Ollie Robinson was branded ‘exceptional’ by team-mate Josh Tongue after both pace bowlers bagged five-wicket hauls as England bowled Pakistan out for 171 runs on day one of the first Test match at Headingley.

After Tongue snared Mohammad Abbas to wrap up Pakistan’s first innings, he and Robinson walked off the field holding hands, discussing who between them would take the match ball home.

Instead, they opted to split the ball in half, employing the help of the grounds staff to cut the ball through its seam.

“It’s not often you get half a ball,” Robinson told the ECB. “So it’s something we’ll remember forever. It’s quite unique.”

At stumps on day one, England were left trailing the visitors by only 59 runs, with returning captain Joe Root and Jordan Cox set to return to bat in the morning with their side on 112-2, after Ben Duckett (15) and Emilio Gay (33) were both dismissed by Abbas and Mohammad Ali.

Robinson kickstarted proceedings in incredible fashion, pinning Azan Awais with the first ball of the Test match, before also snaring Shan Masood (5) lbw before rain stopped play.

He followed up by dismissing Abdullah Shafique (61), Saud Shakeel (5), and later got Khurram Shazad (14), to take the fifth five-fer of his Test career.

It followed his incredible seven-wicket haul at Lord’s against New Zealand in June, his last Test appearance.

“Ollie Robinson was excellent,” Tongue said. “As a bowling unit, we were very good. I’m glad that we bowled them out.

“It was similar to his performance at Lord’s.

“He’s an exceptional bowler when he hits his lines and lengths and he showed that today.”

Broad: Robinson’s bowling attributes are excellent

Robinson missed both of England’s second and third Test defeats against New Zealand earlier this summer, and prior to that, had not played for England for over two years, after falling out of favour with selectors, due to injuries and fitness issues.

After taking his first two wickets on Wednesday afternoon, Sky Sports Cricket analyst Stuart Broad commended Robinson on his bowling abilities.

“He’s an excellent bowler, and certainly when conditions suit him, he’s someone who is a great exponent of movement and can hold an area for a long period of time,” Broad told Sky Sports Cricket.

Broad believes England will benefit from Robinson’s talents over the coming years, with Root’s side set to tour South Africa in the winter, before welcoming Australia for the 2027 Ashes.

“The advantage for England and Robinson over the next year is that they’ll go to South Africa, where he’ll be a fine bowler,” Broad said.

“He’s got brilliant attributes: he makes the ball bounce and hits consistent areas.

“Then you’re into an Ashes series, we don’t know what the pitches will be like, but you know that if you get a pitch with a bit of movement, Robinson is your best bowler for extracting that movement.

“Then he’ll be around 33 the next time the English summer comes around, and England have a choice of rebuilding a new bowling attack going forward, or they want to keep dipping Ollie Robinson in and out for pitches that suit him.

“There’s no doubt that you get him on Lord’s or a nipper with a brand new ball, he’s our best bowler in those conditions.”

Karthik: Tongue adapted to the conditions quickly

Tongue was equally impressive, as he secured his fourth Test match five-fer, first claiming the important wicket of Imam-ul-Haq (42), to end his 91-run partnership with Adbullah Shafique (61).

He later hit Salman Agha’s (21) stumps and found himself on a hat-trick, just as tea was called, after he dismissed Ali Usman (0) lbw.

Tongue later snared Mohammad Rizwan (12) and later wrapped up the innings by bowling Abbas.

“Tongue is an awkward bowler to deal with,” Dinesh Karthik told the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast. “He’s been bowling at his best in the last six to eight months. He has shown his ability to get good batters out when they’re set, which is a good skill to have.

“Today, he has adapted the fastest among the three pacers on display. He has the extra pace and the awkwardness of his action, goes past the perpendicular, he has a lot of attributes that trouble a lot of right-handers.

“Overall, you have to say the lengths that Josh Tongue bowled to get Imam out, who was set, that was an important wicket because a partnership was developing; once he got a sniff of that wicket, he bowled quite nicely.”

Watch day two of the first Test between England and Pakistan, at Headingley, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10.15am on Thursday (11am first ball, weather-permitting). Stream cricket and more sport contract-free with NOW

England vs Pakistan Test series schedule

All games live on Sky Sports; all 11am starts UK and Ireland

• First Test (Headingley) – August 19-23
• Second Test (Lord’s) – August 27-31
• Third Test (Edgbaston) – September 9-13

LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil insists he is optimistic about the league’s long-term future but has warned of a ‘very compressed timeline’ to finalise fresh investment.

