English Woman's Journal - Robinson and Tongue share match ball after dismissing Pakistan

The two paceman took five wickets each as Pakistan were dismissed for a meagre 171 on the first day of England's post-Bazball era, with Joe Root starting his second stint as full-time England captain following the shock international retirement of former skipper Ben Stokes.

Root rounded off a fine day on his Yorkshire home ground reaching 37 not out at stumps, with England 112-2 -- a deficit of just 59 runs.

Robinson took a wicket with the very first ball of the match and dismissed four top-order batsmen in a haul of 5-51.

Tongue followed up the Sussex seamer's initial burst with 5-46.

Normally when a bowler takes five wickets in a Test innings, he keeps the ball for a souvenir.

But with both Robinson and Tongue performing the feat on Wednesday they asked a member of the groundstaff to saw it in half.

Robinson, showing off the newly-sliced ball at his post-match press conference, told reporters: "As we were walking off Tonguey said, 'I think we should split it'. I was like, 'yeah, we should actually do that, I think it'd be quite cool'.

"I said 'do you reckon they'll be able to do it?' and within five minutes they brought it back up and it was done.

"It’s one of those things that you don't really have too many halves of….half a cricket ball. It's something we'll never forget really and it's not too often two guys get five in the same innings, so it’s a nice gesture and something to remember."

Robinson took a career-best seven wickets in an innings during England's first Test of their home season, against New Zealand in June.

That was his first appearance for England in over two-and-a-half years, with team management long concerned about Robinson's fitness rather than his skill.

The 32-year-old seamer then suffered a knee problem that meant he missed the second Test against New Zealand, with Robinson overlooked for the series finale at Trent Bridge -- a loss that ended in Stokes's dramatic exit from international duty.

"It was frustrating not to be able to play at the Oval, it was just a bit of a freak training injury and then I was available for Trent Bridge but not selected," said Robinson.

"I was ready to go but I suppose that's part of professional sport, isn't it? I've just worked really hard on a bit more fitness and a bit more skill, so it's nice when it comes off on days like today."

Robinson, who recently became a father for the second time, added: "We had the newborn last Thursday at 2:00 am so I've been catching up on my sleep since I got to the hotel in Leeds.

"But it was a really special week last week having another baby and it almost makes today even sweeter."

D.W.Robertson--EWJ