Robinson Rips Through Pakistan as Rain Halts England
England stand within touching distance of a crushing series sweep, the kind that lingers in a touring side’s memory long after the plane home. By the time the rain rolled in over Edgbaston on day two of the third Test, Pakistan were 52-2, still 268 runs adrift and clinging more to the weather than to the contest.
For a few brutal minutes after tea, it looked even worse than that.
Robinson strikes, Pakistan reeling
Ollie Robinson has spent this summer tormenting batters; Pakistan felt the full force of it in his first over. Saim Ayub, recalled and under pressure, lasted one ball. Robinson angled one across, found the edge, and the opener departed for a pair in the match. One of four players parachuted into the XI after seven were dropped from the squad, he walked off with the look of a man who knows his audition has gone badly wrong.
Three deliveries later, Robinson went again. Abdullah Shafique pushed, the ball kissed the outside edge, and Joe Root did the rest at slip. Two wickets in four balls. Pakistan 0-2. Edgbaston roaring.
Root’s catch was more than just another notch in the cordon. It took him to 220 Test catches as an outfielder, nudging him one ahead of Steve Smith in their quiet, ongoing duel for the all-time mark.
Robinson’s figures at that stage – and indeed this summer – almost defy belief. He closed the day with 2-10, taking his tally for the season to 28 wickets in four Tests at an average of 7.75. Narrow the lens to this series alone and that number drops again, to a scarcely credible 6.66. These are not just good numbers; they are era-defining.
A flicker of resistance
The script, at 0-2, threatened to mirror Pakistan’s first-innings collapse. This time, though, the slide stopped. Azan Awais and captain Shan Masood dug in, not with dominance but with enough defiance to quieten the crowd and steady the dressing room.
Azan, compact and unfussy, moved to 29 not out. Masood, busier and more willing to counterpunch, reached 21 not out as the pair stitched together a fifty partnership that Pakistan desperately needed.
They also needed a slice of luck, and they got it. On 13, Masood edged Gus Atkinson, only for Ben Duckett to spill a straightforward chance. It was Duckett’s third drop of the Test, a rare blemish in an England performance otherwise marked by ruthlessness. Atkinson, lively and probing, could only turn away in frustration.
Just as Pakistan began to look vaguely settled, the rain swept in and stayed. The umpires led the players from the field, and England were left to brood on what might have been with another half-hour’s play.
England’s engine room piles on the runs
All of this came after England had completed another commanding batting display, turning overnight promise into a first-innings mountain.
They were eventually bowled out for 452, a total that handed them a 320-run lead and effectively took Pakistan’s margin for error down to zero. The innings was a collective effort, a relay of contributions rather than a single epic.
Dan Lawrence, resuming with intent, carved out a brisk 65. Jamie Smith added 69, mixing clean drives with punchy strokes through the leg side, while Robinson’s influence extended to the bat as well, his 50 further underlining his status as the complete package in this series.
Those efforts backed up the foundation laid on the first evening by Emilio Gay and Harry Brook. Gay’s 60 set the tone at the top, Brook’s 75 brought the familiar blend of aggression and authority that has become his trademark. Together, they ensured England never once ceded control of the scoreboard.
By the time the last wicket fell, Pakistan were staring at a deficit that felt less like a target and more like a sentence.
A series on the brink
So the equation is stark. Pakistan trail by 268, with eight wickets in hand and three days scheduled, weather permitting. England, with a rampant Robinson, a hungry attack, and a slip cordon closing in on history, can sense the sweep.
The tourists have found a foothold, but not yet a platform. Azan and Masood must turn survival into something more substantial when play resumes. England, relentless so far this summer, will not offer many second chances.
If the skies clear over Birmingham, Pakistan will be fighting not just England, but the inevitability that has hung over this series from the moment the first wicket fell.
