Babar Azam's Struggles Continue in Pakistan's Edgbaston Test
Babar Azam battled through a tense spell against England's pace attack at Edgbaston, extending a lean run that has seen his Test average fall from 49 to 29 since 2022.
Babar Azam walked out to bat at Edgbaston with the floodlights on, rain in the air and Pakistan already three wickets down. Ollie Robinson had a wicketkeeper standing up and five slips waiting behind him; Jofra Archer was four overs into a spell at the other end.
Babar was hesitant against the first ball he faced, unsure whether to play a shot, and dragged his bat back inside the line at the last moment. The next delivery beat the outside edge. He scored his first runs off the third, clipping it through square leg. In Archer's next over he slashed at a short ball and missed. Facing Gus Atkinson soon after, he was beaten twice before finding an edge.
The innings sits against a stark run of form. In eight Tests in 2022, Babar scored 196 against Australia in Karachi, 119 against Sri Lanka in Galle, 136 against England in Rawalpindi and 161 against New Zealand in Karachi, finishing that year with a Test average of 49, third in the world rankings, and the ICC's Men's Cricketer of the Year award. He has not scored a Test hundred since. Across his last 20 Tests his top score is 88 and his average has fallen to 29.
About this article
Prepared by the newsroom with algorithmic assistance and checked against sources