England News
Ollie Robinson leads England to day two dominance at Lord’s against Pakistan
Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue were both also in rare form.
Ollie Robinson led the way as England’s pace attack bullied Pakistan to claim the upper hand on day two of the second Test at Lord’s.
The tourists flopped to 110 for nine – opener Imam-ul-Haq unable to bat due to a calf strain – with Robinson at his meticulous best as he claimed four wickets for 11 runs over the course of 13 exacting overs.
With the fiery Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue also on song Pakistan sustained a yawning first-innings deficit of 180, with England adding another 81 for three in the evening session to swell the lead to 261.
Emilio Gay fought hard for his 30 not out, digging deep as he attempted to buy some breathing space at the top of the order.
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Joint effort
Coming to the crease averaging 22.50 from from his first eight Test knocks, and with question marks beginning to appear about where Jacob Bethell might slot in when fit, Gay poured everything into a 69-ball stay that rarely seemed comfortable on a persistently lively surface.
In outlasting Ben Duckett, Jordan Cox and captain Joe Root, who was lbw for the ninth time in his last 12 outings, the left-hander showed he is not short of spirit.
While Robinson was the headline act, serving up six maidens in an almost immaculate stint of controlled seam bowling, he was not alone.
Tongue snapped up two important wickets either side of lunch, the proficient Abdullah Shafique and returning captain Babar Azam, while Archer’s figures of three for 26 underplayed his efforts.
Even Gus Atkinson, who somehow went wicketless against hopelessly compliant opponents, played his part and was unlucky to have top-scorer Azan Awais dropped in single figures.
PICTURES: Ben Whitley/PA
Unsettled start
England had earlier nudged their total up to an above par 290 in the morning session, adding 42 for the last wicket, Atkinson last man out for a well-made 45 and Tongue posting a career-best 30no.
The reply got off to an unsettled start due to Imam’s absence, with Shan Masood stepping up only to poke a full, seaming delivery from Archer to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith for one.
Archer was unlucky not to get another with the new ball, routinely clearing 90mph in a fiery spell from the Pavilion End as he tested the nerve of Awais and Shafique.
The scoring rate slowed to a crawl as the England pack sent down five maidens in the six overs leading up to lunch, with Shafique finally cracking.
Tempted into a big drive by Tongue, he grazed an attempted drive to leave his side 16 for two at the break.
Dam broke
Pakistan attempted to move out of first gear at the start of the afternoon’s play but returning captain Babar was only able to contribute two boundaries before coming unstuck, Tongue hitting an excellent rhythm before having him caught by Jordan Cox at third slip.
Awais, who had one dismissal overturned and was put down by Brook on eight, held his own despite a handful of difficult moments but lost another partner when Robinson’s precise lines earned him a tight lbw verdict at Saud Shakeel’s expense.
From 91 for four, Pakistan lost their next five for just 19 as the dam broke.
Robinson nipped one in to have Mohammad Rizwan lbw, had Khurram Shahzad caught in the cordon and ended Awais’ scrappy knock of 46 via a top-edged pull.
Well set
Archer, who looked as though he might take a wicket with every ball, saw a couple of tough chances missed and took matters into his own hands to clean bowl Ali Usman and Mohammad Abbas.
Duckett made a poor start for England, hacking Khurram Shahzad to cover in careless fashion, before the seamer set up Cox lbw.
Gay gritted his teeth with the ball darting about, playing and missing and riding the occasional outside edge.
Root also found it tough, eventually trapped in front for 24 by Mohammad Ali, but the feeling persisted that the task was already beyond Pakistan.
Harry Brook accompanied Gay until bad light stopped play, leaving England well set to push for a series-clinching 2-0 win.
READ MORE: Jordan Cox anchors England as Pakistan strike back at Lord’s