England vs Pakistan, 3rd Test, Pakistan tour of England 2026 - CommentaryENG vs PAK, 3rd Test, Pakistan tour of England 2026 - Commentary

That's a wrap from England's Test summer. They started with a bang, winning the first Test against New Zealand, but things went downhill from there before they bounced back in style with a clean sweep against Pakistan. There's still some white-ball cricket to be played, with Sri Lanka travelling to England for the limited-overs series, starting on Tuesday (September 15). Join us for that and plenty more cricketing action. Until next time, this is Akshay Maanay, signing off on behalf of Abhinand Raghavendran and Praveen P. Goodbye..

England too came into this series with a bit of chaos. Ben Stokes had retired, Brendon McCullum had left, Stephen Fleming was named head coach but will only take over from the South Africa series, and Joe Root was reinstated as captain. They needed some steadying and calmness, and Root provided just that. England started with a thumping win at Headingley, although that was overshadowed by the Brydon Carse incident. Since then, they have put their heads down and focused on what matters most - performing on the field - and the result has been a 3-0 sweep.

There are plenty of positives for England to carry into the new Fleming-Root regime in South Africa. Ollie Robinson was the standout with 21 wickets, combining accuracy with movement both ways and proving a handful on responsive pitches. The four-pronged pace attack complemented each other nicely throughout the series, while Jordan Cox and Daniel Lawrence made the most of their opportunities with the bat and will be pushing for an extended run in the XI. Root may not have scored a hundred this summer, but he remains England's best batter and will be expected to bounce back when they return to Test cricket in South Africa.

This Test was Pakistan in a nutshell - mercurial, entertaining, sloppy and inconsistent. There were moments, particularly from Razaullah, that made everyone sit up and go wow, and there were others when it felt like the same old Pakistan. Before the Test, Mike Hesson was asked by Nasser Hussain whether the end would justify the means if Pakistan pulled off a win after all the upheaval. “Look, I can't really coin on that because, you know, I've been dealt a set of cards, and I have to make the most of it.” They did make the most of those cards. The first-innings batting did little to suggest that, but they fought hard with the ball and showed far greater application with the bat in the second essay. They came into the final day with a glimmer of hope and, had they taken the chances offered by Joe Root, who knows how the chase might have unfolded.

They may have been whitewashed, but the radical changes made before this Test have at least produced some positives. They have unearthed a raw, unpolished gem in Razaullah, the biggest takeaway from this game. He bowled with pace and aggression, and then kept everyone on the edge of their seats with the bat. Azan Awais showed he can handle himself in this format and in these conditions with a gritty knock, while the old hands, Masood and Abbas, suggested they still have a few years left in them. There is something to build on here, but much will depend on how Pakistan handle these players from here.

Root (3/3): [On Jordan Cox's performance] Yeah, five dismissals have sort of gone under the radar, how well he did to step up and do the role that he did was outstanding, and to back that up with a brilliant knock today, showed great maturity, great calmness out there as well in that situation, and not having a huge amount of experience batting at number three, has taken to the role wonderfully. So really pleased for him, and hopefully takes a lot of confidence from it. [On what has pleased him most in this series] Actually just the amount of uncertainty about noise, and I guess chaos coming into the series, the way that the guys have dealt with that and been so clinical in what we've had thrown in front of us, and to come and be stood here 3-0 I think is really pleasing, and sets us up nicely for the start of a new era with Stephen Fleming coming in. But I don't think we would have been able to play in the manner that we have without the work that Brendon (McCullum) did as coach and Ben (Stokes) as captain. And I think it's a continuation and a small evolution of all the stuff that happened before this. So that has to continue forward, and we'll continue to keep trying to evolve that and improve on what's been a really good summer here. [On Marcus Trescothick's role as stand-in coach] I think he's been awesome. It can't be an easy thing when you know that it's not a long-term role, and for him to be able to sort of juggle between trying to look forward and what that might look like, but also be able to have his influence and his way of seeing the game on this group has been fantastic. I think he's got the balance brilliantly, and he'll be so much better for the experience, I'm sure too. But he's a wonderful coach, he's got a huge amount of respect from the group, and hopefully we get to work with him for a lot longer.

