Pakistan collapse to 100 for 7 at Edgbaston as Robinson reaches 100 Test wickets

Four down for 26, six down for 64, and a reshaped top order undone inside a session on the first morning of the final Test

Pakistan were 100 for 7 after 23 overs on the opening day of the third Test at Edgbaston, having been asked to bat by Joe Root in overcast conditions and losing four wickets for 26.

Ollie Robinson reached 100 Test wickets in the process, trapping recalled opener Saim Ayub lbw for a duck with the kind of ball that has defined his career.

England lead the series 2-0. This is the match Pakistan rebuilt their squad for.

The morning that decided the day

Robinson and Jofra Archer took two wickets each as the innings came apart. Pakistan were 26 for 4 before an hour had gone, and the top order had no answer to seam movement under cloud.

Captain Babar Azam was bowled by Josh Tongue for 7, leaving Pakistan 60 for 5. Two more went before lunch was a consideration, and by the time the score reached 64 the sixth wicket had fallen.

Root's decision at the toss looked obvious within twenty minutes and unarguable within an hour.

Edgbaston in September under cloud is as close as English conditions get to a guarantee, and Pakistan walked into it with a top order picked three days earlier.

The rebuild made no difference

Pakistan made four changes to the side beaten by 194 runs at Lord's, the defeat that cost head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed his job and saw seven players released from the squad.

Mike Hesson, taking the Test side on an interim basis, said before the match that the aim was a balanced attack with some variety in it. The batting was the part nobody addressed, and it is the part that has now failed for a third consecutive innings.

A recalled opener out for nought and a captain bowled for 7 is not a selection problem that a coaching change fixes.

Nor is it one that four changes can be expected to fix in a week. The players brought in have had a single training block with a coaching staff that is itself days old.

Saud Shakeel holds an end

Saud Shakeel was unbeaten on 29 as the innings passed 100, the only Pakistan batter to look settled.

He had Mohammad Imran for company at the other end, with the last three wickets to come and the follow-on a live possibility rather than a distant one.

Reaching 100 with seven down in 23 overs means Pakistan scored quickly. It does not mean they scored well.

The scoring rate is the tell. At better than four an over with seven down, Pakistan were not defending; they were playing shots because nothing else was working.

Robinson's landmark

The Sussex captain's hundredth Test wicket came in his first over of the match, and it is a milestone reached later than it might have been — injuries have cost him large parts of several seasons.

He and Archer bowling in tandem in helpful conditions is close to the best new-ball pairing England can field, and it is exactly the look at depth the selectors wanted from a dead rubber.

England named a 15-man squad for this match, with Sonny Baker and Emilio Gay carried as additional options for a winter that starts soon.

Pakistan were 100 for 7 at the time of writing, with two days of the series and a great deal of their credibility still to play for.

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