England take control of third Pakistan test as Josh Tongue, Emilio Gay and Harry Brook all star
The hosts are already 2-0 up in the series
England have taken control of the third and final test against Pakistan thanks four wickets from Josh Tongue and half-centuries from Emilio Gay and Harry Brook.
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Tongue claimed four for 42 while Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer shared six wickets at Edgbaston as the visitor's shake-up since going 2-0 down in the three-match series had minimal impact on their fortunes.
Gay and Brook then made fifties to lift England to 156 for four at stumps on day one, leading by 23 with the promise of more to come on Thursday, despite captain Joe Root being out lbw for the 10th time in 13 innings.
While the floodlights were on all day amid heavy cloud cover for large spells, the pitch was relatively blameless but a Pakistan side with four changes to their side since Lord’s were cowed by England's on-song seamers.
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Robinson was magnificent, conceding just 15 runs in 11 overs, as he went from 99 to 102 Test wickets, while his average of 19.1 is the best post-war of any bowler with more than 100 dismissals.
It was unsurprising he made the breakthrough in his second over after Root opted to field and exploit the overheads, with Saim Ayub brought in for his first first-class appearance since October 2025 unwittingly Robinson’s 100th Test victim.
When Tongue struck in his first over, obliterating the top of off-stump to send Pakistan captain Babar Azam packing, it meant all of the tourists’ top-five had all been dismissed for single figures – the first time that has happened in the first innings of a Test in England.
Saud Shakeel showed a measure of resistance after being given a reprieve on seven, with Ben Duckett dropping his second catch of the morning at first slip off the luckless Gus Atkinson.
Tongue, though, continued to challenge the stumps and saw off debutants Ghazi Ghori and Mohammad Imran, while Razaullah, the third player making his Pakistan bow, was dismissed from his first ball after lunch as he nicked Robinson to Duckett.
Shakeel’s defiance ended on 43 after a beauty from Tongue uprooted his off-stump, before Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ali put on 26 for the last wicket.
Jordan Cox was pinned lbw by Abbas while England were 39 for three just after tea when 21-year-old Razaullah, operating at around 90mph, thudded into Root’s pads and get the lbw decision in his first over in Test cricket.
But Gay and Brook took the sting out of Pakistan in different ways. While Brook looked to counter-attack, Gay, who came into this Test with his spot under pressure, was initially happy to soak up pressure.
However, after a 104-run stand with Brook, his hopes of a more substantial score to ink himself into England’s plans for the winter went awry when he dragged Razaullah on to his stumps for 60.
Brook moved past 1,000 Test runs against Pakistan in just 14 innings and finished at stumps on 52 not out.