England's push for two-day win halted by weather

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England's push for two-day win halted by weather
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Third Rothesay Test, Edgbaston (day two of five)
Pakistan 133 (Shakeel 43; Tongue 4-42) & 52-2 (Robinson 2-10)
England 453 (Brook 75, Smith 69, Lawrence 65, Gay 60, Robinson 50; Razaullah 4-148)
Pakistan are 268 runs behind
England's charge towards a two-day win in the final Test against Pakistan was only halted by rain at Edgbaston.
The tourists were battling for survival on 52-2 - 268 adrift of making England bat again - when the bad weather intervened for a second and final occasion in Birmingham.
The time was 17:07 BST. With the possibility of an extra half an hour available to force a result, play could have continued until 19:00 if conditions had allowed.
Given the fragility of the Pakistan batting - the tourists have not reached 200 or batted for more than 51 overs in the series - there was a real possibility England would earn victory inside two days after Ollie Robinson reduced the visitors to 0-2.
Instead, the players will return on Friday, when England will complete a 3-0 series clean sweep.
The eventual outcome of this match was barely in doubt when England began Thursday on 156-4, leading by 23.
Contributions of 75 from Harry Brook, 69 by Jamie Smith, 65 scored by Dan Lawrence and 50 from Robinson pushed England to 453, a huge first-innings lead of 320.
The only disappointment was that no England batter pushed on to make a century, meaning Ben Duckett's ton against New Zealand at Trent Bridge will remain the home side's only hundred of the summer.
No let up from England
One of the criticisms of the previous England regime, under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, was their inability to finish series strongly.
England have lost the final Test in each of their past six series. Some of their worst performances in the Bazball era came in dead rubbers after a series had been won, notably at home to Sri Lanka in 2024 and away to New Zealand later the same year.
Stokes often said he did not like the word "ruthless" and there were plenty of times his side lacked ruthlessness. On this occasion, Root's England are showing their ruthless side.
The quality of the opposition should be taken into account - Stokes' England would have comfortably beaten this poor Pakistan side. The hosts also had the better of the conditions on Thursday, batting under blue sky then bowling when it got dark overhead.
But, under Root, England are showing a new-found calmness, along with a willingness to find the right tempo to their batting. The way they extended their lead on the second day was an example of a more mature approach.
And, in Robinson, they have a bowler in the form of his life, a purple patch England will hope carries through the winter and to next summer's Ashes.
Batters impress but miss out on hundreds
Given England's dominance over Pakistan, it is curious that none of their batters have registered a century in the series and now will not get another chance.
Duckett's sole ton means England will end a six-Test home summer with their fewest number of individual hundreds.
Brook, Lawrence and Smith all impressed, and all will be disappointed they missed out on three figures.
A stand of 86 between Brook and Lawrence was full of intent at the beginning of the day, with Lawrence the aggressor. Busy running was a feature of the stand, until Brook attempted a needless single to mid-wicket and was run out at the non-striker's end.
Lawrence has made three half-centuries since being recalled at the beginning of this series, probably enough to earn a place in South Africa in December. This is his 17th Test and he gave an audible cry of frustration when he chopped on off Mohammad Imran, extending a wait for a maiden hundred.
Smith suffered a tough Ashes tour, yet has shown signs of rehabilitation with bat and wicketkeeping gloves this summer. On a ground where he has had plenty of previous success, he muscled the ball through the leg side before he offered a tame return catch to Razaullah.
Robinson can do no wrong at the moment. He swiped through the leg side, including a massive six into the Hollies Stand, for his second half-century in Test cricket. Robinson's previous 50 came against India in Ranchi in 2024, his last before being dropped. Now he is indispensable.
Even Jofra Archer got involved, heaving two sixes of his own. He was left unbeaten on 32 when last man Josh Tongue was caught behind.
England denied chance to build on Robinson strikes
Pakistan's innings began after tea, leaving England one session to produce the first two-day finish in a Test in this country since 2000.
With Jordan Cox keeping in place of Smith, who has a bruised finger, Robinson made the sort of start that made a two-day finish a real possibility.
From the first ball of the innings, Saim Ayub needlessly edged to Brook at second slip. In the same over, Abdullah Shafique's crooked bat resulted in an edge to Root at first slip.
To their credit, Azan Awais and Shan Masood survived 12 overs in the gloom, even if Masood survived a tough chance to third slip Duckett off the bowling of Gus Atkinson.
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  - Published28 August

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