Mark Butcher. (Photo by Philip Brown/Popperfoto via Getty Images)
Former England cricketer Mark Butcher has given his stance on the exchange of words between former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting and English pacer Ollie Robinson. The statements came after the distasteful send-off to Aussie southpaw Usman Khawaja by Robinson during the first Ashes Test at the Edgbaston in Birmingham.
Following the loss in the high-voltage clash, the English pacer opened a can of worms as he defended his actions, saying “Australians like Ricky Ponting had done the same during their playing days”. Ponting responded to the pacer, urging him to work on his performances to back his words. On that note, former English cricketer Butcher voiced his opinion on the verbal banter between the two.
“We’ve all seen Ricky Ponting and other Aussies do the same to us, and just because the shoe is on the other foot it’s not received well. There has been a lot of chatter in the aftermath of the first Test. Ricky Ponting has, of course, put the needle in – just give him, or any Australian great, the opportunity to do so and they will take it,” Butcher wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.
“I spent an enormous amount of my career, nearly all of it in fact, getting beaten by Australian teams with no mercy. So, the idea that you would almost offer up some sort of spectacle for people, with the result not mattering too much, it doesn’t sit very well with me,” he added.
‘If he hasn’t learned anything, then he is slow’ – Ricky Ponting on Ollie Robinson
The former Australia skipper was left stunned after Robinson dragged his name into the discussion of the controversial send-off to Khawaja. Ponting did not mince his words and stated that the pacer needs to understand his actions while being up against a team like Australia.
“As I said after Ollie Robinson said what he said, this England cricket team hasn’t played against Australia and they’ll find out pretty quickly what playing Ashes cricket and playing against a good Australian cricket team is all about,” Ponting told the ICC Review podcast.
“And if Ollie Robinson hasn’t learned that already after last week, then he’s a slow learner. Some of the things he had to say – I mean he even brought my name into it, which I felt was a little bit unusual, but for me it’s water off a duck’s back,” he added.