All that anger appeared to melt away at Lord\u2019s on Friday, however, when, with 290 first-innings runs on the board after some tailend swish in the morning, Root\u2019s attack unstitched Pakistan\u2019s gun-shy batting lineup once more. Ollie Robinson claimed a remarkable four for 11 from 13 overs, Jofra Archer three for 26 from 11.2. The visitors were bowled out for 110 to ship a 180-run deficit \u2013 with England stretching this to 261, three wickets down, before bad light brought stumps.<\/p>\n
There is a danger of getting carried away, of course, with Pakistan a struggling Test side and a calf injury sustained by Imam-ul-Haq on day one leaving only nine wickets to claim. The only real positive on the green side of the ledger was the 21-year-old opener Azan Awais holding firm for just shy of three hours while his colleagues folded inside 38 overs. The left-hander eventually holed out off Robinson for 46 once a diplodocus tail had begun but showed guts against Archer\u2019s pace.<\/p>\n
Jofra Archer bowls Pakistan\u2019s Mohammad Abbas. Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
Yet for all that at times it was fish-in-a-barrel stuff \u2013 ideal bowling conditions thanks to cloud cover and a pitch that, while slow, offered nip \u2013 it feels reasonable to say that better teams could well have struggled also. Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad may have ridden off into the sunset \u2013 their portrait now greets dismissed batters on their way back into the pavilion \u2013 but a potent new attack is forming.<\/p>\n
Plenty went back to the 14.1 overs that England sent down before lunch. With Root marshalling things from his new position at mid-off (or occasionally joining the catchers) it was a straitjacket of line bowling by Robinson from the Nursery End, allied with the heat of Archer from the other. Crucially, there was next to no let-up when Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue eventually slid in to replace them.<\/p>\n
Tongue\u2019s removal of Abdullah Shafique brought about the interval and Pakistan, 16 for two after an hour-long ordeal, had gone the square root of nowhere. Archer had earlier nicked off the footwork-devoid Shan Masood and repeatedly breached the 90mph mark. Jamie Smith also continued his promising summer with the gloves, be it stood up to Robinson or back deeper for the quicker men.<\/p>\n
Buoyed by a career-best unbeaten 30 in the morning, Tongue resumed things in the afternoon and made light work of Babar Azam when an ambitious drive flew into the cordon on eight. Though Tongue then started to leak runs by trying to entice further repeats, Root was simply able to whistle for the refreshed Robinson to shut things down with another stifling burst of 76mph wobblers.<\/p>\n
Having conceded only seven runs from his initial six-over spell, Robinson\u2019s next set of seven cost a mere four and sent as many batters on their way. Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan were both caged in by Smith\u2019s proximity behind the stumps and trapped lbw after smart reviews from Root. And two balls before Awais fell in search of his half-century, Khurram Shahzad poked to slip.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787956096_888_500.jpg\")
<\/p>\n