Ollie Robinson is in serious contention to play for the first time on the tour to India and if picked for the fourth Test on Friday is a bowler with a lot to prove but the potential to be the long-term successor for Stuart Broad.
That is just what England need right now as they rub ointment on their wounds and try to recover from a record defeat in Rajkot where James Anderson was clouted around in the second innings by Yashasvi Jaiswal and is due a rest.
Robinson can bowl on slow pitches as he proved in Pakistan last winter, with nine wickets at an average of 21. He put his back into a bouncer barrage in the thrilling first-Test win in Rawalpindi and was instrumental in the series-clinching victory in Multan, where he sent Babar Azam’s off stump cartwheeling as he reversed the old ball. He also had an outstanding series against India in England in 2021 with 21 wickets at 21.33.
He should be determined to prove a point, too. It was a good idea to give him a one-year central contract while three younger fast bowlers with far less experience and success at Test level – Josh Tongue, Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse – were given two-year deals. It was a pointed message that if he wants to be the new Broad he has to be in good shape for the long haul.
Robinson has responded by working on his fitness. He is looking trim and shaved around 20 seconds off his 2km treadmill time trial, which is one way England gauge a player’s condition.
After 19 Tests, Robinson is averaging 21 and cuts a fascinating figure because he is clearly an intelligent bowler but prone to breaking down under the most intense scrutiny, which suggests a vulnerability underneath the bravado.
He last played for England in the Ashes Test at Headingley where he was troubled with a recurrence of back-spasm issues and did not bowl in Australia’s second innings. It is the second time he has struggled to make it through an Ashes series. He bowled well in the first Test at Edgbaston but a draining nine-over spell of bouncers at Lord’s took its toll and led to his problems at Headingley.
A finger injury prevented him playing for Sussex for the rest of the season and he split up with his partner, a story that appeared in the media along with details of his new relationship with Mia Baker, a golf social media influencer who has travelled with him in India recording a weekly podcast, Chatting Balls, alongside carrying the drinks in the first three Tests.
Like Broad, he is not short of opinions and is also prone to end up in a scrape with opponents. Last summer he courted controversy with his comments accusing Australia of running scared by their unwillingness “to go toe-to-toe with us”. When he was criticised for telling Usman Khawaja to “f— off, you f—— p—-” during the first Test he hit back by singling out Ricky Ponting’s on-field behaviour as an example of Australian hypocrisy.
Ponting was not happy and Matthew Hayden weighed in describing Robinson as a “forgettable cricketer” and of bowling “124kph nude nuts”. The gauche Robinson does not care and has a classic seam bowler’s temperament. His snarkiness may give England a bit more of an edge as they try to claw their way back from 2-1 down.
Will Wood feature in fourth Test?
When England slumped to 2-0 down in the Ashes they freshened up the attack with Chris Woakes and Mark Wood at Headingley and the comeback started. It is harder on tour to bring in new blood but Robinson has been held back deliberately for the end of the tour and his bounce and movement both ways off the seam on pitches that are gripping could be just what captain Ben Stokes needs right now.
The question is whether Wood plays as well because England were a far better balanced attack with two seamers in Rajkot, reducing India to 33 for three in the first innings. If Stokes can back them up with a handful overs, that would be ideal, but possibly ruled out by the medical staff.
Wood reported feeling fine after the third Test and only bowled 10 overs in the second innings as England managed him through while India dished out a pasting. There is an eight-day gap between the fourth and fifth Tests, so if Wood does play he will get a break. If not then Gus Atkinson is the only other seamer in the squad but has looked a bit of a spare part on tour so far.
Stokes has worked hard with Robinson, seeing him as a project. When he was appointed captain he gave Robinson an ultimatum over his fitness but felt he deserved a second chance after his physical conditioning was criticised publicly by the management on Australia. Stokes was angered by the comments of bowling coach Jon Lewis, which he believed should have stayed behind closed doors.
The No 1 rule of the Stokes regime is to only be positive in public. It is impossible to imagine a coach saying something similar now and surviving under Brendon McCullum and Stokes. Robinson should be desperate to repay Stokes’s faith.
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