England survive scare to seal 3-0 sweep against Pakistan

England survive scare to seal 3-0 sweep against Pakistan. AFPReuters Published September 12, 2026 Updated September 12, 2026 08: 55pm.

Key points

• England reached their target in the 25th over, with Root unbeaten on 62 and Cox 59 not out.
• This person additionally took four wickets in England's first innings, put on 121 for the ninth wicket with fellow paceman Abbas (42) as England floundered.
• While a home Ashes looms next year, but tougher challenges lie ahead, starting with a Test series in South Africa in December and January.
• They additionally sacked head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant Umar Gul as their tour plunged into chaos.
• Root, with Jordan Cox at the other end, had another let-off when he edged an Abbas delivery between first and second slip, with neither fielder moving.

Joe Root led from the front as England survived a major wobble to beat Pakistan by eight wickets in the third Test at Edgbaston on Saturday, sealing a 3-0 series whitewash.

Notably, the home team, chasing just 130 to win, were in deep trouble when openers Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay were dismissed in the first over, bowled by Mohammad Abbas.

Root, England's record run-scorer, edged his first ball, bowled by Razaullah, through the slips for four in a nervy start but settled and scored rapidly to take the sting out of the situation.

For context, the captain was given a massive reprieve when he chopped onto the stumps off Mohammad Ali, only for the umpire to signal a no ball, leaving the bowler distraught.

But he reached his half-century off 57 balls with a cut for four and Cox reached the landmark shortly afterwards.

Root, in his second spell as England skipper after the departure of Ben Stokes, admitted his team were not the finished article but remarked he was delighted with their series win.

"The amount of uncertainty, noise and I guess chaos there was coming into the series, the way the guys have dealt with that – being so clinical with what we've had in front of us – and be stood here with a 3-0 win is really pleasing, " he informed Sky Sports.

"It sets us up nicely looking ahead to the start of a new era with (new head coach) Stephen Fleming coming in."

England celebrated their first Test series win since 2024 while Pakistan have now lost 16 of their past 21 games and are rooted at the bottom of the World Test Championship table.

Root's men had appeared set for a quickfire win inside three days on Friday before debutant fast bowler Razaullah introduced an audacious assault with the bat, clubbing nine sixes as he raced to 81 off 63 balls. The 21-year-old number nine. This person additionally took four wickets in England's first innings, put on 121 for the ninth wicket with fellow paceman Abbas (42) as England floundered.

"We had a little bit of pushback yesterday which, in a strange way, was quite a good thing for the group, " remarked Root.

"Fair play to Razaullah, he created things challenging for us. He played some wonderful shots and created it highly tough to set fields to. He struck the ball nicely – I don't know how he didn't pull a muscle, swinging the bat that hard."

Razaullah's heroics have changed the mood music but they came too little, too late for Pakistan. This person have endured a miserable series, losing the first Test by an innings and 103 runs and the second by 194 runs.

Meanwhile, the tourists sent seven players home after their crushing defeat in the second Test at Lord's and brought in seven replacements, with Razaullah among them.

Pakistan created four changes to their side for the third Test in Birmingham and they put up a fight despite being dismissed for a paltry 133 in their first innings.

Captain Babar Azam admitted his team would have to take stock after a one-sided series.

"Before we came here we had to think about different things and to decide our team, " he remarked.

We had a couple of changes after losing two matches. Playing in England is particularly challenging. We were trying to do our best in the third match.

"We need to sit down and look hard at our mistakes, decide our playing XI."

For context, the 3-0 win is a massive tonic for England. This person were in turmoil just weeks ago after a series loss to New Zealand and the exits of head coach Brendon McCullum and Stokes.

Taken together, the developments around england survive scare to seal 3 point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.