Ollie Robinson & Michael Clarke. (Photo Source : Gettyimages)
The first Ashes Test at Edgbaston witnessed some exhilarating cricket as Australia won the thrilling contest by two wickets on Day 5. Apart from the skills on show, Ollie Robinson’s tiff with Usman Khawaja and former Australian players also hogged the limelight.
The England pacer gave Khawaja a fierce send-off after dismissing him in the first innings. When asked about the same in the press conference, Robinson ruffled a few feathers with his bold take, as he said that incidents like these are expected in the Ashes and that the Aussies under Ricky Ponting did it in the past. This has not gone down well with the Australian media and especially the former Australian players.
“We’ve all seen Ricky Ponting, [and] other Aussies do the same to us,” said Robinson in his defence.
The likes of Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden openly criticised Robinson for his antics. The 2015 ODI World Cup-winning captain, Michael Clarke, has now joined them in lambasting the right-arm seamer.
“He needs to shoosh. If England were fully fit you wouldn’t even get a game Ollie. I actually don’t know what he is doing. If James Anderson is saying all this, he’s got the street cred..this dude has been around for five minutes,” Clarke mentioned while speaking on The Big Sports Breakfast podcast.
Stuart Broad shows support for Ollie Robinson amidst all the criticism
Experienced seamer Stuart Broad bowled exceptionally in the first Test. His spell in the last session on Day 4 gave England hope to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Broad, who turned 37 last week, came out in the defence of his fellow England bowler. He said Robinson had a ‘mind blank’ and named Ponting because he was the most famous former Aussie cricketer he could remember.
“Ricky Ponting had a bit of a nibble because Robbo brought his name into things during a press conference, but not because Ricky was a huge sledger. Ollie had a bit of a mind blank, Ricky Ponting was the most famous ex-Aussie cricketer he could think of, and that Australia team he played in was hardly full of shrinking violets, so the hoo-ha that was created surprised us.”
The second Test begins on June 28 and will be played at the historic Lord’s Cricket Ground. Some fireworks can be expected on the pitch after what has transpired with Robinson and the ex-Australian cricketers off the field.