England's newly formed seam attack dominated Pakistan to secure an unassailable 2-0 Test series lead at Lord's.
England clinched a 2-0 Test series victory over Pakistan at Lord's with a day and a match to spare, driven by a lethal four-man pace attack featuring Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, and Gus Atkinson.
Forming a new-ball partnership in Test cricket for the first time, Robinson and Archer have picked up 24 of the 38 Pakistan wickets to fall in the series. Change bowlers Tongue and Atkinson, fresh off winning The Hundred with Manchester, accounted for the remaining 14 wickets.
Robinson proved to be the standout performer of the series, following up his 8 for 80 at Leeds with figures of 8 for 35 at Lord's. The seam bowler, who returned to the side in June after a two-year exile and a subsequent injury during the series defeat to New Zealand, has been named player of the match in all three of his Tests this summer.
Highlighting his pairing with Archer, who consistently bowls above 90 mph (145 kph) and has reached 95 mph (153 kph), Robinson said: "The four-man attack we've got, I think it's going to be very successful. Jof and the other guys can then bowl rapid and break it up at the other end. It's quite a nice pairing to open the bowling with, someone bowling that quickly and swinging the ball the other way from me. Long may it continue."
The series marks England's first post-Bazball campaign following the retirement of former captain Ben Stokes. Under new captain Joe Root, England won the first Test at Leeds by an innings, leaving supporters hopeful ahead of the home Ashes series against Australia in less than 10 months.
For Pakistan, the defeat at Lord's represents their 10th loss in their last 11 away Tests during their first tour of England in six years. The third and final Test begins on September 9 at Edgbaston.
Reporting sourced from The Hindu Cricket. Photo courtesy The Hindu Cricket.