Vaughan and Raja voice alarm after England's innings-and-103 win over Pakistan at Headingley

England defeated Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs in the first Test at Headingley on day three, prompting sharp criticism from former England captain Michael Vaughan and ex-Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja. Vaughan said he "really fears" for Pakistan while Raja told TMS he "fears the worst" after the heavy loss.

Pakistan were dismissed for a combined total that required just 85.4 overs of batting across both innings, a performance described as meek with the ball and poor in the field. The team, which has produced some of cricket's most feared fast bowlers, was comprehensively outplayed by England in the series opener. The defeat stands in stark contrast to a decade earlier when Pakistan were top of the Test rankings and to sides of the late 1980s and 1990s featuring Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, Vaughan said: "They've been absolutely blown away," and added: "They've been hammered. I've never seen them look so timid." He continued: "The tactical side wasn't there. The skill level and the class between the sides, Pakistan look a long way short." Vaughan also said: "I hope they can find something over the next couple of days. "They'll get criticised and rightly so, hopefully that will force them to find something."

Raja told TMS: "I fear the worst" and warned of waning support from followers, saying: "The first pillar has fallen, and that's the fans, they are disenchanted, they aren't going to back this team and who would?" He added: "If you lose 17 Test matches in the last 20 you've played nobody's going to back this team." Those comments come as Pakistan sit bottom of the World Test Championship, having lost five of their past six Tests and suffered 14 defeats from 19 Tests going back to December 2023.

Stand-in skipper Salman Agha laughed that he is "more than happy" to hand the captaincy back to Babar Azam for the second Test, which starts at Lord's on Thursday, and described the squad as rebuilding: "We are a rebuild kind of team," he said. "It is not about worrying about the future. It is about making a future." Salman added: "We didn't execute our plans at Headingley, but that doesn't mean we can't do the same in the next matches. "We will sit down and think about the performance. And we will come back for sure."

Pakistan's top seven have each played at least 24 Tests; Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique and Saud Shakeel have also all played for Yorkshire. Only Muhammad Abbas in the current bowling attack had played a Test in England before the Headingley contest.

Babar, who missed this Test with a hand injury, is the only Pakistan batter in the top 25 of the International Cricket Council's Test batting rankings. Their bowling attack was without the likes of Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, "who have impressed at times in Tests but have often been used in shorter formats or struggled for form and fitness." Four of Pakistan's five victories since 2023 have come at home, where spinning pitches have often been prioritised in pursuit of wins; industrial fans, heaters and windbreaks were used to prepare a pitch during their series win over England in 2024.

Raja criticised the development pathway and the handling of pace bowling, saying: "You try to produce a one-dimensional team that can only win on select surfaces," and: "You've discouraged pace bowling and because so many players want to play T20 cricket because it's a route to success, they're just not bothered about playing Test-match cricket. "These are desperate times for Pakistan cricket to make a comeback through pace. "It's always been our thing, if you discourage the DNA that completes us, what's the point in then playing Test cricket?" He added: "The batting is below par, even at the Under-19 level and the Under-17 level. "The bowling, yes, they've got two or three quicks [but] they aren't being exposed to this type of cricket. In the field they are still brittle."

Babar is expected to be fit to return at Lord's and Ubaid Shah, the younger brother of Naseem who can bowl greater pace than Abbas, Mohammad Ali and Khurram Shazad, is a candidate to come into the side for the second Test at Lord's on Thursday.