The Cricket Briefing: Saud Shakeel stands alone, but do England have an attack to win the Ashes?

It has been two years but, at last, England have a series win to celebrate.Joe Root’s second stint as captain is off to a successful start as Pakistan were comfortably beaten by 194 runs at Lord’s to thrust the hosts 2-0 up in the three-match rubber. The tourists, the defiant Saud Shakeel aside, were dismantled in their second innings with the gulf in quality between the teams all too evident.This was England’s first Test series win since late 2024 and, for Root, a first as captain in five years. On the fourth day:

Mohammad Abbas finally claimed a place on the Lord’s honours board by taking 5-57 as England were dismissed for 208 in their second innings

The outstanding Ollie Robinson made decisive early in-roads as Pakistan faltered in their unlikely quest to score 389 to win, ending the match with figures of 8-35 in 27 overs

Saud played a lone hand before he was caught on the boundary three runs short of the first century of the series.

Here, Paul Newman and Ben Jones dissect the key talking points from Lord’s.Do England have an attack to win a home Ashes?Ollie Robinson had another excellent outing at Lord’s, taking 8-35 across the match, as he once again asserted his place as England’s attack leader.It continued a summer of renewal for the Sussex seamer. Indeed, since being recalled to the side after two years in the wilderness he has taken 23 wickets at an average of just 8.34.The metronomic and miserly Ollie Robinson (Stu Forster/Getty Images)With the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan, Robinson reached 99 dismissals in Test cricket — not quite the landmark we usually focus on, but the manner in which he has got there is worthy of attention.Those wickets have come at an average of 19.53. To find a bowler with as many wickets and a better average, you have to go back to before the Second World War.For a more contemporary comparison, it’s a better average than Jasprit Bumrah’s.That is a relevant yardstick. He may not be ranked No 1 in the world, but the Indian quick is universally regarded as the best bowler in all formats of the game, the first man picked in every hypothetical world XI in Tests, ODIs and T20s. Directly or indirectly, Bumrah is the man against whom all bowlers are measured.Of course, there is no doubt that Bumrah’s skillset exceeds that of Robinson. For one, that cross-format effectiveness is something that currently eludes the Englishman, his game now almost entirely focused on long-form speciality. In terms of physical attributes, there is no comparison. It was said Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did but backwards and in heels; Bumrah is Robinson but 10mph faster.However, for there to be a comparison between the two — albeit statistical — is still fantastic news for England’s red-ball prospects. Because, at the other end from Robinson, while he wheels away on a perfect line and length, is Jofra Archer.In his opening spells with the new ball this summer, Robinson has taken as many wickets as England’s entire combined attack managed in the same phase during the 2025-26 Ashes. It is no coincidence that in tandem with Archer bringing the ball speed, Robinson is even more effective than usual.Muhammad Abbas avoids a Jofra Archer thunderbolt (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)Root’s side have plenty of cricket to play over the next 12 months, but envisaging Robinson and Archer taking the new ball in the Ashes, not least with Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson maintaining the pressure, is mouthwatering for England fans.After much experimentation in the post Jimmy Anderson-Stuart Broad era, they finally have a new-ball pairing capable of troubling the very best in the game.Ben JonesWicketkeepers stand up to the challengeTom Blundell and Alex Carey have employed the tactic to productive effect against England for New Zealand and Australia, and now Pakistan’s Rizwan has become the latest wicketkeeper to succeed standing up to the wicket against medium-fast bowlers.Rizwan was brilliant at an increasingly fashionable Test tactic which is aimed at restricting the batter by stopping him using his feet to advance in front of his crease and negate movement through fear of being stumped.The Pakistan keeper took an exceptional catch standing up to Mohammad Abbas to claim a sharp edge from Harry Brook on the third day, and he was at it again to give Abbas his first five-wicket haul at Lord’s when he caught Ollie Robinson equally adeptly on day four.Mohammad Rizwan keeps his eye on the ball to catch Ollie Robinson (Stu Forster/Getty Images)It takes considerable skill and bravery against bowlers operating around 80 mph. Rizwan’s hands — and even his throat on two occasions — took a pummelling, particularly on Saturday when the excessive Lord’s seam movement was at its most acute.England have clearly decided if they can’t beat a tactic that has earned considerable success in particular against Joe Root and Brook then they will join their opponents in employing it, with Jamie Smith coming up to the stumps, and keeping exceptionally well, to Robinson.Smith has this summer been working on his keeping, in particular standing up, with former England keeper Sarah Taylor who has made a big impression since becoming the first woman to join the coaching staff of an elite English men’s sporting cricket team.Fielding coach Sarah Taylor practises with Jamie Smith (Stu Forster/Getty Images)Ahead of the fourth day, Smith could be seen on the Lord’s outfield as Taylor smashed tennis balls with a racquet at him, standing up behind the stumps, wearing only inner gloves.The result has been much improved glove work from a Surrey man who does not keep regularly for his county — a timely rise in standards given it has coincided with a slump in his batting form that saw him, in this second Test, make only his third half-century in his last 18 innings.Jamie Smith stands up to Ollie Robinson (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)“I’ve really clicked with Jamie and that’s amazing,” Taylor, who has been reluctant to step into the spotlight since working with England men, told her former team-mate Isa Guha on the BBC’s Test Match Special. “It doesn’t happen that way that often.