Key events
Thanks for your emails, keep them coming in. Bright sunshine now at Edgbaston ahead of what could be the final session of the Test.
*Could be*
67th over: Pakistan 297-5 (Saud 29, Ghori 5) Pakistan make it to tea and trail England by 23 runs, another good session from them despite the loss of Masood just shy of a century (95) and Babar to a loose flap on 76.
England are going to win but they are being made to work for it.
66th over: Pakistan 296-5 (Saud 29, Ghori 5) Four off Jofra Archer including another thoroughly unconvincing attempt at a pull from Saud who somehow gets the ball to land safe off his splice.
65th over: Pakistan 292-5 (Saud 26, Ghori 4) Robinson replaces Tongue and Cox comes up to the stumps, a different question to answer now for Saud and Ghori. The latter glides for a couple into the off side and there are four byes as Robinson loses his line to spear down the leg side. We’ve got five minutes until tea.
Durham promoted, Lancashire lose… again – Tanya Aldred has all the latest over on our County blog:
64th over: Pakistan 286-5 (Saud 26, Ghori 2) Eeeesht! We’ve got ten minutes to go til tea and Pakistan have lost their heads a little here at Edgbaston. Saud pulls Archer just over the salmon leaping Root at square leg and gets four. He plays a wild hack at the very next ball and squirts it over the infield for two. Have a word.
63rd over: Pakistan 279-5 (Saud 20, Ghori 1) It was a terrific catch from Jordan Cox but Babar is coming in for some criticism from both Mark Butcher and Stuart Broad on the sky commentary. “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t just duck underneath it… the pitch is even paced” says Butcher. It is a shame for the match scenario too, just when thoughts were starting to turn to England having to bat again.
Ghazi Ghori walks out to join Saud, he didn’t last long in the first innings, England sense the kill. Nick first ball! It goes through the vacant third slip though and sub fielder Theo Wylie Coyote does some nifty work on the boundary to save three runs. It’s all happening all of a sudden.
WICKET! Babar Azam c Cox b Tongue 76 (Pakistan 278-5)
Gone! That’s a poor shot from Babar who flaps and gets a glove behind to the diving Jordan Cox! England have the breakthrough. Babar trudges off with his head down, he’s been exposed against the short stuff once again.
62nd over: Pakistan 278-4 (Babar 76, Saud 20) Root has a fly slip and almost a back stop on the boundary edge. Archer goes short and Babar pulls for four! He is going to take it on here at Edgbaston. Short again from Archer… uppercut from Babar and it flies to the sub fielder Theo Wylie who nearly goes from zero to hero with a juggling relay catch to himself but he steps on the sponge and can’t pull off the speccy. SIX runs to Babar but England are licking their lips.
61st over: Pakistan 267-4 (Babar 65, Saud 20) Babar and Saud are eating into the last of England’s lead and so Root cooks up a different tactic. He sets the field back and instructs Tongue to go short. Babar doensn’t look comfortable, he flaps at a pull shot and only just gets it wide of Root himself fielding at square leg. Stand by your beds, short stuff incoming.
60th over: Pakistan 266-4 (Babar 64, Saud 20) Saud leans onto the front foot and picks up two to bring up Pakistan’s third consecutive fifty partnership. Proper criggit.
Rob Grey is a fickle beast:
“I emailed in to the OBO yesterday and I was fuming at the state of Test cricket” he emails.
“Today I’m in the Hollies and I take it all back, it’s called ebb and flow. You just have to ride that wave. I love Test cricket, long may it thrive.”
How lovely. I suspect drink has been taken, Rob?
59th over: Pakistan 264-4 (Babar 64, Saud 18) Tongue is too short and too wide, Babar does not miss out, quicksilver hands and the ball traces away to the cover boundary.
Saud has been busy since arriving in the middle, he clips down the ground for two and tucks an 86mph attempted yorker off his boot like it ain’t no thang.
“1ft 8 inches” Ali Martin coos across from his perch. “That’s the difference in height betwen Saud Shakeel and Shaquille O’Neil.” That’s why they pay him the big bucks, Cardus wasn’t coming up with that sort of stuff was he.
