In the same Test innings, starting bowlers Josh Tongue and Ollie Robinson both claimed five wickets as England dismissed Pakistan for 171 at Headingley. Under constant pressure from the England seam attack, Pakistan’s batting faltered, with Robinson taking 5-51 and Tongue finishing with 5-46. The last eight wickets fell for just 74 runs as Pakistan was bowled out in 48.1 overs. For England’s seam bowling attack, the performance was historic.
In addition to dismissing Shan Masood during his spell, Robinson removed Azan Awais lbw from the opening ball of the Test, making it the first wicket to go to an opening delivery in England in 19 years. Robinson now has 88 Test wickets at an average of 21.25 after his fifth five-wicket haul in Test cricket. In June, the 32-year-old had taken seven wickets against New Zealand at Lord’s. When Tongue dismissed Imam, Pakistan’s bottom order collapsed, marking his breakthrough.
The instant when the ball splits
Robinson and Tongue discussed who would take the match ball home as a keepsake as they left the pitch together after the last wicket was taken.
The two bowlers chose to divide the ball in half instead of using traditional methods to resolve the issue. Wayne Bentley, the manager of the England squad, took it to the ground crew, who in five minutes cut through the seam, giving both players a portion of the historic memento.
Tongue disclosed that after the two finished their five-wicket hauls, Robinson had the notion to split the match ball. After that, the ground crew split the ball in two so that each bowler may keep a piece as a keepsake of their outstanding efforts. Tongue told Test Match Special, “Robbo said we can split the ball in half.” “The groundstaff have kindly done that.” “I’ve never witnessed that occur before. I’ll definitely post that somewhere.”
After Pakistan was bowled out, Robinson showed reporters his half of the ball and claimed that the idea came to him as the two bowlers left the pitch. After Josh said it, Robinson remarked, “I think we should do that; it would be really cool. “We would never forget that because there aren’t many halves in a cricket ball.”
In England’s Test cricket, a historic combination
When Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar both took five wickets in a single Test innings against Pakistan at Old Trafford in 2006, Robinson and Tongue became the first England partnership to do so. The quality of England’s seam bowling attack at Headingley was highlighted by this most recent performance.
After Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay were dismissed early in the reply, England concluded on 112-2, behind Pakistan by 59 runs. As England got ready for their second innings, Jordan Cox and Joe Root stabilised the innings.
