Ollie Robinson strikes again as England close in on Pakistan whitewash

[p]Robinson, man of the match in the first two tests, ‌struck with the first ball of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/pakistan/tS3K91g9/"]Pakistan[/a]’s second innings and again three deliveries later to ‌leave [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/england/UJC5mtAU/"]England[/a] closing in on a 3-0 series whitewash.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/cricket/england-UJC5mtAU/pakistan-tS3K91g9/?mid=IHErS3Yg"]The demoralised tourists reached ‌52-2 before rain ended play early on day two[/a], needing 268 runs to ‌make England bat again.[/p][p]Robinson, 32, has been almost unplayable in this series, ‌taking 21 wickets at an average of under seven runs each.[/p][p]He continued in the same vein in Birmingham, removing Saim Ayub, who was dismissed for a duck in both ‌innings, and then Abdullah Shafique to finish the ⁠day with figures of 2-10 from ‌his six overs.[/p][embed guid="dd6584ba-0130-44d0-a51c-c1ca96bbfd6b" url="https://x.com/englandcricket/status/2098068546873917714" social-type="twitter" /][p]Shan Masood, who was dropped at slip by Ben Duckett off Gus ​Atkinson, was still there on 21 at the close, alongside opener Azan Awais on 29, but Pakistan's position appears hopeless.[/p][p]England, who led by ​23 overnight, had earlier pressed the accelerator to extend their first-innings advantage to a daunting 320.[/p][p]They made 453 with Harry Brook and Dan Lawrence extending ⁠their fifth-wicket partnership to ​86 until Brook set off for an impossible single and was run out by Masood for 75 from 97 balls.[/p][p]Lawrence went on to make 65 from 82 balls before dragging a wide ball onto his stumps to give Mohammad ‌Imran his first test wicket. It was a third test half-century in a row for Lawrence who was recalled after a two-year absence for this series.[/p][p]There was also a welcome half-century from the out-of-form Jamie Smith who overcame an uncertain start and a finger injury, which caused him to hand over the wicketkeeping gloves to Jordan Cox, to strike 69 off 84 balls including one six and nine fours.[/p][p]It was his highest Test score since a second-innings 88 against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/india/fcOzl2uI/"]India[/a] on the same ground 14 months ago.[/p][embed guid="945baa46-8344-4e78-8db2-dc8aaa656d1a" url="https://x.com/englandcricket/status/2098068546873917714" social-type="twitter" /][p]Robinson chimed ‌in with a 50 of his own, which included a huge six ​into the Hollies Stand off Mohammad Abbas, before becoming Razaullah’s fourth victim.[/p][p]The ‌blooding of the 21-year-old, who had only played eight first-class games prior to his call-up, was one of the few positives for Pakistan.[/p][p]While he was expensive – he conceded 148 runs off his 23 overs – he posed a threat with his pace and aggression.[/p][p]Razaullah may represent a ⁠brighter future for Pakistan, but the ⁠present remains bleak for a ‌team that has lost 15 of its last 20 tests.[/p]