58th over: Pakistan 257-4 (Babar 60, Saud 15) Archer is in the low to mid eighties on the speed gun but it’s enough to trouble Babar, a back of a length ball completely squares up him up and finds the edge but it runs all along the floor and wide of the cordon for four. Babar shrugs it off and works a full ball for a couple.
57th over: Pakistan 250-4 (Babar 54, Saud 14) Tongue is clipped into the leg side for two more by Babar. He such an aesthetically pleasing player to watch and the crowd give a warm ripple of applause. The crowd are so much more into this contest here on day three. Yesterday was so flat at Edgbaston, especially when Pakistan were 0-2 in this inings and there was a real danger of another two day Test in the offing.
A louder cheer now as Jofra Archer peels off his jumper, he is going to bowl the next over. Pakistan trail by 70 runs.
56th over: Pakistan 248-4 (Babar 52, Saud 14) England are trying to get the ball changed but there’s nothing doing for them at the moment, the umpire passes it through the Saturn rings and throws it bag to a questioning Joe Root. Atkinson gets one to scud through low but Babar is up to it, clipping off his toes for a single.
This ball is 56 overs old but it is swinging through the air a touch. At last England’s bowlers are having to graft a bit for their wickets, no bad thing.
55th over: Pakistan 246-4 (Babar 51, Saud 14) It’s been hard yakka for Josh Tongue today, he leaks eleven (eleven) runs off his eleventh over and has nowt for 71 so far. Ouch. Saud drives one handed through the covers for four, an extraordinary shot that briefly made him look like a stern Victorian nanny shooing some unruly children into the orangery. Something like that anyway. Tongue spears four more down the leg side and it clips Saud’s hip to run away for four more.
54th over: Pakistan 235-4 (Babar 50, Saud 8) Atkinson is into his seventh over on the spin, he allowed himself a smile after picking up the wicket of Masood. It was his first Test wicket in over 30 overs, I was chatting to my press box neighbour Andy Bull earlier about how Atkinson had done 1/3 of a Len Hopwood – England’s beleaguered seamer who holds the record for the most fruitless deliveries in Test cricket, bowling 462 balls without taking a wicket against Australia in 1934.
Len’s record is safe once again… and might be for some time.
Anyway, Babar Azam clips Atkinson for a couple past point to go to his 38th Test fifty. About that century Babar…
James Wallace
Thanks Rob and hello all.
Go on admit it. You didn’t think we’d still be here did you?
(Neither did I but I’m glad we are. Can Babar Azam get his first Test century in four years?)
Drinks: Pakistan trail by 87 runs
53rd over: Pakistan 233-4 (Babar 48, Saud 8) Josh Tongue replaces Ollie Robinson, who bowled a threatening eight-over spell either side of lunch. Saud plays and misses at a peach before driving his first boundary through the covers.
That’s it from me – the estimable Jim Wallace is here for the rest of the day.
52nd over: Pakistan 229-4 (Babar 48, Saud 4) Babar softens his hands to steer Atkinson past gully for four. He’s two away from a much needed fifty.
“What has that wicket done for Gus’s figures for the series?” asks Richard O’Hagan.
It literally cut his average in half; it’s now in the low hundreds.
51st over: Pakistan 221-4 (Babar 42, Saud 3) Robinson beats Saud with a jaffa that kicks off the seam from round the wicket. Another maiden, Robinson’s eighth of the innings. The other bowlers have one between them.
Pakistan trail by 99.
50th over: Pakistan 221-4 (Babar 42, Saud 3) Still no centuries for Pakistan in this series. You have to feel for Masood, who didn’t do much wrong – it was a good ball and a stunning catch.
Maybe Babar will be the one to reach three figures. He continues on his merry way by timing Atkinson to the left of mid-on for four. Beautiful shot.
WICKET! Pakistan 214-4 (Masood c Lawrence b Atkinson 95)
Dan Lawrence has taken a blinder! Masood fiddled at a good ball from Atkinson and edged it low towards fourth slip, where Lawrence plunged to his right to take a sensational one-handed catch.
