Ollie Robinson returns to Test cricket after two years. Last time he had played a Test for England was in 2024 during the India tour. During the series, a podcast hosted by now his wife, Mia Baker, hit social media, in which he appeared to be a bit reckless on a few sensitive topics.
And then when he didn’t perform in the games and England lost the rubber humiliatingly 4-1, things escalated. He was one of the players who was blamed by fans. Not just for his performance but also taking things casually on a high-profile tour.
Later that year he lost his central contract. But now Robinson is back for England. On Wednesday, he was named in the Test squad for the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s from June 4.
If you look at Robinson’s record, he has taken 76 wickets in 20 Tests. It’s very good. Recently in county cricket, he scored a century for Sussex batting at number 10. England director of cricket and former batsman Rob Key thinks Robinson is a good addition to the squad.
“What we said to him and publicly is when he’s fit and bowling at a decent pace for him, around 82 or 83mph, he is world class,” said Key.
“When you look at his record he is one of the bowlers right up there statistically, among all the bowlers, of all time.
“We’ve monitored him a lot. It looks like he’s back up to his full fitness and that’s what we required of him,” he added.
England had no other option?
Robinson call-up could also be attributed to the fact England were running out of options. Brydon Carse and Mark Wood are recovering, and Jofra Archer is busy playing in the IPL.
They needed an experienced hand and Robinson ticks that box. However, Key made it clear that Robinson wasn’t kept out for disciplinary reasons. “I don’t think Ollie has ever been a problem in our set-up. He’s not someone who’s disruptive. You just need to trust you know what you’re going to get. That’s pretty much what we said,” he said.
Captaining Sussex this season, Robinson has so far taken 17 wickets in five games and led the side to win in three games. Key thinks that the call of making him the skipper has made all the difference. “It’s been a great move from [Sussex coach] Paul Farbrace to make him captain, that has got the best out of him,” said Key.
“Ollie has started the summer really well. Even the other day he said: ‘What do I need to do?’ Well what he needs is to show he can maintain skill and speed throughout the game. That’s what we require and that’s what he’s done.
“Ultimately, it’s up to our set-up to get the best out of people. We don’t want people that all do whatever we say all of the time. You want good characters who have self-belief, which is what Ollie has, along with a huge amount of skill,” he added.