The 2026 season finishes a week early in Indianapolis and offering a reduced prize purse compared to other regular events, with next week’s Team Championship cancelled and uncertainty over their next steps.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced earlier this year they would not bankroll the league beyond this season, having spent over $5bn (£3.6bn) over five years, with LIV Golf now looking to finalise a deal with a new unnamed investor.

That investor met with players ahead of LIV Golf Indianapolis, where no players had pre-tournament press conferences and O’Neil addressed the media to discuss ‘the next chapter’ for the circuit.

“It [LIV Golf] certainly was disruptive and at times divisive and there’s no question that several years have been challenging for the game of golf,” O’Neil said. “I believe we’re at a really special inflection point.”

Recent reports have claimed multiple vendors and contractors are yet to be paid by LIV Golf, while several of their high-profile players – including Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau – have been linked with returns to the PGA Tour.

O’Neil addressed the financial challenges facing the circuit and its ambition to fit within golf’s traditional ecosystem, plus discussed how the players have reacted to their plans and how he expects LIV Golf to progress.

“This has been an extremely challenging several months for all of us,” O’Neil added. “We didn’t sign up for this. We didn’t ask for this but yet they’re here. My confidence level is high [for LIV Golf to survive] because the facts are good.

“We have work to do. We have things we have to accomplish. There are hurdles we have to jump over. It’s a very complex transaction we’ll have to deliver. But man, I wouldn’t bet against us.”

Here’s a look back at some other key comments from O’Neil’s press conference…

On competing with ‘rival’ tours:

“It’s time to move forward – let’s once again put the game first. I spent time over the last several weeks speaking with many of the guardians and stewards of the game of golf, and I heard a real appetite to put the parochial friction of the past behind us.

“I want to be crystal clear: that’s what LIV Golf wants. The philosophy is simple. If you’ve been around me before, you’ve heard it: it’s complete, not compete. Golf doesn’t need one tour to win and everyone else to lose.

“We shouldn’t live in a world where one group of golfers is uniquely restricted from playing elsewhere. Our goal isn’t to replace or restrict any tour. Our mission is to bring something distinctive to the ecosystem that elevates it and makes the game better.”

On how the ‘next chapter’ would work:

“This next chapter is fundamentally different. We are building towards a league majority owned by its players. Players aren’t simply playing for LIV Golf – they have an opportunity to own it.

“They get equity in what they’re building. They regain a majority of their commercial rights and teams become real businesses with real assets. The interests of the league and the players become truly aligned around building long-term value together.

“We certainly are going to lean more into teams, lean into teams and the national identity.

“Our vision is five marquee Team Championships on each of the five continents we play along with five team Signature Events, positioned around major championships, to make sure our players who are playing in the majors have a proper place to prepare.”

On financial ‘sustainability’ being a key focus:

“The first chapter of LIV required enormous ambition and investment. This next chapter requires something quite different: commercial discipline. That’s why this investor process matters so much and that’s why we’re spending so much time on it.

“As we announced in Bedminster, we received a signed term sheet from a lead investor. We’re also seeing significant interest from LPs and strategic partners and we expect to have a lot more to say about that very soon.

“Bringing in outside capital is not just about money. This is a tough business and so of course we need validation, but more importantly, we need some muscle, some expertise, relationships and accountability.”

On their plans should other tours penalise players involved in LIV 2.0:

“If you look at some of the feeder tours and what their prize money is, it’s simple enough for us to build events around our events and host them and bring people in. We just want to make sure we have enough events for our players to play a full schedule.

“We’re hoping that the ecosystem understands the value and power of inviting some of the most recognisable names in the world of golf into their events, into markets that others might not attend or travel to. It seems very obvious for sure.

“You don’t have to look really too much further past the sponsor invites and where they’re going – they’re going to our players. If that’s not the case, we’ll just build events. Simple as that.”

On whether DeChambeau will agree a new contract:

“I’ll leave all individual player questions to individual players. I have a lot of time for Bryson – I talk to him quite a bit.

“Having spent 30 years in this business of sports, spending time with professional athletes for most of it, I’ve never met one who’s truly… not what they say but what they do, truly focused and be mission driven. He cares about the global game of golf.

“He cares about building this next generation of fans. I don’t think anybody works harder on or off the course. Bryson has become a good friend, a good advocate of the league. I certainly hope he’s with us for the future.

