One ball, two owners: Robinson-Tang share memories of 5-wicket haul

The first day against Pakistan at Headingley was a memorable one for England pacers Ollie Robinson and Josh Tang. Both took 5 wickets each to bowl out Pakistan for just 171 runs. And to commemorate that great feat, they also took the unique decision of sharing the match ball.

Five wickets for two bowlers in an innings - such a scene is rarely seen in cricket. And the incident of cutting a ball into two equal parts as a souvenir of that match is undoubtedly rare.

The idea of ​​sharing the ball came to Robinson and Tang as they were leaving the field. With the consent of both, the match ball was sent to the Headingley ground staff. Later, the ball was cut perfectly into two pieces. One part belonged to Robinson, the other to Tang.

At the end of the day, Robinson, who was excited about this strange souvenir of his, said that he was the one who suggested to Tang to split the ball in two as he was leaving the field. According to him, just as it is rare for two bowlers to take five wickets in the same innings, half a ball is also rare in cricket. So this memory will be special for them.

In the BBC Test Match Special, Tang also said that it was Robinson who first suggested this. The ground staff distributed the ball very nicely. The pacer said that he would take special care of the souvenir as it was the first time he had seen something like this in his life.

Statistics also show how rare the incident is. This is the 16th time that two England bowlers have taken five wickets in the same innings of a Test. The last time this happened was in 2006, against Pakistan at Old Trafford. Simon Harmison and Monty Panesar took five wickets in that match. After a long wait, this feat has returned against Pakistan again - but this time not with spin, but with the hands of pacers.

Robinson dismissed four batsmen from Pakistan's top order. Then Tang stormed with the ball. He completed his five wickets by quickly wrapping up Pakistan's lower order. Pakistan's first innings was restricted to just 171 runs with the two pacers bowling brilliantly.

England were also in a good position with the bat at the end of the day. They scored 112 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. As a result, Joe Root's second term as captain has also started well.

For Robinson, the day was special beyond the cricketing success. Just a week ago, his second daughter Eva joined the family. After Eva's birth last Thursday night, he did not get much rest. The feeling of the day became even more emotional for him to be able to perform on the field while leaving his young child at home.