Tongue & Robinson cut Headingley ball in half

Much like it is a tradition for a footballer to take away the match ball after scoring a hat-trick, a bowler will pocket the cricket ball after claiming a five-wicket haul.

England seamers Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue came up with a solution after they snared five apiece on the opening day of the first Test against Pakistan.

"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 showed off his half in a media conference and explained: "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."

The efforts of the pace-bowling duo helped Joe Root get off to an ideal start on the first day of his second stint as England Test captain.

Tongue claimed 5-46 and Robinson 5-51 to skittle Pakistan for 171 after England won the toss. The home side moved to 112-2 by the close in Leeds.

Tongue and Robinson are the first pair of England bowlers to register five-wicket hauls in the same Test innings since Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar against Pakistan at Old Trafford in 2006.

They led England off the field at Headingley hand in hand, hatching their plan to make one ball into two halves.

"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."

For Robinson, the success in the first Test comes just days after he and wife Mia welcomed their first child together. Baby Eva was born in the early hours of last Thursday.