Persistent rain at Edgbaston was the only thing that denied England a two-day victory over Pakistan in the final match of their three-Test series. 

Having lost the first two Tests convincingly, Pakistan were wobbling at 52-2 and trailing by 268 runs by the time wet weather halted play around two hours early on Thursday.

England had resumed at 156-4 at the start of the day, already boasting a 23-run lead following a dismal first innings of 133 from Pakistan. 

And by the time the visitors were back at their crease, they were 320 runs behind, with England quartet Harry Brook (75), Jamie Smith (69), Dan Lawrence (65) and Ollie Robinson (50) making strong contributions with the bat without pushing on towards a ton. 

Razaullah added two more wickets to those of Emilio Gay (60) and Joe Root (8) – captured on Tuesday – as he removed Smith and Robinson to reach four for the match, but he was also smashed for 148 runs as England shared out the scoring duties.  

And when Robinson removed Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique for ducks within the first four balls of Pakistan's second innings, it looked as though Friday's ticket-holders might need to make alternative plans.

However, Azan Awais (29*) and Shan Masood (21*) stood firm until the rain came to Pakistan's aid, at least ensuring they would take the match to a third day, if nothing else. 

Rain brings an end to day two at Edgbaston 

Recap all the big moments  https://t.co/VUdUehsgT2 pic.twitter.com/hH6Xr6JgL1

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 10, 2026

Rain delays England success as Robinson shines again

England came into this match having ended each of their last six red-ball series with a defeat, with a tendency to finish poorly being one of the major criticisms levelled at the Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum regime.

But, unless the weather really takes a turn for the worse over the coming days, interim head coach Marcus Trescothick will oversee a convincing series whitewash.  

Pakistan have not reached 200 runs or batted for more than 51 overs at any point in this series to date, and it only appears a matter of time before England finish them off on Friday.

Robinson's knack for starting innings strongly has been a major help for England, as he has now taken a first-ball wicket in four of his last 13 bowling spells. 

He is now the leading wicket-taker for the series, scalping 21 overall with five coming in the third Test.

He also boasts a stunning economy rate of 1.94 across the three matches, significantly stronger than second-best Mohammad Imran for Pakistan (2.94).