It is not unreasonable to say that Pakistan entered the third Test of their three-match series against England with a dark cloud over them - off-field issues, coupled with the underwhelming on-field displays, combining to create the perfect storm. "Unprecedented" was the word used by Sky Sports Cricket's Michael Atherton to describe the upheaval that has occurred over the last week in response to heavy losses at Headingley and Lords. Seven players were sent home, head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant Umar Gul were replaced, and an investigation began into "media reports concerning discipline and conduct".
If those actions were aimed at provoking a response, the Pakistan Cricket Board did not get the one it would have been after on day one at Edgbaston. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player On the eve of the third Test, Root dismissed suggestions that Pakistan have shown "no fight" in the series as disrespectful to both teams. But after four hours of day one Josh Tongue (4-42), Ollie Robinson (3-15), and Jofra Archer (3-25) had cleaned them up with relative ease.
By over 10, Pakistan were four down with just 29 runs on the board. It took England 11 more overs to take three more wickets, Pakistan posting just 71 more runs by lunch with a dismal 110-7 on the board. Things were wrapped up by the 34th over, a total of 133 all the visitors could muster on what was described in the Sky Sports commentary box as a "blameless" pitch.
It has been a low-scoring summer, but this was low even by those standards. But was any other outcome expected? Or was the display delivered actually the most likely amid an extremely testing set of circumstances.
"A thoroughly miserable batting performance from them," said Atherton. "It is a batting line-up woefully low on confidence, " he later added. "The decision to send seven players home - the chickens are coming home to roost.
You cannot treat players like that and expect to build confidence in a side. "Everybody who plays professional sport knows that if you play badly, the axe is going to fall. "For all the criticism that has been made, just bear the context in mind that this Pakistan team looks dispirited - and there is a reason for that." Pakistan's issues have been laid bare, and it is not going to be a quick fix.
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