49th over: Pakistan 214-3 (Masood 95, Babar 38) Masood turns his mouth into an O shape after defending a big outswinger from Robinson. The old ball is starting to do a bit, particularly for Robinson. Babar has a flash outside off stump and is beaten.
“So,” says Rory Young, “at this point Stokes would have someone, probably himself, bowling bouncers…”
48th over: Pakistan 213-3 (Masood 95, Babar 38) Babar slashes Atkinson in the air but wide of gully and away for four. That takes Atkinson’s series average up to 201, the sixth highest for an England bowler in a Test series. Poor old JJ Warr is top of the list.
47th over: Pakistan 206-3 (Masood 92, Babar 34) Masood snicks Robinson between slip and gully for four. That takes him into the nineties. He has a couple of Test hundreds against England, both biggies: 156 at Old Trafford in 2020 and 151 in the extraordinary Multan Test of 2024.
Robinson is bowling well. He’s getting a bit of swing and is threatening both the front pad and the outside edge.
46th over: Pakistan 201-3 (Masood 87, Babar 34) Babar tries to drive a seductive outswinger from Atkinson and is beaten. Careful now.
“Music, you say,” says Richard O’Hagan. “I’m currently working my way through the new albums by Deary, Opus Kink and Man/Woman/Chainsaw. And I saw Die Anstalt a couple of nights ago, who were brilliant but who have very little released over here. Pleased to see that you also have some love for mary in the junkyard, although their lack of capital letters makes my skin crawl.
“Anyway, the whole point of this is to say that I’m glad that Pakistan seem to have stopped treating Maximo Park’s ‘Now I’m All Over the Shop’ as their mantra.”
45th over: Pakistan 201-3 (Masood 87, Babar 34) Babar is surprised by a bit of extra bounce from Robinson. He played it well, popping the ball on the off side before looking suspiciously at the pitch. A no-ball brings up the 200, the first time Pakistan have reached that mark in this series. It’s an embarrassing milestone, I guess, but they have batted commendably since Ollie Robinson reduced them to 0 for 2 yesterday afternoon.
44th over: Pakistan 199-3 (Masood 87, Babar 33) Babar flirts with a tempting outswinger from Atkinson and is beaten. That’s a rare false stroke in his most fluent innings of the series. Batting looks really comfortable now.
43rd over: Pakistan 196-3 (Masood 86, Babar 31) “What are your thoughts about the England line up for the coming tour of South Africa this winter and (whisper it) the Ashes next summer?” asks Tim Claremont. “Who would you have at 3 and 6? Can you see Rehan Ahmed getting a game? And how concerned are you about Robinson on a flat deck? I am still haunted by his innocuous Ashes in 2023, albeit I appreciate that he was coming back from injury then, and that he’s not getting dropped after this summer …
“PS it’s been a while since you wove your musical obsessions into the OBO … what are you listening to at the moment.”
I’m not too worried about Robinson’s effectiveness on flat pitches, because even when he’s not taking wickets he is very economical. His record in the 2023 Ashes, for example, is better than we remember: 10 wickets at 28. Fitness is an ongoing concern I guess.
Lawrence has done more than enough to start the South Africa series, even if I fear for him against their pace attack. I’d have Jacob Bethell at No3; it might be a blessing for Jordan Cox to miss out because it’ll surely be a low-scoring series. Rehan might get a game in Bangladesh but otherwise I’d imagine England will pick a batter who bowls. My hunch is that by next summer it’ll be Cox rather than Lawrence at No6, with Bethell the main spinner.
As for music, it’s still my greatest passion but most OBO readers probably don’t care about the new Digging For Kanky song. If you are interested, these are my favourite songs of 2026.
42nd over: Pakistan 192-3 (Masood 85, Babar 28) Gus Atkinson, who is still stuck on one wicket in the series, returns to the attack. Nothing doing in that over, either in the wicket column or off the Edgbaston pitch.
“What this situation calls for is a bit of Root spin,” says Mark Hooper. “But Root being Root, he probably doesn’t even recognise he’s a more effective option than Brook or Lawrence.”
He bowled some good spells in his first stint as captain: 5 for 8 in the Ahmedabad fiasco and a matchwinning four-for in South Africa just before Covid. I think he dismissed Steve Smith once as well, albeit when Smith had made about 400.
