England dominated a sorry-looking Pakistan yet again on day one of the third Test at Edgbaston, bowling the tourists out for 133 before closing on 156-4, with a 23-run lead.
Emilio Gay (60) and Harry Brook (52no) each struck fifties in the final session to rescue England from 39-3 after their own top-order wobble, in which Joe Root (8) was pinned lbw for a 10th time in 13 innings by Pakistan's hugely-impressive debutant pacer Razaullah (2-42).
Root had earlier opted to insert the visitors at the toss in overcast conditions, but it wasn't long before his side were preparing to bat anyway, as Pakistan lasted just 33.5 overs - their shortest innings in a series full of disappointing batting displays.
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Seven wickets fell in a chaotic morning session which saw Ollie Robinson (3-15) claim his 100th in Test cricket, before the innings was wrapped up soon after lunch.
Josh Tongue finished with 4-42, dismantling the stumps of Pakistan captain Babar Azam (7), Mohammad Imran (5) and lone bright spark Saud Shakeel (43), while Jofra Archer proved potent once more, taking 3-25.
The tourists failed to bat out a full 90 overs - the equivalent of a day's play - across their two innings in either of the first two Tests, and they will struggle to buck that trend barring a stunning turnaround this week.
Pakistan's squad overhaul feeds into chaotic first innings
Pakistan's 194-run defeat at Lord's, which saw them lose the series with a match to spare, prompted an unprecedented overhaul of their squad and coaching staff prior to the series finale in Birmingham.
Seven players were dropped from the squad altogether, with four changes made to their starting XI and three of the newcomers making their Test debut.
The only one with prior experience was opener Saim Ayub who, while no doubt grateful for the call-up, must have been wondering what he'd got himself into when trapped for a 10-ball duck by Robinson in only the third over.
Robinson also removed Abdullah Shafique (3) caught in the gully, the wicket sandwiched between a couple of freebies for Archer handed out by scrambled Pakistan batters - Azan Awais (9) and Shan Masood (5) both spooning simple catches to midwicket, the latter's particularly galling, as the visitors slipped to 26-4.
Tongue then produced the prototypical fast bowler's delivery, angling in, nipping away and knocking back the top of off stump to see off Babar, while he added debutants Ghazi Ghori (4), lbw, and Imran, to a devastating yorker, prior to lunch.
Razaullah (11), much like he would do later with his bowling, caught the eye with a couple of hefty swings of the willow either side of lunch before nicking Robinson to Ben Duckett, who made amends for a couple of earlier drops in the slips - Azan, three deliveries prior to his dismissal, and Saud when on seven.
Saud was next to be castled by Tongue, before Mohammad Abbas (21) and Mohammad Ali (5no) hung around and showed a great deal more fight than some of their top-order team-mates to add 26 for the final wicket - the highest partnership of a miserable innings.
Ali had taken a painful blow on the ankle when batting, but was fit enough to open the bowling and claimed the early wicket of Duckett (11), flashing an edge to second slip in the fourth over.
Jordan Cox (4) wasted a review on a plumb lbw decision against Abbas, before Root departed to Razaullah's fourth delivery in Test cricket, a devastating nip-backer from the 21-year-old talent.
Gay and Brook rebuilt impressively, sharing a 104-run partnership for the fourth wicket that pushed England into the lead before Razaullah returned to bowl the former off an inside edge.
Tongue chuffed with wobble-seam success on first day
England fast bowler Josh Tongue, speaking to Sky Sports Cricket:
"Really pleased with the day. Coming here this morning, winning the toss, putting Pakistan in to bat, then bowling them out for 130-odd, we're in a really strong position.
"Even a couple of days out it looked a good pitch, so to bowl them out cheaply on a decent-looking pitch, I thought we bowled really well.
"There's probably a tiny bit of pressure on us to make sure we put the balls in the right areas, but how we started today, with Archer and Robinson getting them four down... it meant that when I came on, I thought I could be aggressive with that line and length.
"I've been working on a wobble in the nets this week, and that came out nice. I spoke to Robbo quite a bit about it; it's just trial and error.
"I tried it, and it got me a wicket!
"I thought as a collective we've been very good the whole series, and we showed that again today."
'X-factor Razaullah the bright spark Pakistan needed'
Sky Sports Cricket's Nasser Hussain:
"Pakistan have been calling out for something different from their bowlers for a long while.
"It is nice to watch that spell from Razaullah that had something, that had a point of difference, had some pace.
"It hurried one of the greatest batters there has ever been in Joe Root, and got him out."
Sky Sports Cricket's Urooj Mumtaz:
"Twenty-one-years-old, first time on a plane out of Pakistan, onto a cricketing tour and he gets one of the greatest of all time with his fourth delivery!
"89mph and then just ramped it up to 91mph. And the best part was that the pace throughout his spells did not drop.
"An inspired selection. They just needed that X-factor.
"The conveyor belt is not broken, it is the system."
Watch day two of the third Test between England and Pakistan at Edgbaston, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.15am on Thursday. Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream with no contract on NOW
England vs Pakistan - results and schedule
All games live on Sky Sports
- First Test (Headingley) - England won by innings and 103 runs
- Second Test (Lord's) - England won by 194 runs
- Third Test (Edgbaston) - September 9-13
(c) Sky Sports 2026: England bowl Pakistan out for 133 as Josh Tongue and Harry Brook help secure lead on day one of final Test at Edgbaston

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