Robinson happy to split the spoils after stellar Test return

After sharing ten Pakistan wickets equally on day one of the Leeds Test, Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue walked off holding up the match ball between them - but there were no squabbles about who got to keep it for posterity after the pair came up with the idea to cut it clean in half.

England's management duly had the ball sent down to the Headingley groundstaff, where it was split down the middle, allowing Robinson and Tongue a joint share in one of the more unusual pieces of cricket memorabilia.

"We were walking off and I was like, to Tonguey, I think we should split it," Robinson said. "He said it and I said, I think we should do that, it'd be quite cool. It's one of those things, you don't have too many half-of-cricket-balls, so it would be something we never forget. It's not very often two guys get five-for in the same innings, so a nice gesture and something to remember."

Tongue, speaking on BBC Test Match Special, gave his senior bowling partner the credit: "Robbo said we can split the ball in half. The groundstaff have kindly done that. It's the first time I've seen that happen. I'm sure I'll be putting that up somewhere."

Related

• 

  Throwback to 1987: when Imran Khan ruled supreme at Headingley

• 

  Switch Hit: Root reboot

• 

  As it happened - Root settles England reply after openers fall

• 

  Robinson, Tongue share ten as England dominate opening day

• 

  England enter post-Bazball era against forever-in-turmoil Pakistan

Robinson started the day by taking a wicket with very first ball of the Test - the first time that had happened in England in almost 20 years - and removed four of the top five before Tongue lived up to his nickname as "The Mop" by running through the tail as Pakistan were shot out for 171 after being inserted, as Joe Root's second stint as captain got off to the perfect start.

Robinson, returning after missing two Tests against New Zealand, already had good reason to remember the occasion, after the birth of his second daughter, Eva, last week.

"Yeah, newborn [arrived] last Thursday at 2am, so been catching up on my sleep since I got to the hotel in Leeds. Really special week, having another baby, it almost makes today even sweeter, when you leave them after they're born and you come and put a performance in, it meant a lot to do that. I know they're not here, they're at home, but I was thinking of them the whole time."

Having made one stunning comeback already this summer, taking three wickets in his first over at Lord's after more than two years out of the side, Robinson said he was focused on delivering for England on a more consistent basis. Injury kept him out of the second New Zealand Test, but he was then not selected despite being fit for the third.

"It was frustrating not to be able to play at The Oval, just a freak training injury," he said. "Then I was available at Trent Bridge but not selected and that's part of professional sport. I was ready to go but not selected and since then I've worked really hard on my fitness and a bit more skill, and it's nice when it comes off like today.

"[I've] been working with the England medical team quite closely over the last five/six weeks, we've made some really good strides. Obviously not done still but feeling really good in myself and just got to keep going. It's about being really consistent and really level, not having too many ups and downs.

"I learnt a lot about myself when I was out of the team. Getting myself and my body right, at the moment I feel as good as I've ever felt. I'm probably not in as good a rhythm as I would like - I know that sounds silly after wickets - having not played red-ball cricket since Lord's. For me, the more I play, the better I tend to get. As long as I can stay on the park and stay fit, hopefully I can get that rhythm and stay good.

"You never want to miss games, you always want to play for England, you always want to influence games and series. Unfortunately I missed that game [Trent Bridge] but I'm going to try and not let that happen again."

Alan Gardner is a deputy editor at Cricinfo. @alanroderick

5

England 112 for 2 (Root 37*) trail Pakistan 171 (Shafique 61, Tongue 5-46, Robinson 5-51) by 59 runs

Ollie Robinson lit up an overcast Headingley morning for England, his fifth Test five-wicket haul making light work of a fragile Pakistan. He was joined by Josh Tongue, who wiped out most of Pakistan's lower half, securing his fourth.

In a relentlessly repeating pattern, Pakistan followed up a promising partnership with a destructive collapse, losing their last 8 for 74 as England wrapped up the innings for 171. A 91-run stand between Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq offered the only resistance of substance, just for England to undo that hard work in short order. They appeared on track to wipe out Pakistan's first-innings lead with similar efficiency, finishing the day just 59 behind with eight wickets still in hand.

