On Wednesday, August 19, England pacers Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue became the first English pair to secure five-wicket hauls in the same innings in 20 years in the longest format of the game.
The last time this happened in a Test was in 2006 with Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar against Pakistan at Old Trafford. Interestingly, Robinson and Tongue cut the ball in half with the help of the ground staff after securing their five-fers.
“Robbo said we can split the ball in half. The groundstaff have kindly done that,” Tongue told Test Match Special.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen that happen. I’m sure I’ll be putting that up somewhere.”
“We were walking off the field,” Robinson said.
“Josh said it, and I said: ‘We actually should do that, it would be quite cool.’ You don’t really have too many halves of a cricket ball, so it would be something that we never forget. Wayne Bentley, the team manager, took it down to the groundstaff,” said Robinson.
“I said: ‘Do you reckon they will be able to do it?’ Within five minutes he brought it back up, and it was done. It’s really nice,” he concluded.
Delving into the details of the game, after being tasked to bat first, Pakistan could post only 171 runs in 48.1 overs. Abdullah Shafique (61) and Imam-ul-Haq (42) were the top scorers. While Josh Tongue scalped five wickets for 46 runs, Ollie Robinson also picked up a five-fer, conceding 51 runs.
At Stumps on Day 1 of the first Test, England posted 112/2 in 25 overs, trailing by 59 runs. Jordan Cox (23*) and Joe Root (37*) are at the crease.
