James Anderson has leapt in defence of his England teammate Ollie Robinson who is facing severe criticism for his expletive-laden send-off to Usman Khawaja in the first Ashes Test.
The England pacer could not control his emotions as he gave Khawaja an abusive send-off after ending his sublime knock of 141 runs. Robinson also tried to get under Khawaja’s skin on the tense final day, The Australian cricket fraternity has come down heavily on Robinson for his gesture.
Not only the fans but several former players have also not minced their words while criticising the pacer publicly. Australian media are already calling Robinson ‘No.1 villain’. Australia great Matthew Hayden described the pacer as a “forgettable cricketer” while legendary Ricky Ponting called the fast bowler a “slow learner”.
James Anderson on Ollie Robinson:
James Anderson has now given Robinson some much-needed support, saying that he does not want his younger teammate to change. Anderson played the role of peacemaker when Robinson was having a go at Khawaja on the final day of the Test.
“I don’t want Ollie to change,” Anderson wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
“I like him getting fired up. He bowls better when he is in that mood. From personal experience, I know I bowl better when I am a bit more aggressive and intense. I stepped in to chat to Ollie when he and Usman were having an exchange of views in the second innings. It was gentle stuff, they were just talking cricket.
“Whenever I watched cricket as a kid I wanted to see bowlers fired up. It makes for better theatre and is a lot more enjoyable to watch. Everyone is just encouraged to be themselves in our team. Some people don’t like getting into a verbal battle. Some do. Robbo thrives on it,” he added.
Talking about the series, Australia have taken a 1-0 lead in the five-match series after winning the first Test by 2 wickets. The second match is scheduled to be played at Lord’s from June 28.
Also Read: I Am Done In The Ashes Series: James Anderson Fires Warning To His Own Team Ahead Of 2nd Test