- Josh Tongue-Oli Robinson's Havoc
- After rolling Pakistan, the ball was cut into two pieces
- History made after 28 years
A Test match is being played between England and Pakistan at Headingley. England's bowlers performed brilliantly in this match. Pacers Ollie Robinson and Josh Tong took five wickets each to bundle Pakistan out for just 171 in the first innings. It was the first time in 28 years in the history of England Test cricket that two English fast bowlers took five wickets in the same innings. To commemorate this historic achievement, Robinson and Tongue cut the ball in two.
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England's bowlers were on fire
England's bowlers washed Pakistan at Headingley. Batting first, Pakistan were bowled out for just 171 runs. Ollie Robinson took 5 wickets with 51 runs in 18 overs. Josh Tong also took 5 wickets with 46 runs in 9.1 overs. Both these bowlers together restricted Pakistan to a low score.
Cut the ball into two pieces
When a player takes a fifer i.e. five wickets, he keeps the ball to himself. It is rare for two bowlers to take five wickets each in an innings. So when Robinson and Tung accomplished this feat, they made a unique decision. They decided to cut the ball in two and keep it for themselves. It happened for the first time in the history of cricket that two bowlers who took five wickets cut the ball in half and shared it between them.
Josh Tongue and Ollie Robinson have had the ball split in half so they can both have a momento from their five-wicket hauls.
Brilliant picture by @dudleyplatypus
#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/a5yUZIvuMx
— England's Barmy Army
(@TheBarmyArmy) August 19, 2026
What did Robinson and Tongue say?
England Cricket has posted a video, in which Ollie Robinson and Tongue share their views after splitting the ball in two. Tong explained that the idea was given to him by Ollie and that he had seen such a thing with his own eyes for the first time. Robinson said team manager Wayne Bentley split the ball in two with five minutes to go. And he will never forget this moment.
A unique sight after 28 years
Tongue and Robinson have now created history by taking five wickets in a single Test innings for England. This is the first pair of English fast bowlers to achieve such a feat in 28 years. The previous record was held by Andy Caddick and Angus Fraser in 1998. They took five wickets each in the first innings of the Test match against the West Indies at Port of Spain.
Tom Richardson and Jack Hearn achieved this feat in 1896 when they took five wickets each in the second innings against Australia at Lord's. The first time two England bowlers took five wickets in the same innings was in 1888, when George Lohmann and Bobby Peel achieved the feat against Australia in Sydney.
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