England's four‑man pace unit bowls Pakistan out for 110 at Lord's

England's pace quartet of Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson dismissed Pakistan for 110 on day two of the second Test at Lord's, with Robinson finishing with 4-11 in a standout spell.

Forced to reconfigure their bowling following the retirement of Ben Stokes, England have settled on a four-man seam attack that the BBC describes as potent and complementary, operating in helpful home conditions. After the first-Test win at Headingley, captain Joe Root said his pace bowlers "do not know how good they can be" and praised the variety they offer, comparing the current group to the stocks he used previously when he often called upon James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes.

Pace differences have become a defining feature: Archer reached 95mph in the quickest opening spell of his career while Robinson operated around 78mph at the other end, and Tongue's average pace across the series is actually higher than Archer's despite Archer bowling a higher percentage of deliveries over 90mph. Atkinson slots in just below Tongue and Archer on speed, and Archer quipped he could play until he is 40 given how his team-mates are sharing the load. "It is a good attack," said former England captain Michael Vaughan. "They can all get better and that is a really good sign. "This batting line-up is possibly the easiest I have seen to bowl to but this attack, bowling the way they are doing, will challenge better batting line-ups. "They will challenge the Australia line-up quite nicely if they bowl like this."

Robinson has offset a lack of raw pace with accuracy and control: his four wickets on Friday took him to 17 wickets at an average of 8.84 across his three Tests this summer, and 70% of his deliveries have hit a good length in the Pakistan series. Atkinson has the next best record with 52% hitting a good length, Robinson bowled 31 deliveries in a row without conceding a run on Friday and 13 overs for 11 runs were cited as the most economical figures by a pace bowler bowling 10 overs or more in England for 13 years. "Ollie Robinson is an extraordinarily skillful bowler," Vaughan added. "[England] are trying to get him to 81mph more consistently and if he can get to that he will challenge all batting line-ups in all conditions. "He has been the tone-setter we were crying out for in the winter."

Archer combined high pace with varied lengths, returning figures of 3-26 in the innings, while the current group's variety is said to stem from differing plans and physical characteristics rather than the exact roles of England's 2005 unit of Stephen Harmison, Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones. Archer and Robinson bowl with particularly high release points; Tongue delivers from notably wide on the crease — 96.4cm from the stumps compared with Archer's 40.3cm — and Atkinson, who took 34 wickets at 20.17 in his first year in Test cricket in 2024, bowls accurately at higher pace than Robinson. "You want a bowler who can swing it, another bowler who has proper pace, another who can reverse swing it and another who can do the donkey work," said BBC chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew. "It is a well-balanced attack but without the spinner."

Tongue has shown particular effectiveness in targeting the stumps: 22% of his deliveries across the series would have hit the timbers, rising to 29% at Headingley where he took eight wickets in the first Test — a 29% figure described as the highest by an England bowler in a home Test for 15 years. After taking two more wickets on Friday, Tongue's strike-rate stands at a dismissal every 39.8 balls, placing him 12th on the list of bowlers to have taken 30 Test wickets. "Tongue is the one who is really developing the best of them," Agnew said.

A home Ashes series is less than one year away, leaving this group's development and balance under particular scrutiny ahead of that fixture. England's recent performances with the ball will be observed for how they translate against stronger opposition in home conditions.