England close in on Test series sweep against sorry Pakistan

England moved inexorably towards a crushing series whitewash against Pakistan on Thursday with three days still remaining in a one-sided third Test at Edgbaston. Joe Root’s men have totally dominated the three-match contest against the hapless tourists and did not relinquish their grip during a fast-paced second day in Birmingham. The home side raced to 453 at more than five runs an over in response to Pakistan’s paltry first-innings total of 133 to make victory almost inevitable. But worse was to come for the much-changed visitors, who found themselves 0-2 after four balls of their second innings, with Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique back in the pavilion, both dismissed by Ollie Robinson. That raised the embarrassing spectre of a two-day defeat for a side that is a pale shadow of the great Pakistan teams of the past.

But Azan Awais and the experienced Shan Masood ensured there was no more immediate drama, steadying the ship to reach 52-2 before rain ended play early on day two, needing 268 runs to make England bat again. Robinson, 32, has been almost unplayable in this series, taking 21 wickets at an average of under seven runs each. He continued in the same vein in Birmingham, removing Saim, who was dismissed for a duck in both innings, and then Abdullah to finish the day with figures of 2-10 from his six overs. Shan, who was dropped at slip by Ben Duckett off Gus Atkinson, was at 21 at the close while Azan had 29 against his name, but Pakistan’s position appears hopeless. Earlier, England resumed their first innings at 156-4, which marked a significant recovery after they had been 39-3 on the opening day. Their progress under sunny skies was checked when Harry Brook needlessly ran himself out for 75 when in sight of an 11th Test century, ending a fifth-wicket…