With the sun playing hide and seek with the clouds, it was a tricky toss to win for England's returning captain Joe Root, but one where he sensed the conditions offered his bowlers the opportunity to get at Pakistan's vulnerable batting order. That faith paid off instantly, when Robinson nipped the first ball back in to Azan Awais dead in front of off stump.

Pakistan receded into their shell, emboldening Robinson to bowl fuller. He went across the stumps to Shan Masood in his third over, and found success with his first delivery, a nip-backer that was going on to hit the middle of middle.

Pakistan needed a respite from England's electric start, and they got it in the form of Yorkshire's weather. Just short of an hour into the day, a dark cloud hovering menacingly over the ground made good on its threat, the ensuring downpour forcing an early lunch and a two-hour delay.

The break helped Pakistan settle, and disrupted England in equal measure. Jofra Archer did not threaten the stumps in quite the same way Robinson had, and England continued to go full. Shafique and Imam, natural front-foot players, were disciplined and opportunistic in equal measure, driving down the ground and picking up boundaries with regularity.

With the run rate picking up - Pakistan scored at nearly 4.5 since the interruption during that stand - conditions suddenly looked good for batting. A pair of boundaries off a wayward Archer brought up the 50-partnership, and Tongue's errant start saw Shafique help himself to a couple more.

Pakistan have, however, struggled to press home such advantages in the past, and with the hundred-run stand approaching, Imam gave up his wicket with unforgiveable - if characteristic - softness. He pushed at a harmless delivery well outside off from Tongue with limited footwork, edging it at perfect catching height for second slip.

England smelled blood, and with Robinson settling into a long spell, Saud Shakeel, whose record outside Asia remains a point of concern, was firmly within his sights. In his sixth over, he tailed one in sharply to Saud, who was struck on the knee roll as he moved across. After an interminably long period mulling it over, umpire Allahuddien Paleker raised his finger. Pakistan were slow to review, and Chris Gaffaney told Shakeel he'd run out of time. To add insult to injury, ball-tracking projected the ball would have cleared leg stump.

All of England's inconsistency seemed to evaporate with the late afternoon sunshine, and Pakistan's customary collapse was suddenly in full swing. In the seventh over of the spell, Robinson had Jamie Smith up at the stumps, pinning Shafique to his crease as he found just enough nibble to pierce the bat-pad gap.

Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Rizwan average nearly 40 together at the crease, the highest for any specific combination in this side. They also represented Pakistan's last realistic hope of a competitive first-innings score, and briefly found a way to keep England at bay. It was without conviction though. Rizwan top-edging a slog-sweep second ball perhaps summed that up best, and though they hung around to bring up the 150, England prowled as they moved in for the kill.

Tongue had sprayed the ball about, but found an unplayable one, jagging back to crash into off stump at 91mph. He feasted on the hapless lower as Pakistan folded for 171, their lowest score in the 1st innings of a Test in a decade.

In a recurring theme through the day, Pakistan found themselves on the wrong side of a marginal DRS call, when Mohammad Abbas trapped Ben Duckett in front. Ball-tracking predicted that it would go on to hit a fair chunk of the top of middle, though not quite enough to overturn the umpire's not out decision.

Pakistan's frustrations compounded when England began brightly, the openers scoring at over four. But Abbas finally got his man when he brought one back into Duckett from around the wicket, trapping him dead in front of middle stump.

Mohammad Ali followed that up with the dismissal of Emilio Gay, squaring him up in an otherwise errant first over to suddenly offer Pakistan a glint of hope. But Root's arrival at the crease saw Pakistan's threat with the ball fade significantly, and Jordan Cox made a promising start bedding into his new role at No. 3.

Agha had said at the toss Pakistan would have batted first anyway. As Root and Cox eased past 50 for the partnership, Agha - and his side - may have begun to appreciate these were decent batting conditions after all.

5

Danyal Rasool is Cricinfo's Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000