England vs Pakistan: Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer skittle visitors as Joe Root's side take 261-run lead in second Test
England's bowlers impressed on day two of the second Test at Lord's as the hosts took a 261-run lead against Pakistan with Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer both impressing with the ball in hand; watch day three live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.15am on Saturday
Friday 28 August 2026 20:33, UK
Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer rattled their way through Pakistan's batting order as England took a 261-run lead on day two of the second Test at Lord's.
England's bowlers excelled with both the ball and the bat, as the hosts started the day with Josh Tongue (30no) and Gus Atkinson (45) at the crease.
- Scorecard: England vs Pakistan, second Test at Lord's
- ECB chair disappointed by England's off-field antics
- With alarm bells ringing, what's gone wrong for Pakistan cricket?
- Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream no contract
The tailenders set the tone early, moving England to a first-innings score of 290, thanks to their 47-run stand, before the hosts' fiery bowling attack returned to the field to skittle Pakistan for 110 runs inside 37.2 overs.
England's four-pronged pace attack of Robinson, Archer, Josh Tongue and Atkinson ran riot, producing a relentless and highly impressive hour of bowling before lunch, but were unlucky not to take more wickets, with Pakistan heading into the pavilion at 16-2.
Back at his happy hunting ground of Lord's, Robinson, who took a haul of seven wickets here against New Zealand in June, was the pick of England's bowlers, taking impressive figures of 4-11.
Archer, who showcased his phenomenal pace, took 3-26, while Tongue also impressed, removing both Abdullah Shafique (5) and Pakistan's captain Babar Azam (8) either side of lunch.
Azan Awais top-scored for the visitors and proved difficult for England to remove, hitting 46 runs off 102 balls, before he was caught out at mid-on by Emilio Gay, off a Robinson bouncer.
England returned to the field after tea, but lost wickets quickly, with Ben Duckett (1), Jordan Cox (11), and Joe Root (24) all falling inside 17 overs.
Play was abandoned at 6.50pm due to bad light, with England 81-3 at stumps, and Gay (30no) and Harry Brook (7no) set to return to the crease on Saturday morning.
Tongue and Atkinson excel with the bat
Pakistan struggled to remove Tongue and Atkinson early on Friday morning, and it proved costly.
While Atkinson saw little of the striker's end as Tongue nipped away doubles, singles and boundaries with authority, they combined nicely to move England's score on by 42 runs.
Tongue was impressive with the bat, sweeping away four boundaries, and questions were again raised about Pakistan's field setting, with the England batter targeting the gap between their third slip and gully.
At around 11am, Atkinson took strike and bludgeoned Ali Usman back down the ground for four. He tried again on the next ball, but was caught at long-off by Ali.
Robinson and Archer shine at Lord's
It had been anticipated that England's bowlers would deliver on the Lord's wicket, but on Friday, they exceeded expectations, producing an incredibly relentless hour-long spell of bowling before lunch.
It took England four overs to take their first wicket, with Archer sending down a fiery delivery to Shan Masood (1), who edged behind to Smith.
Smith, who had top-scored yesterday for England with a 61, found himself back in the action again soon after, with Tongue sending a jaffa down to Shafique, who also edged behind to leave Pakistan 2-16 after 14.1 overs.
England began again after the break and continued with the same intensity, which culminated in Tongue taking the huge wicket of Pakistan captain Babar.
Robinson once again worked his magic on the Lord's pitch and removed Saud Shakeel (16) lbw following a review.
It was one of two decisions off Robinson's bowling that England successfully overturned, with the Sussex bowler trapping Mohammad Rizwan (7) lbw also after a brief rain break.
As the clouds gathered over the Home of Cricket, Robinson and Archer took two more wickets apiece, with the latter skittling Usman (1), before Brook took an edge in the slips from Robinson to dismiss Khurram Shazad (1), after shelling Azan earlier in the day off an Atkinson delivery.
Archer clattered another delivery into Mohammad Abbas' (2) stumps to wrap up Pakistan's innings, with Imam-ul-Haq unable to take to the bat due to a calf injury.
England's top order out cheaply, as Gay battles back
England's second innings got off to a poor start with Duckett clumsily driving Khurram to Babar at mid-off, before Cox also came up a cropper to the Pakistan bowler, being dismissed for lbw.
There was more woe for England, who lost their captain for 24, as Ali replicated one of the epic deliveries he used to dismiss Brook on Thursday, jagging back into Root's front pad.
While England held a commanding lead, it piled pressure on Brook and Gay, with the former overturning an lbw decision by the umpire, following a review on his first ball.
Gay was hugely impressive at the crease, battling back the advances of Abbas and Ali to bring up a score of 30 off 69 deliveries, which included six boundaries, before play was suspended due to bad light.
Watch day three of England's second Test against Pakistan live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.15am on Saturday. Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream no contract
