England v Pakistan Edgbaston: Pakistan out for 133 as Robinson passes 100 Test wickets

By Jack Shaw · Edgbaston, Birmingham · Published: 21:57 BST

• Pakistan were bowled out for 133 in just under 34 overs on day one of the third and final Rothesay Test, Josh Tongue taking 4-42, Ollie Robinson 3-15 and Jofra Archer 3-25.
• Robinson passed 100 Test wickets — the first Englishman to reach the landmark with a sub-20 average since a young Ian Botham, according to the Guardian.
• Emilio Gay (60) and Harry Brook (52 not out) shared 104 to leave England 156-4 at stumps, 23 runs ahead with a 3-0 sweep in sight.

England v Pakistan, Edgbaston, day one: the tourists sent seven players home, called seven more up, changed the coach of their Test side and handed out three debuts — and were still shot out for 133 inside 34 overs. Fourteen wickets fell, Ollie Robinson reached three figures in Test wickets, and by stumps England led by 23.

England v Pakistan Edgbaston: how day one unravelled

Joe Root won the toss under a moody Birmingham sky and bowled. Inside 45 minutes Pakistan were three down; they were 100-7 at lunch. None of the top five reached double figures, Saud Shakeel top-scored with 43, and the best stand of the innings came from the last pair. It was the fifth time Pakistan have batted in this series and the fifth time they have failed to reach 200.

England were not flawless in reply, slipping to 39-3 as 21-year-old debutant Razaullah trapped Root with his fourth delivery in Test cricket and later touched 92mph. Then Gay and Brook put on 104. For the full ball-by-ball timeline, follow the rolling series coverage at ReadCricket — and our report from Lord’s, where Robinson’s 4-11 routed Pakistan for 110, now reads like a dress rehearsal.

The expert angle: England’s seam attack has started coaching itself

The most significant thing that happened at Edgbaston on Wednesday was not a wicket. It was a conversation. Tongue’s 4-42 included the first wobble seam delivery he has ever bowled in a match — a ball he picked up in training from Robinson, the bowler operating at the other end.

“I’ve spoken to Robbo quite a bit about it,” Tongue said. “Obviously he’s unbelievable at that and he’s showed that throughout the series. That was the first time I’d bowled it in the game and it got me a wicket, so I’ll be using it again.”

That is the underrated story of this summer. England’s four-man seam attack is not merely being rotated and rested — it is transferring skills mid-series, the group’s most precise bowler handing his method to one of its quickest. Robinson’s hundredth wicket is the headline number; that method turning up in someone else’s hand is the more valuable asset before a winter in South Africa.

A selection argument looks settled at the other end, too. Gay’s 60 from 114 balls came in a summer where Ben Duckett is England’s only centurion in six home Tests, and Sir Alastair Cook told Test Match Special the opener has “done enough for me to take him to South Africa”.

Pakistan keep arriving at the same place. As the Guardian noted, Babar Azam has not made a Test hundred since 2022, averaging 29 across his past 20 matches. Changing the personnel has not changed the pattern.

Tongue still reckons it is live: “That first hour tomorrow morning is going to be very crucial.” With six wickets in hand and a lead of 23, is this Test already gone — or is one Razaullah spell enough to make England nervous?