England beat Pakistan by 194 runs at Lord's to clinch series 2-0
England defeated Pakistan by 194 runs at Lord's on the fourth day of the Second Rothesay Test to secure the three-match series 2-0 with a match to spare.
The victory completed a repeat of last week's one-sided result at Headingley and provided Joe Root with wins in the first two Tests of his second spell as captain, delivering England's first series triumph since 2024. The contest was played against a backdrop of off-field turmoil: the build-up featured the Brydon Carse controversy and the Pakistan Cricket Board threatened to abandon the match and the rest of the tour over an interview broadcast by Sky with the sons of former captain and Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Scoreboard details underlined England's control: England 290 (Smith 61, Cox 55; Abbas 4-73) and 208 (Lawrence 54; Abbas 5-57); Pakistan 110 (Awais 46; Robinson 4-11) and 194 (Shakeel 97, Robinson 4-24). Ollie Robinson finished the match with figures of 4-24 on Sunday and match figures of 8-35, while Muhammad Abbas took a five-for in England's second innings.
Pakistan were set 389 to win at Lord's but aimed primarily to prolong the match into a fifth day; their previous highest total in the series had been 171. Robinson removed two wickets in his third over to reduce Pakistan to 14-3, and although Saud Shakeel produced a defiant 97, Robinson returned to dismiss Shan Masood lbw on review and Muhammad Rizwan leg before to further dent the chase. Shakeel was eventually caught off Josh Tongue and Pakistan subsided to 194 all out.
Robinson's return to Test cricket continued to shape the series: he has taken 23 wickets in three Tests at an average of eight, and operated without notable pace while often bowling with the wicketkeeper up. He formed a new-ball partnership with Jofra Archer, who bowled at high pace; Archer finished with 2-73 and Tongue ended with 3-46 as they helped wrap up the tail while Robinson did not bowl again in search of a five-wicket haul.
Muhammad Abbas and Saud Shakeel provided Pakistan's standout individual displays amid a series of low totals for the tourists. Abbas, the 36-year-old who had narrowly missed out on the Lord's honours board on three previous occasions, returned 5-57 and celebrated with a point to the sky, while Shakeel combined with Shan Masood for a 97-run stand, showing patience and surviving blows to the helmet before falling one short of a century.
The third and final Test of the series begins at Edgbaston on Wednesday, 9 September.
