England's Seamers Dominate as Tongue Unleashes New Wobble Seam
England’s seamers tighten the screw as Tongue’s new weapon bites at Edgbaston
England’s four-man pace pack went hunting in tandem at Edgbaston and Pakistan’s brittle batting folded again. Bundled out for 133, five innings into the series and still without a total above 200, the tourists were once more exposed by an attack that looks increasingly ruthless – and increasingly inventive.
At the heart of it stood Josh Tongue, not just hitting a hard length but unveiling a fresh trick. The wobble seam, a delivery he has been quietly chiselling away at with Ollie Robinson in the nets, finally came out in the middle. It worked immediately.
“I’ve spoken to Robbo quite a bit about it,” Tongue said after taking four wickets, with Robinson and Jofra Archer sharing the other six. Robinson has built his reputation on that scrambled seam, the ball jagging late and cruelly. Tongue has been watching closely, learning, and then daring to use it when it mattered.
He tried it in training, then trusted it under pressure. First outing in a match, first wicket. One ball, instant validation. For a bowler still adding layers to his game, it felt like a significant moment. “I’ll be using it again. I want to get more skills under my belt,” he said, already sounding like a man who knows this is just the start.
By stumps, England were 156 for four, 23 runs to the good with six first-innings wickets still in hand. On paper, that is a position of strength. On this surface, under these skies, nobody in either dressing room was talking as if the contest was done.
“That first hour tomorrow morning is going to be very crucial,” Tongue warned. “We’ve just got to get through that first bit.” It was the voice of a seamer who has seen enough in the pitch – and in Pakistan’s brief but dangerous reply with the ball – to know that momentum can flip in a session.
Pakistan’s struggles laid bare again
For Pakistan, the story is painfully familiar. Five times they have walked out to bat in this series. Five times they have been dragged back before 200. The pattern is no longer a blip; it is a problem.
At Edgbaston, Saud Shakeel did what he could to halt the slide, top-scoring with 43 while wickets fell around him. When it was over, he did not pretend the collapse was anything other than damaging, but he pointed straight to the conditions that have underpinned Pakistan’s troubles.
“Early on, when we lost the toss, the pitch had some moisture in it and the overcast conditions helped their bowlers as well,” he said. “We got some soft dismissals and we couldn’t come back from that.”
Soft dismissals, hard questions. Pakistan’s batters have accepted their struggles, Shakeel insisted, but acceptance does not make the ball move any less. “There’s a lot of lateral movement and we’re not used to facing that, but we are trying our best,” he said. “I’m not saying our batting group has not struggled, we have accepted that. But the conditions have been difficult. Bowlers have been on top.”
They were on top again here, England’s seamers dragging the ball across and into the bat, constantly threatening both edges. Once Pakistan were prised out, their only route back into the match lay through their own quicks.
Razaullah offers raw pace and rare hope
The one genuine bright spark for the tourists came in the form of 21-year-old fast bowler Razaullah. Just nine first-class games into his career, he walked into an Ashes-style atmosphere and bowled with a snarl, hurrying established internationals and striking twice.
He removed Emilio Gay, one of England’s two half-centurions alongside the unbeaten Harry Brook, and then the prize scalp of Joe Root. Both dismissals came from genuine pace and an awkward, hard-to-pick action that forced England’s top order to recalibrate.
“I’ve just faced him one time in a domestic first-class game, so I haven’t seen him that much,” Shakeel said. “But he has some raw pace and a difficult action and we’re hoping he will continue bowling like this.”
That hope is not just sentiment. Pakistan have always prized “express” quicks, the kind who can change a game on surfaces that offer even a hint of help. Razaullah looks cut from that cloth. “With express fast bowlers, even if they haven’t played a lot of first-class cricket, it doesn’t matter. Their raw talent and pace is useful, which we saw from him today,” Shakeel added.
On a day when Pakistan’s batting frailties were once again dragged into the light, Razaullah’s spell offered something different: a glimpse of the future, and a weapon that could yet drag this match back from the brink.
England, though, hold the cards for now. Brook remains, anchored and unflustered, the lead is already in their pocket, and the seamers know exactly what this surface can do. Pakistan’s hopes rest on a fresh-ball surge in that critical first hour. If Razaullah and his fellow quicks can rip through the middle order, the game lives. If they cannot, England’s seam quartet will be back with ball in hand, wobble seam primed, ready to drive another nail into a series Pakistan are running out of time to rescue.
