England fisherman Ollie Robinson talks about looking to “get under the skin of Australia”, inspired by Andrew Flintoff, why tourists can be one step ahead in the Brisbane test and what plans he has for the Australian batsman, and the new vice-captain, Steve Smith
Ollie Robinson feels England may have the upper hand heading into Test 1 against Australia in Brisbane starting Wednesday
English sailor Ollie Robinson says he will not be afraid to get “under Australia’s skin” during the Ashes, and believes tourists may have an advantage in the first test in Brisbane.
Robinson has taken 28 wickets from five tests so far, with 21 in four games against India after being imposed a brief ban after offensive tweets emerged from his past.
The 28-year-old exchanged verbs with Virat Kohli’s team over the summer and is happy to do something similar when he takes on the keepers of the ashes of Pat Cummins this winter.
Preparation for both sides has been far from ideal due to the humid weather and quarantine.
Australia, meanwhile, have not played an event since January and with many of their teams coming home recently due to their success in the T20 World Cup, Robinson believes that England may have an advantage.
The Sussex closer said: “I don’t think I, as a person, could keep my head down if I tried.
“It’s just the local fans here too, so we have to be prepared for them to face us hard and the challenge will be tough.”
“I’m definitely going to be trying to get under their skins and try to unsettle them so to speak, batters and bowlers actually.
“If I can get them out of their rhythm, then we are winning, so it’s something you will definitely see and I hope we come out on top.
“Obviously it has not been an ideal preparation, it has been difficult, but as a group we feel that we have settled for what they have given us. We feel in a good place and we feel ahead of the Australians, which is the main thing.
“They were in the (final) of the World Cup and in quarantine, so they are probably a few weeks behind us.
“We feel like we’ve got a good job on us since we’ve been here and hopefully that will give us an advantage in the first test. I feel like we are definitely the losers, but we can take the ballot box home with us.”
Robinson was part of the England Lions team that beat Australia A in an unofficial event for the first time in February 2020, taking seven wickets with the pink Kookaburra ball at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
He was also inspired by watching England – Andrew Flintoff in particular – live at Ashes 2006/07, with his father Ian Haven taking him to Australia on holiday over the Christmas period.
“I have not been here [Brisbane] before playing, but I saw the test match here when I was 13 years old. It was very special and I was lucky to be here.
“There were moments in that series [which England lost 5-0] I remember, I think ‘Freddie’ got 80 one day [in Sydney] and I remember thinking he just took it to the Australians.
“Growing up, that’s what I wanted to do and how I wanted to play my cricket. It’s tremendously inspiring to see that when I was young and now hopefully trying to emulate how Flintoff and other players did it.”
Now Robinson has Steve Smith in his sights.
“He plays a lot of balls from deep in his box, his contact points are much deeper than other hitters. So my lengths might have to be slightly different than his.”
“If you start to deprive him of his scoring areas, he looks like he wants to score. He’s not someone who just sits there and blocks all day. Hopefully he’ll make the mistake or, if the ball is moving, I can catch him.” lbw or dent.
“It’s a bit more difficult here with the ball that doesn’t move that much, but I have looked at him and Marnus Labuschagne quite deeply and hope I have a plan for both of them.”
