Mike Hesson says he would take the Pakistan Test job permanently after the England whitewash

Pakistan's interim head coach says he would take the Test job on a permanent basis, days after his side were beaten in all three matches in England

Mike Hesson has said he would accept the Pakistan Test coaching role permanently, hours after his side completed a 3-0 series defeat in England with an eight-wicket loss at Edgbaston.

Hesson, already Pakistan's white-ball head coach, took charge of the red-ball side on an interim basis little more than a week before the third Test, after Sarfaraz Ahmed was removed in the wake of the defeat at Lord's.

The decision rests with the Pakistan Cricket Board, which has not yet filled the position on a permanent footing.

An interim job that may become his own

Asked at Edgbaston whether he wanted the role beyond the tour, Hesson did not hesitate. "Yeah, I'll be open to it for sure," he said. "I love Test cricket and I think that there's enough talent around the system in Pakistan."

He argued that the shortfall was one of direction rather than personnel, saying that with "some good direction, we can make some strides going forward". He was equally clear that nothing would turn quickly: "It's not going to happen in a game or two."

Hesson remains contracted to Pakistan's white-ball sides, and said any conversation about combining the two briefs would wait until after the Asian Games, with selectors involved.

A problem longer than one series

Hesson was careful not to present the whitewash as a sudden collapse. "The team hasn't just struggled in the last week or two," he said. "It's been a year or two in the making."

The record supports him. Pakistan have now lost 16 of their past 21 Tests and sit at the bottom of the World Test Championship table, with 11 defeats in their previous 12 matches away from home.

Wholesale changes to the playing and coaching staff after Lord's added to the disruption rather than settling it, even though the tourists found more resistance in Birmingham.

Five innings under 200

The batting was the series in miniature. Pakistan made 171 and 135 at Headingley, where they lost by an innings and 103 runs, then 110 and 194 at Lord's, where they lost by 194.

At Edgbaston they chose to bat and were dismissed for 133, England replying with 453.

Only once in six innings did they pass 200, and it came far too late: 449 in the second innings in Birmingham, built on 95 from Shan Masood, 76 from Babar Azam and 59 from opener Azam Awais.

England were left 130 to win and lost two wickets getting there, Joe Root finishing on 62 not out and Jordan Cox on 59 not out.

Razaullah offers a glimpse

The one unambiguous gain was a debutant. Razaullah took four wickets in England's first innings and then struck 81 off 63 balls with nine sixes, the most arresting Pakistani innings of the tour.

Babar, who captained the side, said the all-rounder had lifted the dressing room. "I think he's good for us," he said. "The way he played this match and he's giving confidence."

Babar wants a reset

The captain accepted that the tour demanded a full review rather than a change of personnel at the margins. "We need to sit down and look hard at our mistakes, decide our playing XI," he said, adding that selectors and team management would be part of it.

Former England batsman Mark Butcher, speaking to Sky Sports, argued the fault lay above the dressing room. "Clear thinking, a process, and a plan that lasts for longer than the next weekend coming [is needed]," he said.

"Until things are better at the top of the game, in terms of that decision-making, then the players are always going to be hung out to dry," Butcher added.

Pakistan's next Test assignment is a two-match home series against Sri Lanka in November, by which time the board will have had to decide whether Hesson's interim appointment becomes a permanent one.

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