Leeds, Aug 20 (IANS) Traditionally, after claiming a five-wicket haul, a bowler will pocket the cricket ball, but what happens if two bowlers take five-wicket hauls in the same innings? England pacers came up with a creative solution by cutting the bowl in half.
Robinson and Tongue returned with five-wicket hauls to bundle out Pakistan for 171 after the visitors were asked to bat first. Tongue (5-46) and Robinson’s (5-51) fiery spell ensured them their fourth and fifth five-fors in Test cricket as Pakistan lost all 10 wickets for 171.
“We were walking off and I was like, to Tonguey, I think we should split it,” Robinson said in the press conference after the stumps. “He said it, and I said, ‘I think we should do that, it’d be quite cool.’ It’s one of those things; you don’t have too many half-cricket-balls, so it would be something we never forget. It’s not very often two guys get five-for in the same innings, so a nice gesture and something to remember.”
It was the first time since 2006 that two England bowlers have each taken five-wicket hauls in the same innings and the pair shared the spoils by agreeing to split the ball that was used.
The duo England off the field at Headingley hand in hand, hatching their plan to make one ball into two halves. “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.”
Tongue (5-46) and Robinson’s (5-51) fiery spell ensured them their fourth and fifth five-fors in Test cricket as Pakistan lost all 10 wickets for 171.
In response, England reached 112/2 at stumps. Ben Duckett (15) and Emilio Gay (33) showed signs of holding fort but Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ali struck to remove the opening pair off successive overs.
But skipper Joe Root (37*) and Jordan Cox (23*) proceeded to steady the ship with an unbeaten 64-run stand for the third wicket as England trail by 59 runs in the first innings.
The fifer completed a busy recent period for Robinson, who welcomed his second daughter Eva into his life last week. “Yeah, newborn (arrived) last Thursday at 2am, so been catching up on my sleep since I got to the hotel in Leeds,” Robinson said.
“Really special week, having another baby, it almost makes today even sweeter, when you leave them after they’re born and you come and put a performance in, it meant a lot to do that. I know they’re not here, they’re at home, but I was thinking of them the whole time,” he added.
–IANS
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