Ollie Robinson Dominates as England Strengthens Position Against Pakistan
Ollie Robinson walked off to a low rumble of appreciation from the Lord’s crowd, figures of 4-11 from 13 overs beside his name and Pakistan in ruins. On a capricious second day that belonged almost entirely to the seamers, England tightened their hold on the series – but not without another wobble of their own.
By the time bad light closed in, the hosts were 81-3 in their second innings, 261 runs ahead on a surface that still had a ball with someone’s name on it almost every over.
Robinson and Archer rip the heart out of Pakistan
Pakistan’s reply to England’s 253 never really began. They were shot out for 110 in 37.2 overs, a scoreline that flattered them given how quickly the innings disintegrated once the new ball bit.
Jofra Archer lit the fuse. Back in rhythm and close to 91 mph, he removed Shan Masood for one, the stand-in opener poking flat-footed at a full ball and feeding Jamie Smith behind the stumps. Abdullah Shafique followed to the final ball before lunch, Josh Tongue finding the edge and Smith doing the rest. At 16-2, the tone was set.
Azan Awais, promoted to open, fought as if his place depended on it. Dropped on eight by Harry Brook in the slips, he rode out Archer’s nastiest spell and grafted his way to 46. It was the only innings that resembled resistance. Saud Shakeel’s 16 was the only other score in double figures.
The pressure built and Robinson cashed in. Relentless on a good length, he trapped Shakeel lbw, then pinned Mohammad Rizwan in front as well. Off stump and front pad became his targets; Pakistan’s middle order had no answer.
Archer returned to clean up the tail, Ali Usman dragging one on before Mohammad Abbas’s off stump was sent cartwheeling to end the innings. Tongue chipped in with 2-27, Robinson’s 4-11 did the damage on the scoreboard, and Archer’s 3-26 gave the whole effort its menace.
Pakistan, dismissed for 171 and 135 in the first Test at Headingley, had crumbled again. This time Imam-ul-Haq, nursing a calf injury from Thursday’s fielding stint, never made it to the crease. They were effectively nine out, and it showed.
Babar’s brief flare, then silence
There was a flicker, and it belonged to Babar Azam. Back after missing the Headingley hammering with a finger injury, he announced himself with a gorgeous punch through the covers off Tongue, then a flashing drive off Gus Atkinson to the boundary.
That was it. Pushing hard at Tongue, he nicked to Jordan Cox, who flung himself at third slip to cling on. From there, Pakistan’s innings never escaped the chokehold.
England’s tail swings the day
The carnage with the ball came only after England’s last pair had turned a fragile position into a strong one.
Resuming on 248-9, with Atkinson 34 not out and Tongue on one, England’s tenth-wicket stand added 47 and drained Pakistan’s early-morning optimism. Tongue glanced Mohammad Ali for four, then drove Abbas through the covers with the assurance of a top-order player. Pakistan’s seamers, sharp the previous day when Abbas tore through with 3-4 in 16 balls, lacked pace and penetration now.
Babar eventually turned to left-arm spinner Ali Usman. Atkinson, who already owns a Test century at Lord’s, drove his third ball of the morning for four, only to hole out to end a valuable 45. By then, the damage had been done: England had wrung every last run out of their innings, and Pakistan’s quicks had spent precious energy with little reward.
New-ball jitters, Root falls again
A lead of 143 looked imposing on this pitch. It felt even larger when Pakistan’s top order folded. Yet England still found a way to invite a little doubt.
Chasing the game, Pakistan needed something dramatic with the new ball and Khurram Shahzad obliged. Ben Duckett, on one, miscued a half-volley straight to mid-off. Cox, fresh from his first-innings fifty, was pinned lbw on review for 11. England were 13-2, the ground suddenly quieter, the match briefly back in the balance.
Joe Root, as so often, walked out with his side in trouble. He and Emilio Gay steadied things, working England to 81 before the light closed in. Root looked in control, then was undone by a ball that jagged back from Mohammad Ali, trapped plumb in front for 24. It was the ninth time in 12 Test innings that Root has fallen lbw – a pattern now becoming a problem.
Next ball, Brook was given out lbw as well, only for a review to show a thick inside edge. The reprieve kept him at the crease and England’s advantage intact.
England in command, but the pitch still snarls
By stumps, the equation was stark. England lead by 261, on a surface where 200 already feels like a mountain. The home dressing room will know it: another 60, 70 runs and Pakistan face a chase that borders on the impossible given their recent collapses.
Archer summed up the mood earlier in the day, calling the lead “a lot of runs on this wicket” and noting that there was “a ball with your name on it today.” He was right. The pitch is alive, the seamers are circling, and Pakistan’s batting has yet to show it can survive a sustained onslaught.
England stand one dominant session away from sealing the series 2-0. The question now is simple: can Pakistan find a batting performance that has eluded them all tour, or is another collapse already written into this Lord’s script?
