ENG vs PAKThe tour of England is proving to be disastrous for the Pakistan cricket team. Every decision made by the team or the cricket board is turning out to be wrong; every move is backfiring. Having already lost two matches in the Test series, Pakistan has also made a poor start to the third Test.
Despite several major changes, the batting has been a complete failure. In particular, the change made to the opening pair has yielded no benefit. Opener Saim Ayub, brought in for the Edgbaston Test, was dismissed for a duck in both innings and failed to contribute anything to the team's cause.
After suffering crushing defeats in the Leeds and Lord's Test matches, the Pakistan Cricket Board overhauled half the squad. This included opener Imam-ul-Haq, who had not come out to bat in either innings of the second Test due to injury—a situation that eventually led to questions being raised about the legitimacy of his injury.
Consequently, young opener Saim Ayub was brought in as his replacement; at the time, Ayub was playing in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in Port of Spain, nearly 7,000 kilometers away from Birmingham.
Ayub Fails to Score in Either Innings
The PCB's decision was surprising in itself; for one, Ayub had been playing only ODI or T20 cricket consistently for the past 7–8 months. Moreover, he hadn't played a Test match in a year and a half. Ultimately, the gamble backfired.
Saim Ayub was dismissed without opening his account in both innings of the third Test match being played in Birmingham. On the first day, he was out for a duck after facing 10 balls in the first innings. In the second innings played on the very next day—he was dismissed for a duck on the very first ball he faced. He was dismissed by fast bowler Ollie Robinson in both innings.
Most Ducks in the Last Year and a Half
Thus, Saim Ayub's return to Test cricket proved to be a flop. His previous Test match appearance was during the tour of South Africa in January 2025; however, he failed to score any runs in that match in Cape Town as well.
This was because, due to an injury, Ayub had been unable to bat in either innings at that time. Now, at Edgbaston too, he failed to get off the mark. Consequently, he has not scored a single run across two consecutive Test matches.
Moreover, Saim Ayub continues to struggle with getting out for a duck in international cricket. Since January 2025 a period spanning more than a year and a half—the Pakistani opener has batted in a total of 49 innings across all three formats. In these 49 innings, Ayub has been dismissed for zero on 10 occasions, the highest such tally among all batsmen worldwide.
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