“But I’m just coaching the player rather than worrying whether they are male or female. Nothing is really different. It’s about the personality involved and the cricket.”Paul NewmanSaud offers some defianceHaving come in at 14-3 after another top-order collapse, Saud Shakeel made a spirited 97 (off 122 balls) leading Pakistan’s resistance at Lord’s. The highest individual score of the series so far on either side, Pakistan’s No 5 fell short of three figures, but impressed in what was a much-needed show of steel and skill for the tourists.On a tough pitch with Robinson in good rhythm, Saud was content to let England’s attack leader do his thing, scoring just eight runs from the 25 deliveries he faced.The left-hander played England’s quicker bowlers far more assertively, hanging back and looking to punch square through the offside, using the pace of Archer in particular against him.Where Saud scored his runsIt was a knock of character and, at times, physical pain. Hit by Josh Tongue just after the tea break, Shakeel stood tall two balls later and smoked the England quick down the ground.Shortly after, he pulled two more Tongue bouncers in quick succession, clearing the rope twice to take him into the 90s. He fell trying to repeat the trick a third time, picking out Harry Brook on the rope at deep backward square, only a metre or two from a maximum that would have taken him to 100, and with it the honours’ board.England will not be too disappointed when they look back at how they bowled to Saud, maintaining a tight line and varied length for the majority of his innings. He barely scored a run on the legside, reflective of Robinson and co setting up camp on a fourth stump line, and rarely venturing away from it.Saud was helped by some good fortune — his false shot percentage, 26 per cent, is the highest he has recorded for a score over 20 — and there was never a sense of him taking the game away from Root’s side.Where England bowled at SaudRegardless, it was a big moment for Saud. He has an impressive Test average in the mid 40s, but still has just four centuries to his name, all in Asia. While the 100 was a step too far at Lord’s, this was a template of how to bat in these conditions — one for both him, and his team-mates, to follow when we head up to Edgbaston.Ben JonesLawrence’s positive impressionDan Lawrence’s Test career could easily have come to an end amid a flurry of ill-judged slogs while batting out of position as an opener standing in for Zak Crawley against Sri Lanka in 2024.It did look as though Lawrence had been hung out to dry by the Bazball regime when he was dropped after averaging 20 from six innings, that series having confirmed he was ill-suited to the demands of new-ball batting — hardly a surprise given he had spent his career making middle-order runs for Essex and Surrey.But his undoubted, if quirky, talent earned him the first crack at replacing Ben Stokes nominally as England’s all-rounder against Pakistan and he followed up his half century in the first Test at Headingley with another in demanding conditions at Lord’s.It was on the truncated third day with batting at its hardest that Lawrence made 50 of his eventual 54, taking intelligent risks and playing arguably the shot of the series when he went ‘inside out’ to hit Mohammad Ali for a majestic six over extra cover.Dan Lawrence advances down the pitch and smashes Mohammad Ali for six over extra cover on day three (Stu Forster/Getty Images)Lawrence, whose off-spin is better than it looks delivered from an unorthodox action, again failed to go on to the big score he needs to cement his position beyond the final Test at Edgbaston when he was bowled off an inside edge by Mohammad Abbas on Sunday.But he has done enough, with his sixth half century in Test cricket, to at least remain in the England picture in the short and medium term, with the four fast bowlers and part-time spin policy certain to be replicated in South Africa this winter.“I think I got wrapped up in a lot of things when I played for England before,” Lawrence, who moved to the Oval from Chelmsford in 2024 mainly to enhance his international ambitions, told reporters after just 24.5 overs of play were possible on Saturday.“I thought about my position a lot and what I needed to do to stay in the team instead of just actually enjoying it and realising how lucky I am to play for England. My mentality since coming back has been completely different to what it was before.”Paul NewmanThe lure of the Lord’s honours boardThere are ‘honours boards’ recording five and 10-wicket hauls and centuries at many Test grounds, but it is only at Lord’s, the home of cricket, where an appearance on the commemorative boards in the home and away dressing rooms is particularly revered.It was clear how much it meant to veteran Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Abbas when he had Ollie Robinson well caught by Mohammad Rizwan, standing up to the stumps, to complete his first five-wicket haul at Lord’s after four near misses, three of them in Test cricket.Mohammad Abbas looks to the heavens after claiming his first five-wicket haul at Lord’s (Stu Forster/Getty Images)Abbas jumped for joy, looked to the heavens and kissed the Lord’s turf before receiving a warm ovation when he walked back towards the Warner Stand at the end of the over. That was repeated when he led his side off, holding the ball aloft, after they had bowled England out for 208.Twice when he was player of the match in Pakistan’s victory at Lord’s eight years ago Abbas, 36, finished with four wickets in an innings. He repeated that in the first innings of this second Test when Pakistan captain Babar Azam gave him an extended bowl on the second morning in a vain attempt to gain him that extra, crucial wicket.There had also been a four-wicket haul during one of Abbas long stints in county cricket, this one for Leicestershire, and he talked to reporters after the first day about his desire to finally make the most fabled honours board in world cricket on his “favourite ground”.On the fourth day, as he ended the game with match figures of 9-130, he finally did it.Paul Newman