pointed observation was about identity rather than personnel. “Pakistan is known for the pace, unusual actions, mystery spin,” he said. “We haven’t really been able to present any of that.” Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ali have bowled with control; what has been missing is the wicket-taking threat that historically made Pakistan attacks awkward regardless of the scoreboard.
What Edgbaston decides
There is no series to save, which changes the nature of the exercise. The third Test, starting at 11:00 BST on 9 September, is now an audition — for the newcomers, for Hesson’s claim on the job beyond this match, and for a selection process badly in need of a result to justify itself.
The risk is obvious. Handing Test debuts to four players in a dead rubber against an England attack that has taken 40 wickets in two matches invites another heavy defeat, and heavy defeats have a way of ending careers before they start. The counter-argument, and the one the PCB is implicitly making, is that continuity has produced nothing worth protecting.
Hesson, for his part, has spent the week managing mood as much as method. “There’s no doubt they have been disappointed, incredibly disappointed,” he said. “We’ve had to park that and go ‘righto, where to from here?’ They’ve been really good over the past couple of days.”
He also had a word for the noise filling the gap around the squad. “I know there’s been a void in news,” he said, “but people are just making up stories.” At Edgbaston, Pakistan finally get to write one themselves.
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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