Razaullah’s Stunning Innings Exposes England’s Weaknesses
Edgbaston has seen its share of chaos, but this was something else. A 21-year-old debutant at number nine, swinging as if playing in the park, turned England’s stroll towards a clean sweep into a deeply uncomfortable evening of déjà vu.
Razaullah walked in as a tailender. He batted like a middle-order destroyer. His 81 from 63 balls, laced with nine towering sixes, did more than haul Pakistan to 453 all out and force a fourth day. It ripped the veneer off England’s supposed new era of control under Joe Root’s second stint as captain.
By the close, England still needed only 130 to win the Test and complete a 3-0 series victory. On paper, a formality. On the field, the scars of that final session were raw.
Cook: ‘No plan… out of control’
From the commentary box, Alastair Cook did not bother with diplomacy. He has captained England through collapses and chaos, but what he saw in the last session disturbed him.
“You can get done by the tail – it’s very hard when people have the license and ability to hit sixes,” he told Test Match Special. “What I saw was no plan, it got out of control.
“That’s when you need the backroom staff and coaches to step up. I would loved to have seen a message and some real leadership from the coaches.”
England had Pakistan eight down with the scores level. This should have been the moment to close it out, to suffocate the lower order, to send a clinical message at the start of Root’s second reign.
Instead, the tail feasted.
A ninth-wicket stand of 121 between Razaullah and Muhammad Abbas flipped the script. Every misdirected bouncer, every scattergun over, fed Pakistan’s belief and shredded England’s discipline.
Tactics in tatters
The plan, such as it was, never convinced. England’s seamers persisted with a short-ball barrage, fielders scattered on the rope as if defending 130, not attacking with the new ball. When they did finally aim at the stumps, their radar deserted them.
The most baffling moment came with the second new ball. Root handed it not to his in-form spearhead Ollie Robinson, but to Dan Lawrence – a part-time off-spinner who had barely turned his arm over all series.
Jonathan Agnew, watching it unfold, did not hide his dismay.
“You cannot and should not bowl like that to tailenders as soon as they come in,” the former fast bowler said. “You have to set the tone when you're bowling against tailenders. Yes, you bowl aggressively, but in a controlled way. They are numbers nine and 10 for a reason. It was bitterly disappointing.
“Dan Lawrence is a part-time off-spinner and he took the second new-ball. If you're looking for any aspect of the day that is utterly bonkers, that is it.”
Lawrence, thrown the ball ahead of Robinson, symbolised the muddle. England chopped and changed fields and lengths, but never truly seized control. The more they searched, the more Razaullah swung.
Records fall as Razaullah runs riot
If this was Pakistan “thriving in chaos”, Razaullah was its embodiment. He launched nine sixes, equalling the record for the most in an innings by a batter on Test debut. He also matched Ben Stokes’ mark for the most sixes in a Test played in England.
These were not streaky top edges. He drove Jofra Archer straight back over his head twice in succession, leaving the fast bowler visibly exasperated. At one point, Gus Atkinson was reduced to pounding in with eight men on the boundary, a scene that screamed panic rather than plan.
England’s body language sagged. Root, so often praised for his calm, looked short of ideas. The field drifted deeper, the bowlers went shorter, and Razaullah only grew bolder.
Vaughan’s warning
For Michael Vaughan, this was not an isolated lapse. It was a familiar pattern.
“We shouldn't be surprised by England, they've delivered tactically like this on a regular basis,” the former captain said.
“I think they'll win this game but they can't keep making mistakes like that. The basics of Test cricket generally work and that's to hit the top of the stumps. It's a bit of a warning sign that this attack is very good but they aren't the finished article just yet.
“Who are the characters in the team who are going got grab a hold of everyone and say, 'right, I'm going to make a moment'. I didn't see it from anyone today.”
At one stage Root even left the field to consult the backroom staff. The huddle produced little change. The bouncers kept coming, the boundaries kept flowing, and Pakistan’s lower order kept swinging.
Coaches under the spotlight
All of this unfolded under an interim regime. Marcus Trescothick currently leads the side as head coach, with Stephen Fleming due to take over from December’s tour of South Africa. Bowling coach Tim Southee, stationed on the boundary rope during the carnage, could only watch as plans unravelled.
After play, Trescothick did not hide his frustration.
“I'm disappointed, of course,” he said. “We were in a position where they were eight down and the scores were level. We were hoping to go through them pretty quickly.
“We tried many different things. You have variations of plans. We bowled the short ball for a period of time, then length for a period of time, then a bit of spin. You're always chopping and changing, with various ideas.
“You'd always like to think you can do it better and you analyse it afterwards saying, 'right, was there an area or tactic we missed to get it right?' You hope in those situations when you bowl it in the right place, which we did on many occasions, that you get the nick or bowl them. Fair play, they played pretty well.”
Eventually, the resistance broke. Abbas fenced at Josh Tongue and was caught at point. From the final ball of the day, Razaullah charged Lawrence and was stumped, his extraordinary innings finally over, Pakistan 453 all out and the crowd still buzzing.
The scoreboard says England should finish this job with ease. The series scoreline will probably read 3-0. Yet the images that linger are of a young debutant clearing the ropes at will, and an experienced attack losing its shape under fire.
For Root, Trescothick and the bowlers who aspire to dominate the next phase of English Test cricket, the real question is not whether they chase 130. It’s whether they learn from a night when a number nine exposed just how fragile their control can still be.
