Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting raised his concern regarding the form of English seamer Ollie Robinson in the Ashes series as he failed to make an impactful performance for his team so far in the high-octane series. The 29-year-old was not his usual best in this series as he found himself in the media for all the wrong reasons during the 1st test.
The England seamer has picked up eight wickets in the series so far, he has cleaned the Australian lower middle order in the 2nd game, as he could not trouble the dangerous David Warner, Steve Smith, and Travis Head during the 1st day in the conditions that favoured the seamers, as they played him with ease in the 1st innings.
Speaking on the ICC Review, Ricky Ponting feels that Ollie Robinson doesn’t look dangerous so far in the series, as his majority of wickets came up against the tailenders, as he could not trouble the high-quality batters at the top of the order, and added that he is skilful bowler but hasn’t found his rhythm so far in this series
“I don’t think he’s looked dangerous in the series at all, I mean, if you look at the wickets, he’s got the tailenders out in each game. Yes, he got Marnus (Labuschagne) in this inning here. But then he got (Nathan) Lyon and then he got (Josh) Hazlewood. So if he didn’t get the 10 and 11 out, then he finishes his innings with one wicket at over four runs an over,” he stated.
“He’s a very skilful bowler, no doubt about that, and no one would’ve said a word about Ollie Robinson if he hadn’t have sort of instigated this whole tit-for-tat that’s been happening over the last couple of weeks and, to be honest, I think the whole thing’s been blown completely out of proportion,” Ricky Ponting said.
England team failed to capitalize on the overcast conditions in Lord’s, as the England pacers leaked runs in the second and third sessions of the day, as the Australian batter was proactive throughout the day to post a big total against Ben Stokes-side in the 1st innings.
Ollie Robinson Numbers So Far In The Series Are Okay – Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting feels that every expert involved in the series is talking about Ollie Robinson’s behaviour on and off the field as his below-par performance going under noticed by them and added that his numbers in the series are not that encouraging for the English team.
“It’s something that everyone’s enjoyed talking about, and some of the ex-players have enjoyed hopping in and having a bit of a crack, but at the end of the day he’s a skilled bowler and, as you say, his numbers so far in the series are actually okay,” Ricky Ponting added.
Earlier during the 1st test, The England pacer had singled out the name of former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting for his sledging during the Ashes series when defending the send-off for which he gave a befitting reply in return.