Pakistan’s Saim Ayub (AP Photo)
In the first innings at Edgbaston, Pakistan were bowled out for just 133, with their top five batters all dismissed for single-digit scores. It was the first time a team had lost all of its top five wickets for single-digit scores in the first innings of a Test in England. Pakistan’s problems at the top were part of a much wider batting collapse in the third Test.
Pakistan’s opening batters endured a disastrous Test series against England, combining for just 20 runs across six opening partnerships in the three-match series, their joint-worst performance in 35 years. The youngster scored 129 runs in six innings at an average of 21.50, but received almost no support from his partners. Imam-ul-Haq managed scores of 42 and 0, Shan Masood made 1 and 26, while Saim Ayub returned 0 and 0 in his two innings as an opener.
The latest failure came in the third Test at Edgbaston, where Pakistan’s opening pair was dismissed without adding a run to the scoreboard in the second innings. Azan Awais was the only Pakistan opener to offer any consistency during the series.