Razaullah’s Firestorm Challenges England’s Leadership at Edgbaston

Edgbaston has seen its share of chaos, but this was something else. A 21-year-old on Test debut, walking in at number nine, turned a routine closing-out job into an inquisition on England’s brains, nerve and leadership.

Razaullah’s 81 from 63 balls – nine sixes, all muscle and nerve – dragged Pakistan from the brink and England into a mess of their own making. What should have been a clinical finish to seal a 3-0 sweep now staggers into a fourth day, with England chasing 130 and a few bruises to their ego.

No plan… out of control

From the commentary box, Alastair Cook did not bother with diplomacy.

"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 was the story of the final session. England had Pakistan eight down with the scores level. The job, in theory, was simple: hit the top of off, mop up the tail, walk off with the series polished to perfection and Joe Root’s second spell as captain given a serene launch.

Instead, Razaullah and Muhammad Abbas stitched together a ninth-wicket stand of 121 that shredded England’s script and their discipline. The crowd roared; England froze.

Cook’s criticism cut deeper than just the bowlers.

"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."

On a day when Pakistan thrived in chaos, England looked like the side without a map.

Tactics that baffled the greats

The numbers are stark. Razaullah’s nine sixes matched the record for most in a Test innings on debut, and equalled Ben Stokes’ mark for the most sixes in a Test in England. The manner of them was even more damning for the hosts.

Short balls. More short balls. Fielders strewn on the rope like a white-shirt picket fence. When England’s seamers finally tried to attack the stumps, they sprayed it. When they opted for the bumpers, Razaullah happily launched them into the stands and beyond.

Jonathan Agnew, watching it unravel, did not sugarcoat it. He called the tactics "appalling".

"You cannot and should not bowl like that to tailenders as soon as they come in," he 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."

The most bewildering moment came with the second new ball. Root tossed it not to Ollie Robinson – the leader of the attack this summer – but to Dan Lawrence, a part-time off-spinner who had barely rolled his arm over all series.

"Dan Lawrence is a part-time off-spinner and he took the second new-ball," Agnew added. "If you're looking for any aspect of the day that is utterly bonkers, that is it."

The sight of Lawrence operating with a brand-new cherry while Robinson waited summed up the muddle. So did Jofra Archer’s body language as he was hit for consecutive straight sixes, and Gus Atkinson being asked to bang it in with eight men on the boundary.

Root under the microscope again

Root’s second coming as captain was supposed to be calmer, wiser, shaped by lessons from his first tenure. Instead, this was a flashback to old criticisms: fields drifting, plans fraying, energy draining.

There were long stretches when Root looked short of ideas. At one point he left the field to consult the backroom staff, a rare public admission that the brains trust needed a reset. The reset never really came.

Michael Vaughan, another former England captain, saw a pattern rather than a one-off.

"We shouldn't be surprised by England, they've delivered tactically like this on a regular basis," he 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."

That question lingers. For all the talent in this England side, who actually takes charge when the game tilts and the crowd turns?

Trescothick defends, but admits regret

On the balcony, interim head coach Marcus Trescothick watched a session that will live long in Pakistan’s dressing room and much less fondly in England’s.

England’s coaching set-up is in a holding pattern, with Trescothick covering the role until Stephen Fleming takes over from December’s tour of South Africa. Bowling coach Tim Southee was visible on the boundary rope during the Razaullah-Abbas onslaught, trying to feed messages into the middle. None of it stuck.

"I'm disappointed, of course," Trescothick 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."

He insisted England tried different approaches.

"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."

There is truth in that. Razaullah did play brilliantly. Abbas held firm. But the sense remains that England made it far easier than it needed to be.

Pakistan’s chaos, England’s warning

The end came almost quietly after all the noise. Abbas finally poked Josh Tongue to point, then Razaullah, still hungry, charged Lawrence and was stumped from the final ball of the day. Pakistan 453 all out. England still favourites, on paper at least.

Yet the mood around Edgbaston did not match the scorecard. Pakistan walked off with chests out, a young debutant having lit up the ground and the series. England trudged away with a modest target and a major warning.

They should still chase 130. They should still complete the 3-0 sweep. But after an evening when a number nine on debut made their attack and their captaincy look ragged, the bigger question hangs over this team:

When the next storm hits, will anyone in England colours actually grab the game and hold it?