Who claims the cricket ball when two pacers bag five-wicket hauls in the same innings of a Test match?
The debate found a simple yet ingenious resolution during England’s first Test against Pakistan at Headingley on Wednesday as seamers Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue decided to simply cut the dark Dukes ball in half.
Sticking true to one of cricket’s oldest traditions of a bowler claiming the ball after bagging a five-for in an innings, Robinson and Tongue came together to their unique resolution after demolishing Pakistan with figures of five for 51 and five for 46 respectively. The duo’s combustive energy dismantled the entire Pakistan order within 49 overs, bundled out for 171. The hosts then entered stumps at Day 1 after putting 112 for two on board.
Robinson and Tongue also became the first English pair to bag five-wicket hauls in the same innings of a Test in 20 years since Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar against Pakistan at Old Trafford in 2006.
“Robbo said we can split the ball in half,” Tongue told Test Match Special. “The groundstaff have kindly done that.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen that happen. I’m sure I’ll be putting that up somewhere.”
Robinson raised his half of the ball to reporters and said: “We were walking off the field.
“Josh said it and I said: ‘We actually should do that, it would be quite cool.’
“You don’t really have too many halves of a cricket ball, so it would be something that we never forget.”
“Wayne Bentley, the team manager, took it down to the groundstaff,” said Robinson.
“I said: ‘Do you reckon they will be able to do it?’ Within five minutes he brought it back up and it was done. It’s really nice,” he said.
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