Those were the numbers that greeted Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes when they took over in 2022, a reminder of just how bad things had ended under Joe Root. It was a statistic that gave the new boys permission to rip up the old order. So it’s easy to forget that precious one.
It was near the middle of that horror run, and it came at Headingley against India five years ago this month. The tourists were bowled out for 78 as Root reached three figures and celebrated his 27th victory as Test captain, a record among Englishmen. The Yorkshireman had to come home to find some breathing space.
Ollie Robinson was integral for Root back then, still in his first summer as an England cricketer and ending up as the player of the match. The pair are the only members of that XI playing against Pakistan this week, with Root back in Leeds to herald a new era. Robinson might not have been loved by the previous hierarchy, leading to two years in exile, but Root clearly rates him, picking him in 10 of the seamer’s 22 Tests.
Never mind that he’s operating in the 70s (mph), he’ll deliver, as the bowling average tells you. With seven quicks in his squad for this series, Root decided that Robinson would bowl the first over of his second stint as captain. He definitely looked the part when bowling a touch slower in the morning.
With the very first ball of the series, clocking in at 76mph, Robinson wobbled it into Azan Awais from around the wicket, thumping the front pad and raising the umpire’s finger. To Shan Masood not long after it was over the wicket, at 79mph, an inswinger to show off Robinson’s range with the Dukes. At six for two, Pakistan were in proper bother.
This is a side who few expect to make a serious splash this summer. They sit second last in the World Test Championship table and haven’t won a series away from home since 2023. Their captain and finest batter, Babar Azam, is injured.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
