Pakistan crumble at Edgbaston as Babar Azam falls for 7

Nervous tens

Babar Azam could not get to double figures again. After scores of 8 and 6 at Lord's, the Pakistan captain fell for 7 at Edgbaston — a “nervous tens” struggle that perfectly captured a tour going horribly wrong.

Ignoring the “outside noise” counted for nothing as Pakistan crumbled on the scoreboard. The series is all but lost, and Babar knows it — yet his rallying cry ahead of the third Test was unmistakably defiant.

“The series is lost but we have nothing to lose,” Babar urged his side before the Edgbaston Test.

Joe Root, however, jumped to Pakistan's defence, calling it “disrespectful” to say the tourists showed no fight.

“Disrespectful to say Pakistan showed no fight,” Root said.

Everyone saw it coming

Wasim Akram was unsurprised by the outcome. “I knew before the series,” he said, predicting Pakistan's 3-0 England whitewash. AB de Villiers went further, questioning the players' hunger after the rout and suggesting there was “not enough guts” in the side.

Saeed Ajmal delivered the harshest verdict, launching a scathing attack on the PCB with the claim that “Pakistan cricket has gone back 10 years.”