The Birmingham End, explained

“Warwickshire took a big loan from the City Council to help fund stadium redevelopment,” says Mike Daniels. “Apparently as part of the deal it was agreed to change the name to Birmingham End to publicise the City, see also ‘Birmingham Bears’.”

40th over: Pakistan 182-3 (Masood 83, Babar 22) Brook has an LBW shout turned down when Masood pushes lazily around his front pad. The angle meant it would have missed leg stump.

When Brook serves up a wide half-volley, Babar helps himself to a boundary through point. Those are the last runs of a terrific session for Pakistan, who scored 132 runs in 27.2 overs for the loss of Azan Awais. This might not be the final day of the series after all.

“Greetings Rob from the Sunny Ardeche,” writes Hamish Kuzminski. “Currently sitting by the river and enjoying the end of this summer’s Test season. Anyway, enough of this flim-flam: watching the match on TV and have to ask: when did this Birmingham End nonsense start? Any born and bred Brummie knows that it’s the City End – conceivably any part of the ground is the Birmingham End as Edgbaston is situated in, err, Birmingham. Can any readers shed some light on this?”

38th over: Pakistan 170-3 (Masood 80, Babar 20) Babar, who looks in the mood to demonstrate his attacking range, rifles Tongue down the ground for four. Joe Root tries unsuccessfully to get the ball changed.

Masood nails a flick off the pads but is denied a boundary when the ball hits the square-leg umpire Paul Reiffel. Masood sees the funny side, though his humour may change if he’s dismissed being 97 and 99.

36th over: Pakistan 158-3 (Masood 77, Babar 15) Chris Woakes is in the Sky Sports commentary box and has just mentioned his autobiography, The Wizard, written in conjunction with our own Ali Martin. It’s out on 22 October and is highly recommended (Ali kindly sent me a preview). “You’re always looking forward as a cricketer so it was nice to look back and reflect,” says Woakes. “A thoroughly enjoyable experience.”

Babar flips Tongue through square leg for four more. Pakistan are always halfway to making England bat again; they trail by 162.

“The scores and balls faced by Masood and Babar just a moment ago was 77 (111) and 11 (11),” says Andrew Goudie. “So there.”

35th over: Pakistan 154-3 (Masood 77, Babar 11) Archer is bowling at what Richie Benaud used to call ‘half rat-power’. Masood jumps on another short ball, dragging it through square leg for four.

“Graham Gooch did cross my mind,” says Brian Withington, “but I was really thinking about Sir Alastair Cook - truly ‘flaky’ - who carried on after giving up the captaincy (but maybe GG did as well, less successfully, now I think about it?).”

Ah yes, my mistake. Gooch did indeed carry on for 18 months – he started well but his form fell off a cliff after the 210 against New Zealand in the first Test of the 1994 summer.

32nd over: Pakistan 135-3 (Masood 63, Babar 7) Tongue changes ends to replace Atkinson. His first ball is fractionally too straight and clipped for four by Babar. Tongue gets it spot on later in the over, straightening a beautiful delivery past Masood’s outside edge.

“I might be in a small minority here, but I just can’t get behind the idea of Brook as an England captain,” says Geoff Wignall. “Not because of his late night, pre-match bouncer altercation; but because of the subsequent deliberate, premeditated lying about it.

“Old-fashioned concept though it probably is, I hold to the notion that respect for the truth (and for the public) should be a fundamental requirement. (I developed similar qualms about Atherton, much as I admired his abilities and fortitude.) Am I just showing my advanced age and irrelevance?”

It’s a perfectly reasonable view, even if I think everyone should be allowed one mistake. That said, lying in public office has become so commonplace that we’re probably both showing our age and irrelevance.

31st over: Pakistan 128-3 (Masood 60, Babar 2) That’s Dan Lawrence’s fourth Test wicket. His bowling is quietly important moving forward because England are unlikely to pick a specialist spinner too often.

“English cricket must be in very rude health indeed if our biggest concern is whether Joe Root can still bat,” writes Brian Withington. “Reminds me of the doubts that used to surface from time to time about that flaky batter from Essex who used to open the batting before, during and after captaincy to reasonable effect.”

