'Don't deserve to play': Shakeel calls out Pak batting after another sorry display in England

Pakistan made seven changes to the squad after the 194-run loss at Lord's against England and four changes to their playing XI for the third and final Test at Edgbaston in a series they were already trailing 0-2. The changes, however, didn't pay off for Pakistan as the visitors were bowled out for 133 in the first innings - their second lowest team total on the tour. Pakistan batter Saud Shakeel, who top-scored with 43 off 47, called the performance 'depressing' as the batters continued to make the same mistakes and failed to build partnerships. After Shakeel, bowler Mohammad Abbas, who came in at No. 10, was the second-highest scorer with 21 - one more than England's 20 extras.

Shakeel calls out Pak batting after another failure

It was never going to be easy for Pakistan under the overcast Birmingham sky after they lost the toss and were asked to bat first. They were 26/4 inside 10 overs, and by the time the team score reached 100 at lunch, seven Pakistani batters were already out. The highest partnership of 26 runs came for the 10th wicket - highlighting their top-order struggles.

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"The toss isn't in our hands, but we lost it and batted first, and the overcast conditions favoured England there. That was an opportunity to strike up a partnership because the pitch improved as the day went on. With the new ball, even England's top order struggled, so it was important to see off the new ball," Shakeel said after the day's play.

"It's depressing, we're making the same mistakes as a batting unit. We're getting out in bunches and there were lots of soft dismissals today. We're trying, but yes it's frustrating that we keep making the same mistakes. I don't think it's a confidence issue. If you don't have the confidence to play at this level, then you don't deserve to play here. But in difficult conditions, poor form can be quite hard to break out of."

England get ahead on 14-wicket Day 1 at Edgbaston

After bowling Pakistan out, England faced early troubles as well, with their first three wickets adding just 39 runs. Emilio Gay (60) and Harry Brook (52 not out) then added 104 runs for the fourth wicket to take England into the lead. Before the end of play, England had scored 156/4, with Brook still batting alongside Dan Lawrence (5).