England continue to tighten their grip on the series against Pakistan, and once again Ollie Robinson stood at the centre of it all. His celebration, arms flung wide after removing another batter with the very first delivery of a spell, captured the mood of a contest that has swung heavily in the hosts’ favour.
That wicket was Robinson’s fourth opening ball dismissal across thirteen spells this series, and it came as part of a double strike in a maiden over that left Pakistan reeling. Chasing down a massive 320 run deficit, the visitors closed the day at 52 for 2, still 268 runs adrift when rain forced an early finish. Robinson walked off with figures of 2 for 10 from six overs, three of them maidens.
Across the series, Robinson now leads the wicket charts with 21 scalps at an astonishing average under seven and an economy below two runs an over. He was not just impressive with the ball either, smashing a rapid 50 off 47 deliveries to help England post 453 after slipping to 39 for 3 early on.
Five England batters reached fifty, though four fell short of three figures. Dan Lawrence looked the most fluent before chopping on for 65, while Jamie Smith battled through a finger injury to strike 69. Jofra Archer added late fireworks with two sixes to remain unbeaten on 32.
With Pakistan’s top order already shaken by Robinson’s opening burst, England look firmly on course to seal victory well inside the three day mark.