Well, most of the time.

30th over: Pakistan 125-2 (Azan 59, Masood 59) Masood takes a quick single and is home when Robinson’s throw hits the stumps. After Azan glides Atkinson through the slips for three more, Masood cuts stylishly for four. England beat the bat five or six times inthe first 10 minutes of the day, but it’s been hard going since then.

I was going to write that Atkinson looks subdued but his body language is similarly restrained when he’s hoovering up wickets. He must be a cracking poker player.

29th over: Pakistan 117-2 (Azan 56, Masood 54) Azan times Tongue sweetly past backward point for four more. Right here, right now, he looks in almost compete control; it might be time for the spin of Dan Lawrence.

“So what have we learned from this summer?” muses Max Williams. “Firstly, the series were played in the wrong order – aside from the obvious preference to climax with the more competitive contest, had Pakistan had toured in June perhaps Stokes is still captain. We suddenly seem to have a serious bowling line-up. Ollie Robinson should’ve toured Australia. I miss Zac Crawley and still hold out hope for his 2027 Ashes comeback.

“It’s funny: some players look bankers from debut (e.g., Root), while others never quite fit (pick any opener between 2012-2022 not named Alastair Cook). This team has several players that could go either way: Cox, Gay, Lawrence might all have lengthy Test careers or be gone by next summer. Ultimately you want a settled lineup but there’s something quite enjoyable about the current sense of opportunity – especially after several years in which the line-up was arguably too settled. (Please ignore hypocrisy of earlier Crawley mention.)

“Anyway, there seems to be a decent team taking shape here and I feel more optimistic than I did at the start of the summer, let alone post-NZ series. How do you reckon we go in South Africa?”

If I close my eyes, I see an orgy of flying stumps. That series should be a primal treat, given the pitches and the quality of both pace attacks. My guess is either 2-1 or 3-0 South Africa. But an England win isn’t beyond the realms, especially if the games are low-scoring dogfights.

28th over: Pakistan 109-2 (Azan 50, Masood 52) There’s a precautionary run-out referral when Masood is sent back. He looked safe and he was. Azan takes a quick single to reach a composed, gently charming half-century: 78 balls, nine fours.

“Masood is batting nicely but it is the young Azan Awais who is really catching the eye,” writes Colum Fordham. “His sumptuous cover drive had shades of David Gower about it.

“I just checked on Cricinfo and apparently he was top scorer in domestic trophies in 2024 and 2025, as well as hitting a fifty on a very tricky Port of Spain pitch and a century against Bangladesh. A very bright prospect for Pakistan’s troubled test team.”

Indeed. He already has 11 first-class hundreds at the age of 21, and his conversion rate (11 x 100, 11 x 50 including this innings) suggests he’s a bit of an old soul. I’d love him to make it 12 x 100, 10 x 50 in the next few hours.

26th over: Pakistan 100-2 (Azan 43, Masood 50) Masood edges Atkinson through the gap for four, then takes a single to reach a proud, determined fifty from 81 balls. It also brings up Pakistan’s first century partnership of the series.

It’s almost 100 and out when a vicious lifter hits Azan on the glove and lands short of square leg.

“I think what we should be considering over the winter is who should be the next captain,” says Stephen Brown. “Joe Root presumably wants to win the Ashes as captain next year. His record in those series is the biggest blot on his career. But who comes next?

“The best captains have always been the ones who looked like they would be captain for a while before hand. Root was talked about a captain for years before he became it. Same for Cook, Strauss, Vaughan etc. The ones who didn’t look like captain before they became it, but were picked because they were the best player (Flintoff, Pietersen are the examples that spring to mind) were often a lot less successful. Which is perhaps a long way of saying, it shouldn’t be Brook. But who should it be?”

I’m not sure Vaughan was talked about beforehand – Marcus Trescothick was the vice-captain for a few years. Brook reminds me of Vaughan, a flamboyant strokemaker whose apparently effortless brilliance hides a sharp cricket brain.

