A Morning Pakistan Will Want to Forget
There are bad days in cricket, and then there are days like this. Birmingham was already draped in grey cloud when play began at Edgbaston, but nothing in the forecast could have prepared Pakistan supporters for what unfolded inside the first session of the third Test. Bowled out for a meagre 133 in just 33.5 overs, this was a capitulation that left commentators, pundits, and fans alike struggling to find the right words. 'Embarrassing' seemed to be the one that stuck.
Joe Root won the toss and had no hesitation inserting Pakistan on a damp, overcast morning — exactly the kind of conditions England's four-man seam attack relishes. It proved an inspired call almost immediately, as Pakistan's batters offered precious little resistance against an England side that quickly found their rhythm.
Top Order Gone Before Fifty on the Board
The most damning statistic of the morning was not the total itself, alarming as 133 is. It was the fact that Pakistan's entire top five had trudged back to the pavilion with the Thwaite Memorial scoreboard showing only 48 runs. Five wickets down before reaching fifty is the kind of collapse that sets unwanted records — and that is precisely what happened here, with Pakistan breaking a record in the process that nobody in their dressing room would want their names attached to.
Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja pulled no punches when speaking on Test Match Special. He described the side's technique and mindset as "pretty ordinary", adding that there was "mental fatigue and turmoil in the dugout." Raja also pointed out that this was not a venomous surface, noting: "This is a flat pitch, it's not a demon-like pitch, like the third day at Lord's." That assessment is backed up by data — CricViz's bounce inconsistency rating placed this Edgbaston surface at 5.7, which is notably higher than recent Tests at the same ground, but hardly the sort of pitch that should bowl a Test nation out inside a single session.
Confidence Crisis at the Worst Possible Time
This collapse did not emerge in isolation. The Pakistan Cricket Board made a raft of significant changes in the build-up to this match, seemingly in an attempt to jolt the touring party back to form. The shock of those decisions, however, appears to have had the opposite effect. Rather than galvanising the squad, the uncertainty and upheaval seems to have compounded an already fragile collective confidence.
Michael Vaughan, speaking in his role as a pundit, said he felt sympathy for a team that has been through considerable turmoil off the pitch in recent days. "I feel for Pakistan because this is embarrassing with everything they've had to cope with in the last week," the former England skipper said. When experienced voices on both sides of the divide are reaching for words like 'embarrassing', you know something has gone seriously wrong.
Series Picture and What Comes Next
With Pakistan dismissed for 133 and the match barely 34 overs old, England are firmly in the driving seat to win this third Test and seal the series. For those holding tickets for later in the match, it may be worth tempering expectations around seeing a great deal of cricket — this one could be over well inside the scheduled time. From a betting perspective, England's outright series victory odds will have shortened considerably, and a heavy innings win must now be considered a strong possibility.
As a former coach, I have seen sides recover from adversity — but recovery requires belief, and right now Pakistan look like a team that has misplaced theirs entirely. Unless something dramatic changes between now and their second innings, this tour looks set to end on a deeply disappointing note.
