Ollie Robinson is at a crossroads in a curious career and, by going unused throughout England’s fourth innings push for victory, he completed a baffling return to Test cricket eight months after limping out of the Ashes.
Ben Stokes on the eve of 4th Test at Ranchi added Ollie Robinson to the squad giving rest to ace pacer Mark Wood citing that the tall lanky pacer Ollie Robinson would extract bounce from a tricky wicket at Ranchi.
Ollie Robinson barring his 58 in first innings fails to deliver at Ranchi.
The Ranchi Test was Ollie Robinson’s first international appearance since the third Test of Ashes 2024 in Headingly, Leeds. The tall pacer was also not considered for the first three Tests of the ongoing series, with England preferring James Anderson and Mark Wood. Ben Stokes hailed Robinson’s bowling ahead of the fourth Test, but the player’s most significant contribution came with the bat. Robinson scored 58 runs in the first innings, sharing a critical partnership with Joe Root to push England’s total well above 300.
Ollie Robinson’s bowling in the fourth Test against India in Ranchi, where the right-arm pacer went wicketless was the high talking point . Notably, Robinson could not take a single wicket in the first innings and was not even given the ball in the final innings as India won the series with one game to spare. This poor performance from Ollie Robinson irked the likes of Former English skipper Michael Atherton who questioned Ollie Robinson’s place in the playing 11.
I was really disappointed with Ollie Robinson- Michael Atherton
Former England skipper Michael Atherton expressed his disappointment over Ollie Robinson’s performance in the fourth Test against India in Ranchi. The right-arm pacer went wicketless and was not even given the ball in the final innings as India recorded a thrilling five-wicket win to clinch the series with a game to spare.
Prior to the match in Ranchi, the bowler’s last cricketing appearance came during the third Test of the 2023 Ashes in Headingly, Leeds. He was also not considered for the first three matches in the subcontinent, with England preferring James Anderson and Mark Wood.
Ollie Robinson needs to show his skills- Michael Atherton
Ollie Robinson has a solid record against India, which includes his performances during India’s tour of England in 2021. However, he could not make his mark in the subcontinent.
The pacer has only played in such conditions for England during the tour of Pakistan in late 2022, where he actually made an impression. He played in all three Tests, and was arguably one of the best bowlers of the series.
Former England skipper Nasser Hussain also agreed with Michael Atherton’s views and claimed that pace is a crucial prospect for the bowler’s ability.
“Ollie Robinson, as we saw in Pakistan, is a very highly skillful bowler, even if there is not a lot on the pitch. He has those skills, but he needs to be playing to show those skills. He needs to be of a certain pace, he needs to be hitting the mid-eighties and not the high seventies,” Nasser Hussain said
India and England will lock horns in the final Test of the series in Dharamshala from March 7 onwards and it would be interesting that Ollie Robinson sans his poor performance with the ball continues to keep his place in the English playing 11.