I guess it depends on the timing, but right now I’d say the likeliest scenario is that Brook becomes Test captain some time in 2027-28 with Jacob Bethell taking the white-ball jobs.

25th over: Pakistan 95-2 (Azan 43, Masood 45) Saying which, Masood has been dropped by the sub Theo Wylie at backward point. It was a sharp but relatively straightforward chance when Masood edged a drive off Tongue. I think he was beaten for pace.

At the end of the over Root runs up to Wylie, puts his arm round him and has a quick chat. “I can think of some captains who might not have been so empathetic…” deadpans Mike Atherton to his co-commentator, Nasser Hussain.

22nd over: Pakistan 77-2 (Azan 33, Masood 37) Azan scrambles to make his ground after taking a tight single to mid-on. The substitute Taz Ali’s throw missed the stumps, though I think Azan would have been home. Pakistan are pottering along quite comfortably.

‘90s throwback’ is the subject of Eddy Nason’s email.

double quotation mark Coventry City in the Premier League, Warwickshire CC challenging for the county championship, England’s Test team with threatening 80mph bowlers. I’m starting to worry my dream about taking my GCSEs as an adult was actually a premonition.

Why do you think I’m wearing a purple shell suit?

21st over: Pakistan 76-2 (Azan 32, Masood 37) Time for England’s bulldozer, Josh Tongue, who has replaced Jofra Archer. Joe Root moves Ben Duckett from third slip to leg slip; moments later, Masood edges through third slip at catchable height. The ball runs away for four, and Masood gets another boundary with a crisp flick through square leg.

“One can’t help but wonder whether Joe Root has an LBW problem or a captaincy issue,” writes John Coutts. “The last time he was captain his batting deteriorated badly and it looks to be happening again.

“As far as the keeper standing up for fast-medium pacers is concerned, it seems to me there are two options in facing the good/full length ball: either get forward and risk a stumping or don’t get far enough forward and risk LBW or being bowled. The chance of a stumping is the lesser of the risks, therefore get forward. Joe Root and do that effectively therefore he should.”

His batting deteriorated for a while, but he also had the best year of his career in 2021. I think it’s too early to say that it’s affecting his batting, even though it’s a legitimate concern.

16th over: Pakistan 60-2 (Azan 29, Masood 25) Robinson stays around the wicket to Azan, who has to play more because of the angle. After a few defensive strokes, Azan misses an attempted pull at a ball that bounces down the leg side for four byes. Jordan Cox, standing up to the stumps, didn’t have much chance with that. As Ian Ward points out on Sky Sports, those byes will go against Jamie Smith’s name rather than Cox’s.

The over ends with a spiteful delivery that lifts from a length to hit Azan in the chest. Sheesh.

“I know this is heresy, but should we be worried about Joe Root?” writes Chris Goater. “I know his record is amazing, and he has solved technical problems before, but he is surely getting towards the end of his time now. How much patience should the selectors show, if his run of low scores continues?”

One word, two syllables: WOW. A pattern of dismissals is always a bit of a concern, but the keeper won’t be up to the stumps as regularly when England play South Africa and Australia.

14th over: Pakistan 52-2 (Azan 29, Masood 21) Ollie Robinson starts over the wicket to Azan Awais, who is beaten by his second, third and fifth deliveries. Robinson moves around the wicket for the final ball of an excellent maiden. His grandkids are going to hear a helluva lot about the summer of 2026.

“Wow, the royalties from Kaiser have really added up!” banters Matt Dony. “When you’re sunning yourself on your private island, enjoying your millions, I hope you remember all the little people who got you there. Maybe we can invoice you on a per-email basis?”

Maybe. Maybe not. [Insert you own Departed reference here.]

“I know you have spent a lot of time and money trying to get your overdue payment,” writes Pastor J B Norble. “I am very sorry for this trouble and the inconvenience it has caused you. We have reviewed your payment file, and your payment of [$30,800,000] is now actively processed.”

That’s me done then. Have a nice life! (Some actual emails, please.)