41st over: Pakistan 191-3 (Masood 84, Babar 28) Ollie Robinson starts after lunch. England are trying a few different things in the field, including a man on the drive for Babar. Robinson almost strikes with a grubber to Babar that whooshes past off stump and through Cox’s legs for four byes.
“Can I request a shout out to Harold Turner of Warwickshire’s over-70s team?” writes Mike Daniels. “He scored 101* against Wiltshire this week at the age of 80?”
My heart just got a whole lot warmer. A shout out is the least we can do!
Tom Van der Gucht has emailed on the subject of Kevin Peter Pietersen
I’m pleased to see KP coming back into the fold in a mentoring capacity. This current team owe him a debt of gratitude. He (and Anderson) took a lot of stick for their dodgy hairdos back in the 2000s, with their skunk cut and frosted tips being frowned upon.
“The present Test team have some shocking cuts too with Josh Tongue’s mohawk, Jacob Bethell’s Pat Butcher special and Jordan Cox’s mullet. What would Fred Trueman have muttered on air back in the day when faced with such extravagant barnets. Back in the day, players had hair cuts so neat you could use them as a set square- Arnold Rimmer style. Yet today, nobody bats an eyelid.
In the last couple of years, few things have given me as much joy as watching Jacob Bethell bat. I’ll cherish those memories for ever – not least because from hereon in, every time he plays a gorgeous cover-drive or brings up another impossibly accomplished century, my mind will jump straight to Pat Butcher, and then probably to Frank Butcher wearing nothing but a bowtie and a roguish smile. Cheers Tom!
The Birmingham End, explained
“Warwickshire took a big loan from the City Council to help fund stadium redevelopment,” says Mike Daniels. “Apparently as part of the deal it was agreed to change the name to Birmingham End to publicise the City, see also ‘Birmingham Bears’.”
Lunchtime reading
Lunch: Pakistan trail by 136
40th over: Pakistan 182-3 (Masood 83, Babar 22) Brook has an LBW shout turned down when Masood pushes lazily around his front pad. The angle meant it would have missed leg stump.
When Brook serves up a wide half-volley, Babar helps himself to a boundary through point. Those are the last runs of a terrific session for Pakistan, who scored 132 runs in 27.2 overs for the loss of Azan Awais. This might not be the final day of the series after all.
“Greetings Rob from the Sunny Ardeche,” writes Hamish Kuzminski. “Currently sitting by the river and enjoying the end of this summer’s Test season. Anyway, enough of this flim-flam: watching the match on TV and have to ask: when did this Birmingham End nonsense start? Any born and bred Brummie knows that it’s the City End – conceivably any part of the ground is the Birmingham End as Edgbaston is situated in, err, Birmingham. Can any readers shed some light on this?”
And now for something completely different Harry Brook is going to bowl the last over before lunch.
39th over: Pakistan 177-3 (Masood 83, Babar 22) Robinson has a big LBW appeal turned down when Babar inside-edges a nipbacker onto the pad. It was a no-ball anyway.
There are still doubts over Robinson’s effectiveness in good batting conditions, so this is a good challenge for him. A mixed over includes two no-balls, the aforementioned LBW shout and a play-and-miss from Babar.
38th over: Pakistan 170-3 (Masood 80, Babar 20) Babar, who looks in the mood to demonstrate his attacking range, rifles Tongue down the ground for four. Joe Root tries unsuccessfully to get the ball changed.
Masood nails a flick off the pads but is denied a boundary when the ball hits the square-leg umpire Paul Reiffel. Masood sees the funny side, though his humour may change if he’s dismissed being 97 and 99.
37th over: Pakistan 164-3 (Masood 79, Babar 15) Archer is replaced by Robinson after an innocuous two-over spell. His third ball to Masood is too straight and runs away for four leg-byes. We shouldn’t get carried away, especially as England are going to win the series 3-0, but they’ve looked a little bit toothless with the ball.
