The official social media handle of the England and Wales Cricket Board recently crowned a ‘King’. Alongside videos celebrating his exploits, it declared – ‘New Ball King’.
Crowns, especially in England, are not handed out on a whim. They demand performances befitting royalty. This summer, one man has done just that, turning successive matches into his own royal procession – Ollie Robinson.
The road to royalty, however, has been anything but straightforward for the 32-year-old all-rounder. Before this summer, Robinson had last worn the England whites more than two years ago, against India in Ranchi in 2024, an outing where his returns were so meagre that he was banished from the English national cricketing scene.
Had it coming
The writing, though, had been on the wall for a while. Robinson’s fitness was a concern, dating back to the 2021-22 Ashes, before his back trouble resurfaced during the 2023 home season.
Then came Ranchi. A back spasm while batting was followed by 13 wicketless overs, with his pace at one stage dipping below 70mph. England had seen enough.
The then bowling coach Jon Lewis had made clear what Robinson needed to do. “If he’s going to perform consistently over a long period at this level, he’ll need to be a fitter bowler,” Lewis had said.
Robinson hardly helped his cause off the field either. During the same India tour, a podcast he hosted with his now spouse revealed behind-the-scenes details from the England camp, prompting the management to have the episode taken down.
Multi-faceted: For both England and Sussex, Robinson starred with the ball and the bat.
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While the England door remained firmly shut, Robinson went about rebuilding his career with Sussex. He helped the County earn promotion in 2024, and continued to pile up the wickets the following season. Significantly, by the start of 2026, Sussex had entrusted him with something England never thought he could handle – the role of a leader.
Elevated to red-ball captaincy, Robinson embraced it. Sussex won three of its opening five County Championship matches, while the skipper led from the front with 17 wickets and 305 runs. There was even a back-to-the-wall, unbeaten century at No. 10 against Surrey at The Oval.
Rekindling the fun
The transformation, however, was not merely about wickets and runs. A winter spent playing grade cricket for Sydney University in Australia in late 2025 had helped Robinson rediscover his love for the game.
“Just got the love of the game back, really,” Robinson said during his comeback Test at Lord’s versus New Zealand this June. “It’s only, probably, in the last few months that I’ve got the enjoyment back. And knuckled down a bit more.”
It was a long way from where his mind had been a few months earlier. Around Christmas, Robinson had virtually resigned himself to the possibility of his England chapter being over. “I thought at Christmas time I was never playing for England again,” he admitted.
But he knew that if there was to be another chance, there was only one way of earning it. “As much as I obviously want to play for England again, I need to take wickets and rip up trees to receive that call,” he told Wisden before the season.
And rip he did, with the ball, the bat and as a leader.
The then red-ball head coach Brendon McCullum certainly took note. “We said bang the door down, and through the weight of performance in County cricket he has banged the door down,” gushed the Kiwi.
Striking gold
At Lord’s against New Zealand, Robinson needed all of six balls to remind England what it had been missing.
The first two deliveries of his return passed without incident. The third trapped Devon Conway in front. Two balls later, Kane Williamson lobbed one to short-leg for a duck before Rachin Ravindra was pinned down for a leg-before. A triple-wicket maiden — some way to announce a comeback!
Robinson was not done yet. To his five for 39 in the first innings, he added two wickets in the second, and chipped in with a valuable 29 with the bat as England completed a 115-run victory.
He missed the next two Kiwi Tests, first owing to injury and the next because of non-selection. But the three Tests against Pakistan turned his comeback into a statement.
Robinson made the Dukes cherry swing, seam and dance both ways even as he used his height and high release-point to extract steep bounce. There was the wobble-seam delivery that would hold its line, the nip-backer that would dart in, and the full inswinger. Pakistan was left bamboozled.
England added another little twist to the plan — Jamie Smith standing up to the stumps to stop Pakistan batters from venturing on adventures down the pitch, allowing the seamer to keep attacking the stumps.
It began at Headingley with the very first ball of the series as Robinson trapped Azan Awais in front. His five for 51 was followed by three for 29 as England romped home by an innings and 103 runs.
Relentless
Lord’s brought no respite for Pakistan. Robinson’s first five-over spell cost just six runs before he returned for another seven overs that went for only four and fetched four wickets. Four for 11 in the first innings; another four in the second; England had the series in the bag. Three Tests into his return. Three Player-of-the-Match awards.
Edgbaston merely extended Pakistan’s torment. Robinson’s three for 15 in the first essay included his 100th Test wicket before he swapped ball for bat and cracked a 47-ball 50. Then, back with ball in hand, he removed Saim Ayub first delivery and Abdullah Shafique three balls later.
Pakistan eventually found a way to blunt him, but it was a little too late as England completed an eight-wicket victory and a 3-0 sweep. Robinson had 21 wickets from the three fixtures at a mind-boggling average of 8.76 and an economy rate of 2.04.
Numbers, though, told only half the story.
The 32-year-old’s skill was never under question. It was whether his body and mind could sustain the rigours of the highest level. McCullum had put it rather plainly: “When his pace drops to 75, 76mph and the threat diminishes, he is not the same bowler.”
High point: England won all four Tests that Robinson featured in, and he earned 28 wickets and the Test Player-of-the-Summer award.
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There, perhaps, was the difference.
The Robinson who laboured through Ranchi at under 70mph had returned fitter, happier and clearer in the mind. The height and movement were the same. The control was still there. But now, he had the body to keep it all going. The result was 28 wickets from four Tests and England’s Test Player-of-the-Summer award.
There will be tougher examinations. The Dukes will refuse to dance to his tune sometimes; conditions will not always favour him; better batting line-ups will find ways to get runs off him.
But for a man who spent more than two years out in the cold, Robinson has certainly turned up the heat this summer. Nine months since that contemplative Christmas, he is now the No. 3 bowler in the world.
“The hard work’s not done yet. We’re just getting started,” said Robinson. More coronations in store? Time will tell.