State-school cricket has had its day at Lord’s, at last. On a ground that has this summer hosted men’s and women’s international Tests, the Women’s T20 World Cup final and the Hundred finals, on Thursday four school teams played in front of the Pavilion and Father Time for the Knight-Stokes Cup, named after two state-educated cricketers who have captained England’s Test teams.

Heather Knight and Ben Stokes recorded video messages for pupils from Altrincham grammar school, John Hampden grammar school, Penistone grammar school and Chelmsford County high school before they competed in the boys’ and girls’ finals. The privileges did not stop there – full use of the Pavilion dressing rooms, lunch and media duties made this a day to remember and inspire.

A few hours after his yelp of frustration echoed around Edgbaston, an innings of 65 and the growing conviction that “I was going to make a really big score” ended when he chased a wide delivery and played on, Dan Lawrence’s emotions had settled into something approaching contentment. England had taken a firm grip on the game, Pakistan ending the second day still 268 away from making them bat again with eight wickets remaining, and Lawrence, having posted three half-centuries in four Test innings this summer, is finally delivering on his obvious potential in an England shirt.

“I’m obviously gutted I didn’t kick on,” he said. “I felt like I was playing really nicely and it was a really good surface to bat on against a tiring attack at that stage. I thought I was going to make a really big score, but it wasn’t meant to be. But I’m really happy with how I’ve played [this summer].

The lack of Ashes cricket in the north of England next summer is the result of a legal dispute that followed the allocation of venues for the 2023 series against Australia, which also involved the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) paying about £1m in damages to Hampshire.

The Guardian can reveal that Hampshire brought a legal challenge against the ECB after missing out on hosting the Ashes in 2023 to Yorkshire, who staged the third Test – which England won by three wickets – at Headingley.

Hampshire are understood to have challenged the 2023 allocation on the grounds the club said they were promised their first Ashes Test at the Rose Bowl that year at a meeting of the 18 first-class counties in 2018.

There was a Pakistan fan walking around Edgbaston carrying a small blackboard on the second day. “Free Imran Khan …” he’d written on it, “and get him in the team.” He stopped to talk about it with a couple of the police officers standing guard around the back of the pavilion. “I’d like to report a crime,” he told them, “by the 11 players out there on the field.” The officers chuckled. “Not much I can do about that for you, sorry.” Even their supporters seemed to have reached the point where they just want this tour to be over.

With dismal inevitability, the weather had turned by the time Pakistan actually got out to bat in their second innings and the bright sunshine that lit up England’s batting through the afternoon had been occluded by a bank of heavy grey cloud that had blown up from the south-west. They turned the floodlights on just in time for Saim Ayub and Azan Awais to go out and face up to another new-ball burst from Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer. The lights didn’t help anyone, if anything they only made it easier to see what was coming.

Day two report

Friday is the only sold-out day of this third Test but whether that translates into a full house remains to be seen. Much like the series itself, the contest is long since over, set in motion by Pakistan’s howling collapse on the first day and then compounded by England’s ruthlessness on the second.

Although for all that England’s march to a 3-0 clean sweep appears a formality, there should in theory be a decent chunk of cricket to enjoy. Joe Root’s side are still eight wickets away from enjoying a weekend at leisure, with Pakistan, set to resume on 52 for two, 268 runs away from making them bat again.

It follows a dominant outing with the bat from England that turned 156 for four in the morning into 453 all out by tea. That said, three men still trudged off despondently. Harry Brook needlessly ran himself out on 75, Dan Lawrence chopped on for 65, while Jamie Smith fell for 69 after batting through the pain of a suspected broken finger. In all three cases, a Test century went begging.

It’s the last day of term, kids. Wear what you like, play a bit of Subbuteo, talk to the people you’re usually too shy to talk to. England will wrap up a crushing, slightly sad 3-0 win over Pakistan sometime this afternoon, and Ollie Robinson will smile modestly after collecting yet another award.

Robinson continued his Lohmannesque summer – 28 wickets at 7.75 apiece – by taking both Pakistan wickets to fall yesterday afternoon. Pakistan will resume on 52 for 2, still 268 runs behind. They’ve got two chances, Slim and none. And the selectors sent Slim home.