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 on Thursday.
Robinson, man of the match in the first two Tests, struck with the first ball of Pakistan’s second innings and again three deliveries later to leave England closing in on a 3-0 series whitewash.
The demoralised tourists reached 52-2 before rain ended play early on day two, needing 268 runs to make England bat again.
Robinson, 32, has been almost unplayable in this series, taking 21 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 2-10 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 21 at the close, alongside opener
Azan Awais on 29, but Pakistan’s position appears hopeless.
England, who led by 23 overnight, had earlier pressed the
accelerator to extend their first-innings advantage to a
daunting 320.
They made 453 with Harry Brook and Dan Lawrence extending
their fifth-wicket partnership to 86 until Brook set off for an
impossible single and was run out by Masood for 75 from 97
balls.
Lawrence went on to make 65 from 82 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 65 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 69 off 84 balls including one six and
nine fours.
It was his highest test score since a second-innings 88
against India on the same ground 14 months ago.
Robinson chimed in with a 50 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 21-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 148 runs off his 23
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 15 of its
last 20 tests.
Source: Khaleej Times