Ollie Robinson was at his best yet again as he continued from where he left off at Leeds, in Headingley. Here, at Lord’s, he picked up 8 wickets in the match 4 in each innings which helped England ease past Pakistan inside 4 days by 194 runs and take a winning 2-0 lead in the 3-match series. Ollie Robinson has been at his lethal best this summer where the Test matches England won, he has been Player of the Match in all of them including the New Zealand Test earlier in the summer.
Robinson was ably supported by his fellow pacers Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson as they hunted as a pair to destroy Pakistan who were nowhere near their best. The only positives for Pakistan in this Test match will be Mohammad Abbas getting on the honours board in the second innings as he completed a five-wicket haul and 9 wickets in the match. While with the bat Azan Awais’ fighting effort in the first innings and Saud Shakeel’s 97 in the second were the only highlights for the visitors. The rest of it was all England as Pakistan were never in the game.
Mohammad Abbas & Mohammad Ali’s incisive bowling restricts England to 290 in 66.4 overs
Put into bat first, Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay came out to open the batting for England under overcast conditions while Mohammad Abbas had the ball in hand for Pakistan. The openers tried to give a solid start to the team and added 21 runs for the first wicket inside 5 overs before Gay was the first one to depart for 8 off 17 balls with 2 fours to his name to Mohammad Abbas. Jordan Cox came out to bat next. Just 5 more runs were added to the score before Duckett the other opener fell for 17 off 20 balls with 3 fours to his name to Abbas yet again who was on fire.
Captain Joe Root came out to bat next. Cox and Root could add just 10 more runs to the score before the captain who was dropped earlier by Imam-ul-Haq at first slip was dismissed for 4 off 13 balls LBW to Abbas. Harry Brook came out to bat next. Cox and Brook tried to forge a partnership with Cox continuing from where he left off at Leeds. Brook too got a start. The duo added a vital 41-run stand for the 4th wicket before Brook fell for 15 off 26 balls with 2 fours to his name to Mohammad Ali who cleaned him up.
Daniel Lawrence came out to bat next. Lawrence was given a lifeline early by Shan Masood at midwicket region and he too got a start while Cox looked good and settled at the crease. The duo played attacking cricket and added 43 runs for the 5th wicket before Lawrence against the run of play was run out for 17 off 41 balls with one four to his name as Shan effected the run out. Keeper batter Jamie Smith came out to bat next to join Jordan Cox.
Cox and Smith took the attack to Pakistan and played sensible cricket as the tourists were a little off with their lines and lengths. The duo added 67 vital runs for the 6th wicket before Cox fell after completing his half-century as he made 55 off 105 balls with 7 fours to his name before being dismissed by Khurram Shahzad. Gus Atkinson came out to bat next.
The tail or should we say the lower order started to wag for England now as Smith and Atkinson too built a good solid partnership. They added 35 runs for the 7th wicket before the keeper batter Smith who had completed his half-century fell for a well-made 61 off 80 balls with 10 fours to his name to Mohammad Ali who cleaned him up. Ollie Robinson came and went quickly as Ali had two in the over by cleaning up Robinson for a silver duck.
Jofra Archer came out to bat next. Archer played his shots and so did Atkinson as the tail was adding vital runs for England. Archer hit a maximum and boundary in his innings. The duo added 21 runs for the 9th wicket before Archer fell for 14 off 13 balls with one four and one six to his name to Abbas who picked up his 4th wicket as England were 243/9 at this stage.
Last man Josh Tongue came out to join Atkinson and the duo frustrated Pakistan on Day 2 in particular. England started the day at 248/9 and the duo added 42 more runs to the score from that position. The last wicket pair of Atkinson and Tongue added a total of 47 runs in which Tongue was the dominant partner. Atkinson scored the bulk of his runs before Tongue joined him. They took the game away from Pakistan as at the score of 290, Atkinson was the last man to be dismissed for a brilliant 45 off 46 balls with 6 fours to his name. Tongue remained unbeaten on 30 off 48 balls with 4 fours to his name.
England were eventually bowled out for 290 in 66.4 overs with 24 extras conceded by Pakistan. Just 4 bowlers used by Pakistan in the first innings. Mohammad Abbas was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/73 in 20 overs. He was ably supported by Mohammad Ali who finished with 3/86 in 22 overs. Khurram Shahzad chipped in with 1/79 in 15 overs. Ali Usman finished with 1/39 in 9.4 overs. Now, it was time for Pakistan’s turn to bat in the first innings.
