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Ollie Robinson bowled 13 overs at Lord’s on Friday, six of them maidens, and conceded 11 runs. He took four wickets. By the time Pakistan’s innings folded for 110 in 37.2 overs, England’s four-man seam attack had done in a session and a bit what the tourists’ batting had promised all summer to prevent, and Joe Root’s side closed day two of the second Test 261 runs ahead with a series victory in clear view.
England had resumed on 248-9 after a rain-shortened opening day and were extended to 290 all out by Gus Atkinson, who made 45 as the last man out and added 47 for the tenth wicket with Josh Tongue. Mohammad Abbas finished with four wickets, having reduced England to 36-3 on Thursday with a spell of three for four in 16 balls, and Mohammad Ali took three. On a pitch and under a sky that rewarded seam, 290 looked par. It took Pakistan less than 40 overs to make it look enormous.
Robinson and Archer rip through the top order
Robinson’s control was the difference. Bowling into the Lord’s slope with the ball moving both ways, he gave Pakistan’s batters nothing to work with, trapping Saud Shakeel lbw for 16 among his four victims and finishing at an economy rate of under a run an over. Jofra Archer took 3-26 from 11.2 overs at the other end, Tongue claimed two — including Babar Azam, back from the finger injury that kept him out at Headingley, caught at third slip after two crisp cover-driven boundaries — and Atkinson went wicketless without ever looking innocuous.
Pakistan were effectively nine down throughout, with Imam-ul-Haq unable to bat after damaging his left calf in the field. Azan Awais was the lone resistance, batting into the 35th over for 46 from 102 balls. The second-highest contribution to the innings was 20 extras. No other batter reached double figures against a bowling group that has now dismissed Pakistan for well under 200 in three consecutive innings this series.
A 180-run lead, then bad light
England enforced nothing and needed to enforce nothing. Leading by 180, they batted again and reached 81-3 from 22 overs before umpires took the players off for bad light. Root fell for 24 from 37 balls, Emilio Gay was unbeaten on 30 with six fours, and Harry Brook was 7 not out. The lead of 261 already looks close to decisive on a surface where nobody has been comfortable.
The one caveat is the forecast. Rain is expected on Saturday, and the weather has already cost this match the best part of a day. Pakistan’s seamers, who have bowled themselves into the ground on this tour, would take fresh cloud cover and a heavy ball with some enthusiasm. Abbas went wicketless for 27 from eight overs in the evening session, but he has been the tourists’ most consistently threatening bowler and needs only a short spell of assistance to change the arithmetic.
What it means for the series
England lead the three-Test series 1-0 after winning at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs. Victory here seals it with a match to spare, and it would do so in a manner that says something about how Root’s England are choosing to win. Since taking over the captaincy from Ben Stokes, Root has leaned on a four-pronged pace attack of Archer, Atkinson, Tongue and Robinson rather than the all-rounder-heavy balance of the previous regime — a group with genuine speed at one end and relentless accuracy at the other. On days like this, the model looks unanswerable.
For Pakistan, the questions are older and harder. Their bowling has been competitive throughout — Abbas and Ali’s work on day one was the best the tourists have produced in England for years — but their batting has not passed 200 in the series. Babar’s return was supposed to steady a fragile order; instead he lasted nine deliveries of consequence. The technical problem is straightforward: too many players are pushing at the ball outside off stump against seam movement they do not face at home.
England, meanwhile, have found a batting recovery act to go with the bowling. Jamie Smith’s 61 and Jordan Cox’s 55 rescued the first innings from 36-3, Cox’s fifty coming in only his third Test and strengthening his claim on the No. 3 position. Should the weather relent on Saturday, England need not bat long. Their bowlers have shown they need barely more than a session.
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Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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