Root (2/3): [On whether England need to address their difficulty in dealing with lower-order batters] Yeah, and I think it's becoming more and more of a theme across the board in modern cricket, guys can bat further down. And we'll do our work, and we'll make sure we have plans in place. And I'd say there wasn't much to work with in terms of the information on Razaullah there, but yeah, we'll make sure we do our work and we're better prepared for South Africa. [On batters not able to convert fifties into hundreds this series] I think everyone would be wanting to go on if you get yourself in. But I do also think that's been the nature of the summer, and the surfaces we've had. It's been across the board, it's not just been necessarily us. So the last couple of days we've seen a more normal Test cricket really. You've had to work harder for your wickets. Guys, if they got in, can score quite freely, and you feel like you can get a rhythm for batting again. So I think the pleasing thing is 2 for 2, for us to be able to see that home with two guys set and not out at the end, is a step forward in that direction too. So it would almost be more concerning if we were relying on two individuals that are scoring big hundreds consistently. The fact that everyone's contributing shows that they're good enough to perform at this level, I think is a really good thing too. And of course we'll have different challenges in the winter, different surfaces, but can we keep moving forward and take another stride forward as a group, and that being one of them, guys going on and making those big contributions? I mean, we still got 400 twice in these conditions. So a lot of good stuff there too.

Joe Root (1/3): [On returning to the captaincy role and the 3-0 series win] We've had things go our own way a little bit throughout the series, and we had a little bit of pushback yesterday, which was, in a strange way, quite a good thing for the group. But for us to come through it and be so convincing in the way that we've finished the series off, and throughout the whole three games really, has been really pleasing. [You didn't know much about Razaullah, the batter?] No, we didn't. We didn't have a lot to work with, and fair play. He played some wonderful shots, made it quite difficult to set fields to, and struck the ball nicely. I don't know how he's not pulled a side really, he's swinging that hard. But fair play, he played nicely and made it difficult for us. At the start of the game, when you looked at that pitch, if you said you were chasing 130, you'd have taken it. And for us to get clinical towards the back end there, a big partnership to see us home, was exactly the sort of thing we're after, off the back of two other brilliant performances. So yeah, in many ways, out of this series there's a lot of information to work with, and puts us in a nice place going into the winter.

Babar (2/2): [On why it took a 21-year-old with limited first-class experience to inject energy into the Pakistan side] Look, before we come here, we think about different things, and then we decide our team. And then unfortunately, we have a couple of changes after losing two matches because when we coming to England, very difficult for the batsmen, and first two pitches are very difficult. So I think after that we have a couple of changes, as we know, and then we're trying to do our best batting in third match. [On what Pakistan need to do to make their Test cricket competitive again] I think we need to sit down and relate our mistakes, decide what type of playing eleven, and decide our players. I think they are sitting and the manager is coming, the selector is coming, and myself sit back and then decide our best eleven. [On whether he is committed to that process as captain] “Yes, but when you're coming different series, you try to do our best, and you decide what type of playing cricket in different conditions. I think these conditions are difficult, but I think we try to get all the new boys to utilise their talent in here.

Babar Azam (1/2): [On whether Pakistan started believing after taking two wickets in the first over] Yes. We took two wickets first over. So we believe high, always high. But I think the (way) Root and both batsmen playing is very good. [On whether Pakistan missed Ali Usman, who took five wickets at Headingley] I don't think so, because if we think last three days, it don't help the bowlers. So good grass on the pitch. So that's why we are playing with three fast bowlers and one all-rounder. And the fifth (option) is Sami. [On Razaullah's impact on the dressing room] We enjoyed it. I think everyone is enjoying his innings and bowling, and he is a very good talent and raw. I think he's good for us. (The way) He played this match and he's giving confidence. [On what he knew about Razaullah before the Test] To be honest, not too much. But I heard about a lot of things, but I heard about his batting because he came as an opener and he had scored a hundred. So I heard about that things.

Robinson (3/3): [On the support from England’s fast-bowling group and wicketkeepers Jamie Smith and Jordan Cox] As a four, it's great to be a part of that bowling attack with three guys that can bowl 90. They've all got different skills, different ability, and I think we've got something really special growing as a bowling group. Smudge (Smith) has set the trend coming up to the stumps, and he's helped me get a lot of wickets this summer. He's making it look very easy, and it's brilliant, impressive. And then Coxy this week to get five dismissals, standing in for Smith for Smudge's second innings, is a really impressive showing. I just think it shows as a group where we're at. I think everyone can step up, everyone can step in, and yeah, it's a really great summer.

