England survive scare to seal 3-0 sweep against Pakistan

Joe Root led from the front as England survived a major wobble to beat Pakistan by eight wickets in the third Test at Edgbaston on Saturday, sealing a 3-0 series whitewash. The home team, chasing just 130 to win, were in deep trouble when openers Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay were dismissed in the first over, bowled by Mohammad Abbas. Root, England’s record run-scorer, edged his first ball, bowled by Razaullah, through the slips for four in a nervy start but settled and scored quickly to take the sting out of the situation. The captain was given a huge reprieve when he chopped onto the stumps off Mohammad Ali, only for the umpire to signal a no ball, leaving the bowler distraught. Root, with Jordan Cox at the other end, had another let-off when he edged an Abbas delivery between first and second slip, with neither fielder moving.

But he reached his half-century off 57 balls with a cut for four and Cox reached the landmark shortly afterwards. England reached their target in the 25th over, with Root unbeaten on 62 and Cox 59 not out. Root, in his second spell as England skipper after the departure of Ben Stokes, admitted his team were not the finished article but said he was delighted with their series win. “The amount of uncertainty, noise and I guess chaos there was coming into the series, the way the guys have dealt with that – being so clinical with what we’ve had in front of us – and be stood here with a 3-0 win is really pleasing,” he told Sky Sports. “It sets us up nicely looking ahead to the start of a new era with (new head coach) Stephen Fleming coming in. ” Pakistan woes England celebrated their first Test series win since 2024 while Pakistan have now lost 16 of their past 21 games and are rooted at the bottom of the World Test Championship table. Root’s men had…