36th over: Pakistan 158-3 (Masood 77, Babar 15) Chris Woakes is in the Sky Sports commentary box and has just mentioned his autobiography, The Wizard, written in conjunction with our own Ali Martin. It’s out on 22 October and is highly recommended (Ali kindly sent me a preview). “You’re always looking forward as a cricketer so it was nice to look back and reflect,” says Woakes. “A thoroughly enjoyable experience.”
Babar flips Tongue through square leg for four more. Pakistan are always halfway to making England bat again; they trail by 162.
“The scores and balls faced by Masood and Babar just a moment ago was 77 (111) and 11 (11),” says Andrew Goudie. “So there.”
35th over: Pakistan 154-3 (Masood 77, Babar 11) Archer is bowling at what Richie Benaud used to call ‘half rat-power’. Masood jumps on another short ball, dragging it through square leg for four.
“Graham Gooch did cross my mind,” says Brian Withington, “but I was really thinking about Sir Alastair Cook – truly ‘flaky’ – who carried on after giving up the captaincy (but maybe GG did as well, less successfully, now I think about it?).”
Ah yes, my mistake. Gooch did indeed carry on for 18 months – he started well but his form fell off a cliff after the 210 against New Zealand in the first Test of the 1994 summer.
34th over: Pakistan 150-3 (Masood 73, Babar 11) Babar chases an outswinger from Tongue and is beaten. Tongue only has eyes for wickets, which means bad balls are part of the package; Babar flicks one such delivery to fine leg for four. Tongue has figures of 7-0-50-0, and the only surprising bit is the second nought.
33rd over: Pakistan 146-3 (Masood 73, Babar 7) Dan Lawrence’s work is done for now. Jofra Archer, who bounced Babar Azam out in devastating fashion at Lord’s, returns to the attack. Masood moves into the seventies with a couple of boundaries, a short-arm pull and a meatier swat through midwicket. He’s played superbly since reaching fifty.
County cricket Hampshire’s last pair of Scott Currie and 17-year-old Manny Lumsden are giving Nottinghamshire a peedie scare at Trent Bridge. Tanya Aldred has the latest.
32nd over: Pakistan 135-3 (Masood 63, Babar 7) Tongue changes ends to replace Atkinson. His first ball is fractionally too straight and clipped for four by Babar. Tongue gets it spot on later in the over, straightening a beautiful delivery past Masood’s outside edge.
“I might be in a small minority here, but I just can’t get behind the idea of Brook as an England captain,” says Geoff Wignall. “Not because of his late night, pre-match bouncer altercation; but because of the subsequent deliberate, premeditated lying about it.
“Old-fashioned concept though it probably is, I hold to the notion that respect for the truth (and for the public) should be a fundamental requirement. (I developed similar qualms about Atherton, much as I admired his abilities and fortitude.) Am I just showing my advanced age and irrelevance?”
It’s a perfectly reasonable view, even if I think everyone should be allowed one mistake. That said, lying in public office has become so commonplace that we’re probably both showing our age and irrelevance.
31st over: Pakistan 128-3 (Masood 60, Babar 2) That’s Dan Lawrence’s fourth Test wicket. His bowling is quietly important moving forward because England are unlikely to pick a specialist spinner too often.
“English cricket must be in very rude health indeed if our biggest concern is whether Joe Root can still bat,” writes Brian Withington. “Reminds me of the doubts that used to surface from time to time about that flaky batter from Essex who used to open the batting before, during and after captaincy to reasonable effect.”
Well, most of the time.
WICKET! Pakistan 125-3 (Azan c Cox b Lawrence 59)
Dan Lawrence strikes second ball! It was a nothing delivery to Azan, who pushed defensively around his front pad and got a thin edge down the leg side. The sub keeper Cox took a really smart catch and, though it was given not out on the field, Root signalled for a review straight away. He was fielding at leg slip and must have seen it brush the edge.
30th over: Pakistan 125-2 (Azan 59, Masood 59) Masood takes a quick single and is home when Robinson’s throw hits the stumps. After Azan glides Atkinson through the slips for three more, Masood cuts stylishly for four. England beat the bat five or six times inthe first 10 minutes of the day, but it’s been hard going since then.
I was going to write that Atkinson looks subdued but his body language is similarly restrained when he’s hoovering up wickets. He must be a cracking poker player.