Pakistan's Imam Slips on Ball, Wins Test Match Against England
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A ball cut in half was the solution to Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue’s novel problem. Courtesy of a helpful member of the Headingley ground staff, the two quicks shared the souvenir after each took five wickets on the opening day of England’s first Test against Pakistan, with the visitors bowled out for 171.
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Sky SportsOllie Robinson and Josh Tongue asked the Headingley grounds staff to cut the match ball in two, after both players took five-fers on opening day of England's first Test vs Pakistan; watch day two live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.15am on Thursday
BBC SportThis content is not available in your location. There was an error Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue both took five wicket hauls to put England in early control of the opening Test against Pakistan at Headingley, as the home side closed on 112-2 at stumps on day one, just 59 runs behind Pakistan's first innings total of 171.
NDTV SportsEngland Duo Split Match Ball In Half After Rare Feat In 1st Test Against Pakistan Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue had the match ball cut cleanly in half so both could keep a piece.
ESPNcricinfoRobinson, Tongue share ten as England dominate opening day Pakistan blown away for 171 before England's batters start strongly at Headingley
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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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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.
Sky Sports"Overall, you have to say the lengths that Josh Tongue bowled to get Imam out, who was set, that was an important wicket because a partnership was developing; once he got a sniff of that wicket, he bowled quite nicely."
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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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NDTV SportsEngland vs Pakistan, 1st Test Day 2, Live Score Updates England vs Pakistan, 1st Test Day 2, Live Score Updates
The Guardian SportWelcome to the second day of this first Test between England and Pakistan from Headingley. I’m afraid to say that it is a wet one, folks. As the Beautiful South nearly sang – From Garforth to Gipton it’s rain. From Roundhay to Rawdon it’s rain.
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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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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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The Guardian SportFor Robinson it marked his first Test since featuring against New Zealand at Lord’s, which was his comeback match after two years in exile.
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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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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.
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 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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03 NDTV Sports "Pakistan Are A Poor Side": England Great Sparks Controversy With Brutal Verdict Team Pakistan in action
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04 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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05 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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