England swept the series, but for one electric morning at Edgbaston, the outcome felt genuinely uncertain. When Pakistan lost two wickets in the opening over and the first roars of 'Pakistan, Zindabad' echoed around the ground, a genuine contest seemed possible. That prospect alone transformed what had been a gloomy summer for the tourists into something worth watching.
The catalyst was Razaullah, a 21-year-old making his Test debut in only his first year as a professional cricketer. Months earlier, he had been scheduled to play for Cleethorpes in the Yorkshire Southern Premier League, potentially spending his summer facing Whiston Parish at Chichester Road, nursing £4 pints and watching Grimsby take on Bristol Rovers on the television. Instead, he was summoned to a Pakistan Board fast-bowling camp, where he caught the eye of Mike Hesson, Pakistan's 12th Test coach in five years.
His emergence offers Pakistan a glimmer of light amid the wreckage of recent weeks. The touring party has shed seven players, two coaches and a selector in the past seven days. Yet from this upheaval has emerged a genuine talent: a free-swinging, six-hitting, wicket-taking cricketer with the potential to become a match-winner.
According to live match coverage, Razaullah's 81 came off just 63 balls and included nine sixes, with his dismissal on the final delivery of day three ending Pakistan's innings. He shared a ninth-wicket partnership of 121 with Muhammad Abbas, who contributed 42, helping Pakistan recover from a precarious position of 318 for eight. According to match reports, Pakistan were all out for 449 in their second innings, setting England a target of 130.
Beyond his batting heroics, Razaullah also took four wickets for 148 runs in England's first innings, demonstrating the all-round threat he poses. According to ESPN's match report, his performance forced the final Test into a fourth day at Edgbaston, keeping Pakistan's hopes alive longer than seemed realistic when the series began.
How does Razaullah compare to Pakistan's previous young fast bowlers?
He represents the latest chapter in Pakistan's long tradition of unearthing teenage pace talents. In 2010, the nation arrived in England with Mohammad Amir, then just 18, armed with devastating left-arm swing and a distinctive floppy fringe. Amir dismantled Australia in a neutral Test at Lord's, then repeated the feat at Headingley where he was named man of the match in a three-wicket victory. He also skittled England in a four-wicket win at the Oval. By summer's end, however, he had been caught in a spot-fixing sting by the News of the World, dropped from the squad, arrested and sentenced to three months in prison.
A decade later, Pakistan arrived with another fearsome attack spearheaded by Shaheen Shah Afridi, then 20, and Naseem Shah, who was just 17. Both should have been on this tour. They are not, having been damaged by the Pakistan Cricket Board during the intervening years. Neither bowls at the speeds they once commanded when they first emerged. Naseem has spent recent weeks playing in the Caribbean Premier League. Afridi has just announced his comeback in Pakistan's domestic competition.
Afridi's pace has never recovered from bungled medical treatment following a knee injury in 2022, just as his confidence has never recovered from being stripped of the T20 captaincy and repeatedly dropped from the Test squad. Shah last made headlines in March when the PCB fined him for a social media post criticising the chief minister of Punjab for attending a cricket match during the country's fuel crisis.
Why is she treated like the Queen at Lord's?he wrote—a post later blamed on his social media manager.
The woman in question is also the niece of the prime minister, whose interior minister chairs the PCB. While ICC regulations officially prohibit such political interference in cricket, the matter has never been raised during board meetings, a silence that may relate to those same meetings being chaired by the son of India's interior minister from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Why is Razaullah's emergence so significant for Pakistan's fast bowling?
The last Pakistan fast bowler to play 50 Tests was Waqar Younis, who reached that milestone in 1998. Even Razaullah's new-ball partner in this match, Muhammad Abbas, has managed only 32 appearances despite being the best bowler in the County Championship for much of the past decade. Abbas is 36 and was playing for Sialkot while Razaullah was still an infant. He is approaching his 20th year in professional cricket and knows intimately the trials of being a Pakistan fast bowler. Last month, he took eight wickets in a Test against West Indies in Trinidad and was dropped for the next match.
Abbas has become Razaullah's mentor through this contest. He spoke to him between deliveries, supported him when they batted together, and even attended the post-match press conference alongside him to translate English questions. Razaullah clearly valued his presence.
According to ESPN's team preview, Razaullah is a right-arm fast bowler from Mardan with 30 wickets in eight first-class matches and three five-wicket hauls to his name. The same report noted he has already scored both a century and a half-century in the same match against Islamabad Region, suggesting he possesses genuine batting ability alongside his bowling prowess.
What happens next?
England were scheduled to begin their chase of 130 on Saturday, 12 September 2026, with coverage commencing at 10:15am. The target is modest, but Razaullah's performance has at least ensured the series does not end with a whimper. On the field, he appears equipped to handle the demands ahead. Off it, however, he will almost certainly need all the support Abbas and others can provide.
