Robinson strikes as England close in on Pakistan whitewash

Ollie Robinson continued his outstanding summer with two wickets in his opening over as England pushed Pakistan towards defeat in the third test at Edgbaston on Thursday.

Robinson, man of the match in the first two tests, struck with the first ball of Pakistan’s second innings and again three deliveries later to leave England closing in on a 3-0 series whitewash.

The demoralised tourists reached 52-2 before rain ended play early on day two, needing 268 runs to make England bat again.

Robinson, 32, has been almost unplayable in this series, taking 21 wickets at an average of under seven runs each.

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.

"He’s probably one of the most consistent bowlers in world cricket. He knows what he’s doing with the ball and he wears you down a bit so it’s a challenge,” said Pakistan batting coach Mike Smith.

"He has bowled exceptionally well and he’s in a little purple patch as a player. We need to find a way to combat that as well as we can."

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.

England, who led by 23 overnight, had earlier pressed the accelerator to extend their first-innings advantage to a daunting 320.

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.

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.

"I'm really happy with how I've contributed," said Lawrence. "I was feeling really good today, got on a bit of a roll with Brooky and went with it.

"I thought I was going to make a really big score to be honest. It wasn’t to be but I think if I’d been offered 65 at the start of the day I’d have taken it."

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.

It was his highest test score since a second-innings 88 against India on the same ground 14 months ago.

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.

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.

While he was expensive – he conceded 148 runs off his 23 overs – he posed a threat with his pace and aggression.

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.