England Test Captain Joe Root's Second Spell Begins with Skittling Pakistan for Five Wicks
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Wednesday 19 August 2026 19:45, UK Joe Root's second spell as England Test captain began with his side skittling Pakistan for 171 at Headingley as Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue each bagged five-wicket hauls around a lengthy rain delay and a brief fightback from the tourists.
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BBC SportThis content is not available in your location. There was an error Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue have a day to remember as they both take five-wicket hauls, as England bowl Pakistan out for 171 on day one of the first Test at Headingley. FOLLOW LIVE: England v Pakistan - Day One
The Guardian SportOllie Robinson was integral for Root back then, still in his first summer as an England cricketer and ending up as the player of the match. He remains that way. The pair are the only members of that XI playing against Pakistan this week, with Root back in Leeds to herald a new era. Robinson might not have been loved by the previous hierarchy, leading to two years in exile, but Root clearly rates him, picking him in 10 of the seamer’s 22 Tests. Never mind that he’s operating in the 70s (mph), he’ll deliver, as the bowling average tells you. With seven quicks in his squad for this series, Root decided that Robinson would bowl the first over of his second stint as captain.
ESPNcricinfoRobinson, Tongue share ten as England dominate opening day Pakistan blown away for 171 before England's batters start strongly at Headingley
NDTV SportsOllie Robinson Makes Test History In England, Matches Kapil Dev's Rare Feat In 1st Test Against Pakistan Ollie Robinson celebrates
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Robinson kickstarted proceedings in incredible fashion, pinning Azan Awais with the first ball of the Test match, before also snaring Shan Masood (5) lbw before rain stopped play.
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The Guardian SportDoing so is Robinson’s forte, of course. And after trapping Azan Awais lbw from around the wicket with his opening delivery – the first time a Test series in England has started with a wicket – Root’s metronome rarely missed a beat. As a result, the apparent rustiness of Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson was barely felt.
BBC SportRoot won the toss, pounced on the opportunity to bowl first and Robinson set the tone by pinning Azan Awais leg before with the first ball of the match.
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Watch day two of the first Test between England and Pakistan, at Headingley, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10.15am on Thursday (11am first ball, weather-permitting). Stream cricket and more sport contract-free with NOW
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One of Robinson’s victims here was a touch unfortunate, with Saud Shakeel too late in reviewing an lbw shown to be going over the stumps. But figures of five for 51 from 18 overs were no less deserved, while an afternoon spell of eight overs, two for 17, was also a positive as regards his fitness and old ball prowess.
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Sky SportsThe away side lost their final eight wickets for 74 and last five for 21, with the clatter including Robinson bowling Shafique with a beauty that jagged in prodigiously and the same bowler pinning Saud Shakeel (5) lbw after the batter took two long to request a review that would have saved him - the ball was set to soar over leg stump.
BBC SportThe tourists are hampered by Babar's hand injury, and stand-in captain Salman said he would have batted had he won the toss. Saud Shakeel was too late calling for a review when given lbw to Robinson, only for replays to show the ball would have gone over the stumps – one of several marginal decisions that went England's way.
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"Robbo said we can split the ball in half," Tongue told Test Match Special. "The groundstaff have kindly done that.
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For Robinson, this was a second five-for in as many matches since he made his Test comeback against New Zealand in June, and came days after he and wife Mia celebrated the birth of their first child.
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So much comes down to Tongue’s natural angle that, allied with nip in either direction, can turn defence into a lottery. Here he snuffed out any chance of a fightback from the lower middle order, his figures of five for 46 seeing both the stand-in skipper, Salman Ali Agha, and the wicketkeeer Mohammad Rizwan pinned lbw.
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BBC SportTongue took longer to warm to his task but when he also found the correct length, he was also too much for Pakistan to handle. Tongue's 5-46 ended with a final devastating burst of 4-5 from 11 balls.
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At six for two, Pakistan were in proper bother. This is a side who few expect to make a serious splash this summer. They sit second last in the World Test Championship table and haven’t won a series away from home since 2023. Their captain and finest batter, Babar Azam, is injured. He caused a brief stir when he emerged before the toss in full whites, cap and blazer on, but it soon turned out that it was for a picture with his opposite number and the series trophy.
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BBC SportPakistan have not won a series in this country for 30 years. There is a suspicion that little can be learned about England's fresh start because of the quality of this Pakistan team, especially a batting line-up without injured captain Babar Azam. Wednesday did little to quell that suspicion.
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But after struggling with an ankle problem that required treatment on the field, Imam drove loosely to slip on 42 to hand Tongue his first wicket. Unlike Archer and Atkinson, Tongue did not look like a bowler coming off a diet of 20 balls per match in the Hundred but rather the Test thoroughbred he is fast becoming.
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BBC SportLike Atkinson and Archer, Tongue began like a bowler who had been playing in The Hundred for the past month. When he finally went full to draw Imam into an edge to second slip, Tongue did not look back.
5 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 Sky Sports After Tongue snared Mohammad Abbas to wrap up Pakistan's first innings, he and Robinson walked off the field holding hands, discussing who between them would take the match ball home.
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02 BBC Sport Published Much like it is a tradition for a footballer to take away the match ball after scoring a hat-trick, a bowler will pocket the cricket ball after claiming a five-wicket haul.
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03 ESPNcricinfo Robinson moves from luxury to necessity, as England regroup around him Second outstanding comeback of the summer takes place in very different circumstances to the first
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04 NDTV Sports Pakistan To Host Sri Lanka, England In Packed October-November Schedule File photo from Pakistan vs England match.
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05 The Guardian Sport One win in England’s last 17 Tests. Those were the numbers that greeted Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes when they took over in 2022, a reminder of just how bad things had ended under Joe Root. It was a statistic that gave the new boys permission to rip up the old order.
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