England Secures Series Win as Babar Addresses Broadcast Controversy
The Lord’s Test was supposed to be about England hunting a rare series win and Pakistan clinging on to keep the contest alive. Instead, by lunch on day one, the story had veered sharply off the pitch.
At the centre of it all, Babar Azam.
Speaking to BBC Test Match Special after the match, Pakistan’s captain insisted he knew nothing of any threat to the continuation of the game linked to a controversial broadcast.
“No, no, no. I haven't heard that thing,” Babar told BBC TMS when asked about suggestions the match could be under threat. Pressed again on whether he was aware of such conversations, he cut it short: “No.”
The interview, conducted by former England captain Michael Atherton, had been recorded earlier and then aired during the lunch interval on the opening day. For 18 minutes, as spectators tucked into their sandwiches, the focus shifted from swing and seam to politics and prison conditions.
The subject was deeply sensitive in Pakistan: Atherton’s interview explored concerns raised by Imran Khan’s sons over the former prime minister’s health, treatment and circumstances while in jail. Reports quickly emerged that the PCB had objected to the timing and content of the broadcast, and whispers spread around Lord’s that the Test itself might be in jeopardy.
On the field, though, nothing stopped.
Pakistan’s players reappeared on schedule after the interval. The umpires walked out. The crowd settled. The Test rolled on without a break, the noise around the broadcast staying firmly in the background as the cricket took over.
Babar’s stance aligns with that of head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed, who had already stated that neither he nor his players were aware of any specific threat to the match going ahead. Inside the dressing room, the message is clear: the team played on, and the politics stayed outside the rope.
That line also fits with the PCB’s recent hardening of its position. Under chairman Mohsin Naqvi, the board had already warned players against making political statements on this UK tour, a directive shaped by the turbulence of the Imran Khan saga back home. The Lord’s controversy only sharpened the spotlight on that policy.
While the off-field storm rumbled, England quietly did what they had not managed for far too long: close out a Test series.
Their 194-run victory at Lord’s sealed an unassailable 2-0 lead with one to play and delivered England’s first Test series win since December 2024. For a side that has spent much of the last year explaining performances instead of celebrating them, this mattered.
Set 389 to win, Pakistan never truly threatened. Saud Shakeel fought hard, crafting an innings that came within three runs of a century, but he stood almost alone. Wickets fell around him, the chase disintegrated, and the scoreboard froze at 194.
England’s bowlers sensed vulnerability and drove through it. The task was eased by the absence of Imam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s opener, who suffered a calf injury on the first day and could not return to the crease. Without him, the top order looked brittle, the resistance sporadic rather than sustained.
By the time the final wicket fell, the noise about the lunchtime broadcast felt distant. The scoreline was all that mattered: England 2, Pakistan 0, with one Test left to negotiate.
Next stop is Edgbaston. Birmingham will host the final Test from September 9, with England chasing a clean sweep and Pakistan searching for answers on and off the field.