Ollie Robinson & Jofra Archer combine to skittle Pakistan out for 110 in 37.2 overs
Shan Masood and Azan Awais came out to open the batting for Pakistan while Ollie Robinson had the ball in hand for England. The openers could only put 5 runs for the first wicket in 4 overs before Masood fell for 1 off 11 balls to Jofra Archer. Abdullah Shafique came out to bat next. Shafique and Azan could only add 11 runs for the second wicket and took their time before Shafique fell for 5 off 32 balls to Josh Tongue. Captain Babar Azam came out to bat next.
Babar came and played his trademark cover drives to show he oozes class. Babar and Azan could add only 14 runs to the score before Babar was dismissed for 8 off 10 balls with 2 fours to his name to Tongue. Saud Shakeel came out to bat next. Shakeel and Azan tried to forge a stand as the former was quite proactive in their approach in scoring the runs. The duo added 33 runs for the 4th wicket before Shakeel fell for 16 off 16 balls with 4 fours to his name to Ollie Robinson.
Keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan came out to bat next. Rizwan and Azan tried to forge another stand with the youngster impressing one and all with his application out there. The duo added 28 runs for the 5th wicket before Rizwan fell for 7 off 20 balls with one four to his name to Robinson. Ali Usman came out to bat next. Usman and Azan added another 13 runs to the score to take Pakistan beyond 100 before Usman fell for 1 off 13 balls to Archer who cleaned him up. Khurram Shahzad came out to bat next.
Just one run was added to the score before Shahzad fell for 1 off 5 balls to Robinson. Mohammad Abbas came out to bat next. Just one run was added to the score before the set batter and young opener Awais fell for 46 off 102 balls with 7 fours to his name as he was holed out in the deep off Robinson. Mohammad Ali came out to bat next. 4 runs was added to the score before Abbas was the last man out for 2 off 9 balls clean bowled by Archer.
With Imam-ul-Haq unable to bat due to a calf tear, the Pakistan innings came to an end at 110 in 37.2 overs with Ali remaining unbeaten on 3 off 8 balls. 20 extras given by England. England used 4 bowlers too and 3 of them were amongst the wickets. Ollie Robinson was the pick of them with figures of 4/11 in 13 overs. Jofra Archer backed him up with 3/26 in 11.2 overs. Josh Tongue finished with 2/27 in 6 overs. Gus Atkinson finished with 0/33 in 7 overs. With a first innings lead of 180 runs, it was time for England to bat in their second innings.
Mohammad Abbas’ 5-wicket haul limits England to 208 in 54.2 overs
With a lead of 180 runs in the bank, Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay came out to open the batting for England while Mohammad Abbas had the ball in hand for Pakistan. England got off to a shaky start in the second innings as Duckett played a loose shot and got out for 1 off 6 balls with the score also at 1 in the second over to Khurram Shahzad. Jordan Cox came out to bat next. Cox hit a couple of boundaries as the duo added 12 runs for the second wicket before Cox fell for 11 off 9 balls with 2 fours to his name to Shahzad.
Captain Joe Root came out to bat next and showed his positive approach out there in the middle. Gay showed great application as the conditions were not straightforward for batting. The duo settled in and added a vital 47-run stand for the third wicket before Root fell for 24 off 37 balls with 3 fours to his name to Mohammad Ali once again LBW for him. Harry Brook came out to bat next to join Gay in the middle.
Gay and Brook added 23 runs for the 4th wicket before Gay fell for 31 off 74 balls with 6 fours to his name to Mohammad Abbas. Daniel Lawrence came out to bat next. Brook and Lawrence also got in and built a nice partnership between them. The duo added another important 45-run stand for the 5th wicket before Brook fell for 34 off 56 balls with 5 fours to his name to Abbas yet again. Keeper batter Jamie Smith came out to bat next.
Lawrence showed his class and batted with the right intent under overcast skies on Day 3 and took the game head on. Lawrence and Smith added 21 runs for the 6th wicket before Smith fell for 7 off 13 balls with one four to his name to Abbas. Gus Atkinson came out to bat next. Lawrence handled the situation perfectly, while Atkinson hung in there. The duo could add only 13 runs to the score before Atkinson fell for 7 off 21 balls with one four to his name to Mohammad Ali.
Ollie Robinson came out to bat next. Lawrence got to his and the most important half-century of his career and added 24 runs for the 8th wicket before Lawrence the set batter fell for 54 off 70 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Abbas who cleaned him up. Jofra Archer came out to bat next. Just one run was added to the score before Robinson fell for 8 off 15 balls with one four to his name to Abbas who completed his 5-wicket haul and got onto the Lord’s honours board.
Josh Tongue came out to bat next and swung his bat to add some valuable runs for England as the lead swelled. Archer held one end up while Tongue scored some valuable runs. The last wicket duo added 21 runs before Tongue fell for 12 off 15 balls with 2 fours to his name thanks to a brilliant run out from captain Babar Azam. Archer remained unbeaten on 2 off 14 balls as England were eventually bowled out for 208 in 54.2 overs. 17 extras given by the fielding side.
