Robinson strikes twice as England close in on Pakistan whitewash

Birmingham witnessed Ollie Robinson's dominant performance as England edged closer to a 3-0 series whitewash against Pakistan in the third test on Thursday. Robinson, who was named man of the match in the first two tests, struck twice in his opening over, dismissing Pakistan's Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique for ducks and 10 respectively.

This left Pakistan at 52-2, needing 268 runs to resume batting. The 32-year-old, who has been nearly unplayable throughout the series with 21 wickets at an average of under seven runs, finished with 2-10 from his six overs. Despite a solid effort from Shan Masood (21) and Azan Awais (29), Pakistan's position appeared dire. England had extended their advantage from the first innings to a daunting 320 with Harry Brook and Dan Lawrence's partnership reaching 86 before Brook was run out by Masood.

Lawrence added 65 off 82 balls before being dismissed by the same bowler, who also claimed Mohammad Imran's maiden test wicket. Lawrence's third half-century in a row, coming off the bat of an out-of-form Jamie Smith, provided a brief respite for England. Smith's 69 off 84 balls, including a six and nine fours, was his best test score since a second-innings 88 against India at the same ground 14 months ago.

Robinson contributed 50 of his own, including a massive six off Mohammad Abbas, before becoming Razaullah's fourth victim. While Razaullah's inclusion as a 21-year-old, who had only played eight first-class games, was a positive for Pakistan, their present predicament remained grim, with the team having lost 15 of their last 20 tests.