“He’s been extremely supportive, as I can say most of the big guys have been.”

Watch the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship throughout the week on Sky Sports Golf. Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream with no contract on NOW.

BOSTON — In the long, 162-game MLB season, August marks the point in the calendar that truly tests a team’s mettle and mental fortitude: Five months in, one month before the postseason push.

For a Boston Red Sox team that has faced its share of adversity this season, August gave them an even bigger test: Sixteen games in 16 days.

The Red Sox finished that grueling stretch Wednesday, nearly pulling off another magical win when Mickey Gasper hit a game-tying, three-run homer in the sixth. But they didn’t have enough, falling 7-6 in 10 innings to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Boston finished the tough stretch 8-8, enduring their longest losing streak of the season, but bouncing back.

“We circled it a month ago: That’s going to be a little bit of a gauntlet,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “We obviously had a roaring start to it and then a blip in the middle there. We won four or five in a row, lost four or five in a row. And then (were) able to win some games here at the tail end of it. So all our guys need a day of rest and recovery and refresh.”

In the midst of it all, they lost designated hitter Masataka Yoshida (hamstring) and relievers Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock (elbow inflammation). Gasper has filled in admirably for Yoshida, homering in his third straight game Wednesday. But the absence of Whitlock and Slaten burned a bit more in the series finale loss to Arizona.

Payton Tolle grinded through five innings, allowing three runs. Reliever Greg Weissert gave up two more, but Erik Miller, Tayron Guerrero and Aroldis Chapman helped push the game to extras before Jovani Morán lost the zone in the 10th and gave up two more runs. Two of their best relievers surely would have helped, but each was used so much during the summer win streak that elbow soreness sidelined them.

“Yeah, it’s obvious this one, with Whit and Slate going down, you look at a couple of pockets (in the schedule), the first being that West Coast swing and then the next one being this one,” Tracy said. “You’re looking at, ‘Man, we’re going to need extra arms, we’re going to need reinforcements.’ We got some guys banged up. … It’s just a matter of mix and match what you have available.”

Everyone is banged up at this point in the season, particularly Willson Contreras, who’s been battling a sore hamstring but trying to stay on the field. During the last homestand, he didn’t run out a ground ball to first and was booed, later revealing his previously unknown hamstring tightness. The boos came again Wednesday in the 10th. After the game, Contreras was seen exchanging words with a fan in the stands near the Red Sox dugout.

“He was inviting me to dinner. I was like, ‘No, I’m good with that,’” Contreras said with a smile, noting that boos are part of the game.

“I’m not gonna get hurt running a ground ball, and if you’re a real fan and you know baseball, there’s no case for me to hustle out of the box,” he said. “I’m not 100 percent. We never are, but I’m taking care of my leg. If I have to run, I push a little bit. If I don’t, my manager has my back. I talked to him, and he gave me the permission just to do whatever it takes to take care of my legs, and that’s it. I just don’t care.”

At this point in the season, physical toughness can be nearly as important as mental strength.

“It’s more mental,” Contreras said. “You have to get the mindset where you don’t think about pain, or you don’t think about anything that hurts, but you have to be cautious about it. So, the right mindset right now is just to grind through it. Keep grinding. I know we want results. I know we all want to do our best, but at this time of the year, you have to grind.”

Tolle put it more bluntly.

“You’re in the thick of it, but I think we’re in the thick of it together,” he said. “I think that that’s kind of been the biggest emphasis whenever guys are talking postgame. For lack of a better term, (we’ve said), ‘Be in the suck together.’ Whenever it’s going rough, or long days, or whatever it is, being able to be together is what is the most important.”

There were still positives on the day. Nick Sogard hit his first career homer off Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt, who entered the day having not given up an earned run in four straight starts. The Red Sox played standout defense.

Their 32-5 stretch over the summer put the Red Sox in a good position to endure inevitable downturns and the dog days of August. They still hold a 5 1/2 game lead for the second American League wild-card spot.

Thursday’s off day couldn’t come at a better time, and there are more days off sprinkled throughout the final six weeks of the season. The Red Sox have faced plenty of tests, and coming out of the 16-game stretch at 8-8 is fine by them.

“Obviously, it’s nice to be at the end of that,” Tracy said. “It’s nice for the guys to have an off day tomorrow. It’s been a gauntlet of a 16 days, so everybody gets a day of rest and recovery and comes back ready to go.”