Four bowlers used by Pakistan once again and the pick of the bowlers was that man again Mohammad Abbas who finished with 5/57 in 22 overs. Khurram Shahzad finished with 2/56 in 14 overs. Mohammad Ali finished with 2/70 in 16.2 overs. Ali Usman bowled 2 overs for 17 runs. This meant England had a lead of 388 runs and Pakistan had a mountain to climb as they needed 389 runs to win the Test and level the series 1-1.
Ollie Robinson & Josh Tongue combine to skittle Pakistan out for 194 in 50.5 overs and seal the series for England
Chasing 389 for an improbable win, Shan Masood and Azan Awais came out to open the batting for Pakistan while Ollie Robinson had the ball in hand for England. The opening duo added 7 runs in 4.3 overs before Awais fell for 6 off 14 balls with one four to his name to Ollie Robinson. Abdullah Shafique came and went in a jiffy as Robinson had two wickets in the over with Shafique cleaned up for a bronze duck. Captain Babar Azam came out to bat next.
Babar was all over the place despite getting a boundary away and eventually fell to a brute of a short ball from Jofra Archer. Just 7 runs was added to the score when Babar fell for 6 off 8 balls with a boundary to his name to Archer. Pakistan were reeling at 14/3 when Saud Shakeel joined Shan Masood in the middle. The duo weathered the early storm and then started to play positively.
Shakeel in particular was refreshing in his approach. He took the bowling and played positive cricket unlike the other Pakistani batters. He was up for the challenge and tested England for the first time this series. England visibly grew a little frustrated as Shan complemented him well as the duo had a long partnership to keep England at bay. The duo put on 97 priceless runs for the 4th wicket before Masood fell for 26 off 72 balls with 2 fours to his name to Ollie Robinson. Keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan came out to bat next.
Just 4 runs were added to the score before Rizwan’s woeful form and performance continued as he fell for 1 off 9 balls to Robinson. Ali Usman came to the middle with Pakistan at 115/5. Usman gave good support to Shakeel who was taking the bowling on, Usman showed some real character and resilience much better than the keeper batter before him. The duo of Shakeel and Usman added 31 runs for the 6th wicket before Usman’s resistance was halted for 16 off 44 balls with 2 fours to his name as he dragged onto a Archer delivery.
Khurram Shahzad came out to bat next. Shakeel was now taking on the short balls and hitting for fours and even sixes as well as he entered the 90s. But it was the short ball ploy that got him in the end. Shakeel and Shahzad added 23 runs for the 7th wicket before Shakeel fell agonisingly short of his ton as he hit the pull shot to Harry Brook at deep square leg for 97 off 122 balls with 13 fours and 2 sixes to his name as Josh Tongue got his man.
The writing was now on the wall for Pakistan as Mohammad Abbas came out to bat next. Abbas and Shahzad could add only 7 more runs to the score before Shahzad fell for 9 off 13 balls with one four to his name to Tongue who cleaned him up. Mohammad Ali joined Abbas in the middle. The duo had fun out there and added a few runs to elongate the match, but England knew they were almost there. The duo added 18 runs for the 9th wicket before Ali fell for 8 off 5 balls with 2 fours to his name to Tongue who cleaned up the tail.
With Imam-ul-Haq unable to bat due to a calf tear, that was the end of the innings and the Test match as well. Abbas remained unbeaten on 13 off 16 balls with one six to his name as Pakistan were done and dusted for 194 in 50.5 overs. 12 extras given by England bowlers.
5 bowlers used by England in the second innings. Ollie Robinson was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/24 in 14 overs. Josh Tongue complemented him well with 3/46 in 8.5 overs. Jofra Archer finished with 2/73 in 15 overs. Gus Atkinson finished with 0/41 in 11 overs. Daniel Lawrence bowled 2 overs of off-spin and both were maidens. So, England thrashed Pakistan by 194 runs to take a winning 2-0 lead in the 3-match series with one Test to play. Ollie Robinson for his 8-wicket haul in the match was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
There is one more Test to go in this 3-match series and that will be after a bit of a breather. The third and final Test will be played at Edgbaston, in Birmingham from September 9th 2026 onwards. England who lead the series 2-0 and have climbed to 6th in the WTC 2025-27 standings will look to sweep the series 3-0. Pakistan will aim to avoid that and show improvements in performances. They have to play a lot better in all facets if they want to compete in this final Test match.
Loads of problems for Pakistan going ahead, while for England happy days are back under Joe Root and he and his team will want to drive home the advantage come Edgbaston. A but of a 8-9 day break now before the final Test of the series gets underway. Let’s see how that Test will pan out and also the build-up to that as well.
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