A 21-Year-Old Debutant Just Outbowled England’s Entire Attack

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Pakistan were bowled out for 133 as their batting collapse continued, but debutant fast bowler Razaullah took 2 for 42, dismissing Joe Root in his first over
• England closed Day 1 at 156 for 4, a lead of 23 runs, with Emilio Gay’s 60 and Harry Brook’s unbeaten 52 the difference
• Razaullah was one of three debutants fielded after Pakistan sent seven players home following their 2-0 series deficit

Pakistan’s batting collapsed again, bowled out for 133 in 33.5 overs on the opening day of the third Test at Edgbaston. That much has become a familiar story this series. What wasn’t familiar was a 21-year-old playing his first Test match consistently hitting 89mph and touching 92, removing Joe Root with his fourth ball, and giving a shattered Pakistan side something genuine to build on.

Razaullah finished with figures of 2 for 42 from nine overs. England closed the day at 156 for 4, a lead of 23 runs, with Emilio Gay’s 60 and an unbeaten 52 from Harry Brook doing most of the damage. But the day’s most eye-catching cricket came from a fast bowler nobody outside Pakistan’s domestic circuit had heard of a fortnight ago.

Root Falls to a Debutant in the Fourth Ball of His Test Career

Razaullah’s first over of Test cricket produced Joe Root’s wicket, trapped lbw by a delivery that skidded onto the pad, Root’s 10th lbw dismissal in his last 13 innings. Root reviewed and lost.

Emilio Gay fell to him too, edging a 90mph delivery onto his stumps after Gay had battled to a career-best 60 off 113 balls. Razaullah bowled with genuine pace throughout his two spells, consistently around 89mph and touching 92 on his ninth delivery, an intensity that stood in sharp contrast to the batting collapse happening at the other end of the same innings.

Pakistan’s Batting: Same Story, Different Names

Saud Shakeel was the only Pakistan batter to show real resistance, scoring 43 off 47 balls before Josh Tongue’s delivery seamed through the gate and took his off stump. Josh Tongue finished with 4 for 42, Ollie Robinson took 3 for 15 at an economy of 1.36, and Jofra Archer added 3 for 25.

Three of Pakistan’s top four fell inside the first nine overs. Saim Ayub was given out first ball, survived on review, then given out again correctly two overs later as Robinson claimed his 100th Test wicket. Babar Azam managed just 7 before Tongue’s off-seamer tore out his stump. By the time debutant wicketkeeper Ghazi Ghori and debutant Mohammad Imran Randhawa were at the crease, Pakistan were already deep into a fourth consecutive innings without a batter reaching fifty this series apart from Shakeel.

Pakistan’s last-wicket stand between Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ali added 26, more than the combined total of Pakistan’s opening partnerships across the entire series to this point, a fact that says as much about how this series has gone as anything in the scorecard.

Why Razaullah’s Performance Means More Than the Numbers

Pakistan fielded three debutants at Edgbaston after sending seven players home in the aftermath of the Lord’s defeat, part of the most sweeping squad overhaul the side has made mid-series in years. The changes have been publicly disputed, with Jason Gillespie rejecting blame directed his way by chairman of selectors Aaqib Javed and Babar Azam himself saying the scale of the changes was “news to me.”

Related: Jason Gillespie hits back at Aaqib Javed over PCB blame

Against that backdrop, a completely unknown 21-year-old walking out and bowling with the pace, movement and composure to remove Root and Gay on debut is the one genuinely positive data point to emerge from a chaotic fortnight. It doesn’t fix the batting. It doesn’t settle the selection dispute. But it’s the first piece of evidence that PCB’s gamble might have found something real.

Scorecard: Day 1

Pakistan 133 all out (33.5 overs)

Batter	Dismissal	Runs
Saim Ayub	lbw b Robinson	0
Azan Awais	c Tongue b Archer	9
Abdullah Shafique	c Lawrence b Robinson	3
Shan Masood	c sub (Wylie) b Archer	5
Babar Azam (c)	b Tongue	7
Saud Shakeel	b Tongue	43
Ghazi Ghori (wk)	lbw b Tongue	4
Mohammad Imran	b Tongue	5
Razaullah	c Duckett b Robinson	11
Mohammad Abbas	c Brook b Archer	21
Mohammad Ali	not out	5

England 156-4 (39 overs)

Batter	Dismissal	Runs
Ben Duckett	c Babar b Mohammad Ali	11
Emilio Gay	b Razaullah	60
Jordan Cox	lbw b Abbas	4
Joe Root (c)	lbw b Razaullah	8
Harry Brook	not out	52
Dan Lawrence	not out	5

Related: Pakistan’s reshuffled XI faces whitewash threat at Edgbaston

Frequently Asked Questions

What was Pakistan’s score on Day 1 at Edgbaston? Pakistan were bowled out for 133 in 33.5 overs.

Who is Razaullah? Razaullah is a 21-year-old fast bowler who made his Test debut at Edgbaston, one of three debutants Pakistan fielded after their post-Lord’s squad overhaul. He took 2 for 42, dismissing Joe Root and Emilio Gay.

What is England’s lead after Day 1? England closed on 156 for 4, a lead of 23 runs over Pakistan’s first innings.

Who top-scored for Pakistan? Saud Shakeel, with 43 off 47 balls.