Young Pakistan pacer earns praise following eye-catching spell

Pakistan fast bowler Razaullah has won praise for his superb spell on debut during the opening day of the third Test against England in Birmingham.

Razaullah's performance with the ball has been one of the few highlights for Pakistan across their three-match ICC World Test Championship tour of England, with the right-armer collecting two wickets on the opening day at Edgbaston despite a disappointing overall performance from the tourists.

Having played just eight first-class matches prior to his Test debut, Razaullah's two scalps were that of England skipper Joe Root and opener Emilio Gay as the hosts reached 156/4 at stumps after they dismissed Pakistan for just 133 earlier in the day.

Razaullah was one of seven players drafted into the squad following the dismal 194-run loss in the second Test at Lord's and the 21-year-old bowled with pace and extracted plenty of bounce in an effort that drew the attention of respected commentator and former England captain Nasser Hussain.

"Pakistan have been calling out for something different from their bowlers for a long while," Hussain told Sky Sports.

"It is nice to watch that spell from Razaullah that had something, that had a point of difference, had some pace.

"It hurried one of the greatest batters there has ever been in Joe Root, and got him out."

Pacer Josh Tongue was the most effective of the England quicks as he picked up four wickets and the right-armer suggested his side was in a strong position to complete a series sweep over Pakistan.

"Really pleased with the day. Coming here this morning, winning the toss, putting Pakistan in to bat, bowling them out for 130 odd - we're in a really strong position," Tongue said at stumps.

"Even a couple of days out, it looked a good pitch, but to bowl them out cheaply on a decent looking pitch - I thought we bowled really well.

"There's probably a tiny bit of pressure on us to make sure we put the balls in the right areas, but how we started today, with (Jofra) Archer and (Ollie) Robinson getting them four down before myself and Gus (Atkinson) came in.

"I thought as a collective we've been very good the whole series, and we showed that again today."

Series schedule

First Test: August 19-23, Headingley (England won by an innings and 103 runs)

Second Test: August 27-31, Lord's (England won by 194 runs)

Third Test: September 9-13, Edgbaston