Demoralised tourists reach ۵۲-۲ before rain ends play early on day two, needing ۲۶۸ runs to make England bat again.
Published On ۱۰ Sep ۲۰۲۶
Ollie Robinson continued his outstanding summer with two wickets in his opening over as England pushed Pakistan towards defeat in the third Test at Edgbaston.
Robinson, man of the match in the first two Tests, struck with the first ball of Pakistan’s second innings on Thursday and again three deliveries later to leave England closing in on a ۳-۰ series whitewash.
The demoralised tourists reached ۵۲-۲ before rain ended play early on day two, needing ۲۶۸ runs to make England bat again.
Robinson, ۳۲, has been almost unplayable in this series, taking ۲۱ wickets at an average of under seven runs each.
He continued in the same vein in Birmingham, removing Saim Ayub, who was dismissed for a duck in both innings, and then Abdullah Shafique to finish the day with figures of ۲-۱۰ from his six overs.
“He’s probably one of the most consistent bowlers in world cricket. He knows what he’s doing with the ball, and he wears you down a bit so it’s a challenge,” said Pakistan batting coach Mike Smith.
“He has bowled exceptionally well, and he’s in a little purple patch as a player. We need to find a way to combat that as well as we can.”
Shan Masood, who was dropped at slip by Ben Duckett off Gus Atkinson, was still there on ۲۱ at the close, alongside opener Azan Awais on ۲۹, but Pakistan’s position appears hopeless.
England, who led by ۲۳ overnight, had earlier pressed the accelerator to extend their first-innings advantage to a daunting ۳۲۰.
They made ۴۵۳ with Harry Brook and Dan Lawrence extending their fifth-wicket partnership to ۸۶ until Brook set off for an impossible single and was run out by Masood for ۷۵ from ۹۷ balls.
Lawrence went on to make ۶۵ from ۸۲ balls before dragging a wide ball onto his stumps to give Mohammad Imran his first Test wicket. It was a third Test half-century in a row for Lawrence, who was recalled after a two-year absence for this series.
“I’m really happy with how I’ve contributed,” said Lawrence. “I was feeling really good today, got on a bit of a roll with Brooky and went with it.
“I thought I was going to make a really big score, to be honest. It wasn’t to be, but I think if I’d been offered ۶۵ at the start of the day, I’d have taken it.”
There was also a welcome half-century from the out-of-form Jamie Smith, who overcame an uncertain start and a finger injury, which caused him to hand over the wicketkeeping gloves to Jordan Cox, to strike ۶۹ off ۸۴ balls including one six and nine fours.
It was his highest Test score since a second-innings ۸۸ against India on the same ground ۱۴ months ago.
Robinson chimed in with a ۵۰ of his own, which included a huge six into the Hollies Stand off Mohammad Abbas, before becoming Razaullah’s fourth victim.
The blooding of the ۲۱-year-old, who had only played eight first-class games prior to his call-up, was one of the few positives for Pakistan.
While he was expensive – he conceded ۱۴۸ runs off his ۲۳ overs – he posed a threat with his pace and aggression.
Razaullah may represent a brighter future for Pakistan, but the present remains bleak for a team that has lost ۱۵ of its last ۲۰ Tests.
