England completed a dominant 3-0 Test series clean sweep against Pakistan on Saturday, September 12, 2026, securing an eight-wicket victory at Edgbaston in Birmingham after surviving an early batting collapse and a remarkable counter-attacking innings from debutant Razaullah.
Joe Root and Jordan Cox guided England home in the 25th over of the fourth day, successfully chasing a modest target of 130. Yet the victory began in alarming fashion on Saturday morning when Mohammad Abbas ripped through the top order.
Early Collapse and Root’s Fortunate Reprieves
Facing a target of 130 after being frazzled by Pakistan’s tail-end hitting late on Friday, England stumbled immediately. Ben Duckett edged the very first ball of the innings behind to the wicketkeeper off Abbas, and Emilio Gay followed shortly after, trapped lbw for a duck in the same over.
Reduced to 2-2, England needed stability, and Joe Root quickly settled into the chase despite a healthy dose of good fortune. On 23, Root chopped a delivery from Mohammad Ali onto his own stumps, only for the third umpire to call a no-ball—marking Ali’s 17th no-ball of the series.
Making the most of those missed chances, Root reached his half-century from 57 balls and finished unbeaten on 62, marking his 110th Test innings of 50 or more.
Cox Continues Impressive Form
At the other end, Jordan Cox weathered the early storm in overcast conditions with a calm half-century from 61 balls. Cox shared an unbroken stand of 128 with Root, sealing the 3-0 sweep just before lunch on Saturday.
Razaullah’s Historic Debutant Fireworks
Pakistan’s heaviest resistance came from an extraordinary late salvo by debutant Razaullah on Friday evening. Coming to the crease with the tourists floundering at 318-8 in their second innings, the 21-year-old fast bowler smashed nine sixes in an astonishing knock of 81 from just 63 deliveries.
Razaullah also combined with Mohammad Abbas for a 121-run partnership for the ninth wicket, taking Pakistan to 449 all out. Abbas contributed 42 runs, while Shan Masood led the scoring with 95 and Babar Azam added 76. Razaullah’s performance was a bright spot amid a chaotic tour that had already seen Pakistan send seven players home and sack head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant Umar Gul following their second-Test defeat.
Root and Robinson Reflect on the Series
Reflecting on the unexpected tension of the final morning, Root acknowledged the value of being tested.
“Fair play to Pakistan, they threw some punches last night. They made it very difficult for us and in some ways it’s a good thing to go through that. Test cricket is not always going to go your own way but to see us actually be quite clinical with the bat off the back of that was good too. So in many ways we’re better for it.”
Joe Root, England Captain
Ollie Robinson, who led England’s pace attack throughout the summer and finished the series with 21 wickets to earn the player of the series award, offered a pragmatic view of the team’s trajectory.
“I’m a realist, I know it’s not always going to be like this. We know there’s going to be tougher times ahead. We have some tough opposition coming up and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Ollie Robinson, England Player of the Series
A Tumultuous Summer Concludes
The 3-0 clean sweep brings a positive close to one of England’s most turbulent summers in history, which included a Test series loss to New Zealand and the departure of head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes. Root successfully resumed the captaincy in June, guiding the side through a dominant series where they also won the first Test by an innings and 103 runs and the second by 194 runs at Lord’s.
England immediately switches formats to begin a white-ball series against Sri Lanka in Southampton on Tuesday, with McCullum returning to coach alongside Kevin Pietersen. Meanwhile, Pakistan turns its focus toward fixtures against Sri Lanka in October, leaving selectors to determine how a drastically reshuffled squad recovers from sitting at the bottom of the World Test Championship points table.