Robinson (2/3): [On the unusually productive conditions for seam bowlers during a hot, dry English summer] Yeah, it's been a strange one. We sort of expected flatter wickets but they've definitely nipped a lot more with the new ball. I think the ball is slightly harder as well, and they seem to be nipping for longer, which has played into my hands and Abbas's hands as well. I think he's bowled exceptionally well for Pakistan. But, it's definitely done more than previous summers. And when we get to South Africa in the winter, we'll have to adapt again and see what the conditions present there.

Ollie Robinson | England's Player of the Series (1/3): [On his outstanding summer and England’s 3-0 series win] Yeah, it’s been very special, and it's always nice to cap it off with a 3-0 win. It's been well documented that I thought I would never play for England again. So to get the opportunity this summer and grab it with both hands, it's been an amazing summer, and just hopefully I can keep that going. [On whether his previous ups and downs have made him more determined to continue] Yeah, definitely. I've got that inner drive, that new ambition to keep it going and push on. With the help of the backroom staff at England, the last six months have been a real push. And I know the hard work's not done yet and there's still a lot to do, but yeah, we're just getting started.

Abbas (2/2): [On his bowling throughout the series and taking four wickets at Lord's] Yeah, it was a special moment for me because when I came here at Lord's in 2018, I took eight wickets, four and four. And in this series I took again four wickets. So I gave everything for my five-wicket. So it was a very good moment for me and my country as well. [On dealing with the chaos around Pakistan's squad during the series] Everyone's tried to give best, but I think we came from West Indies. It was very hot weather. We came from there, here, and the weather was also hot. So I think we needed to spend more time when you go to away. It was not a good search towards us, but everyone is just trying too hard. [On how much longer he can continue at 36] It all depends on the fitness. So I'm still going on, and depend on the fitness. So I'm doing my hard work with my special trainer, Asif, and he's going well with me, and hopefully I can play more.

Mohammad Abbas | Pakistan's Player of the Series (1/2): [On the dramatic start to the day and whether Pakistan believed] Yes, everything is possible in cricket, so that's why we started. And my speciality in taking wickets with the new ball. So I had a chat with the boys, everything is possible. So we tried our best. [On the missed chances, including Root's no-ball and the edge through the slips] Yes, everyone is just trying hard. So that's why sometimes as a fast bowler, when you try more harder, so sometimes you are doing no-balls. It was a part of the game. It's gone right now. But we did hard work, especially in this game. [On his highest Test score and batting with Razaullah late on day three] Obviously it was a very good moment for us when the series was closed on, so everyone chipped in. I really enjoyed with Razaullah as well. Last year he played against us in first-class cricket and he scored some runs. He's a very good future of Pakistan.

Lawrence (2/2): [On the series producing many fifties but no hundreds] I think the pitches, barring this one, have been pretty tricky to bat on. I think the first game at Leeds had quite a bit of life in it, and at Lord's as well. So fifties have been great scores, and there hasn't been huge scores throughout the series. So I think fifties have been worth a lot more. [On not yet converting a Test fifty into a century] Yeah, I think if I keep playing the way that I am, and I'm really happy where my game's at, I'm sure that three figures will come. I'm obviously desperate to get 100 and multiple hundreds for England, but I'm sure if I keep putting in the hard work and playing as I am, I'm sure it will come. [More embedded in the team now?] Yeah, obviously contributing in all three games has really helped my confidence, and, yeah, hopefully I get the nod to carry on playing, and I feel in a really good place.

Dan Lawrence | Player of the Match (1/2): [On the run-chase] It wasn't the ideal start to the day. Abbas was doing what he usually does and put the ball in the right area, but thankfully we had the experience of Joe and a little bit of class from Coxy to get us over the line. [On playing under Joe Root’s captaincy] Yeah, it's been a great environment. Obviously it helps when you're winning games of cricket, and it's been great fun. All the boys thankfully have been performing, and it's been a great start. [On his all-round contribution] I think it will always be runs, although I feel like I did leave a few out there. I was happy to contribute with the bat, and it was nice to take a good catch and take a couple of wickets. [On his 'oh no' reaction after his dismissal] I got off to a really nice start that morning and I really wanted to cash in and make a big score, but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. Yeah, it was still good to contribute, but I was just frustrated I didn't get more.