Ollie Robinson: If Australia are honest they’ll realise they need to change their approach

Robinson was the bowler when Pat Cummins hit the winning runs to secure the two-wicket win in the first Ashes Test.

And Robinson’s outspoken start to the series prompted former Australian captain Ricky Ponting to urge the bowler to back up his talk on the pitch.

Yet the 29-year-old, who averages 21.15 with the ball in his Test career, says that Australia’s approach has given him and the England bowlers plenty of encouragement.

“We were surprised by how defensive Australia were and how unwilling they were to go toe-to-toe with us,” Robinson said in a column on Wisden.

“Obviously it’s worked for them this Test match. But we feel that with the way they’re playing at the moment, a pitch with a bit more movement would benefit us hugely.

“You just don’t see the Australians cautious and on the back foot like that. As soon as we saw the field for that first over, we felt like we had a hold on them.”

England’s positive approach didn’t get them across the line in the opening Test of the new World Test Championship cycle, leaving their record under Ben Stokes’ captaincy at 11 wins and four defeats.

But Robinson revealed that coach Brendon McCullum was extremely positive after the match in Birmingham.

“Baz said it after the game, ‘It feels like we’ve won, lads. We’ve entertained the world, and we’ve put the Aussies on the back foot.’ For him to say that after a loss is quite significant for us,” Robinson continued in his Wisden column.

“Of course it sounds weird because they won it, but I think if they’re honest, Australia will look at themselves and realise they need to change their approach to keep up with how we’re going to play. If there’s any movement in the pitch at Lord’s, the way we’re playing compared to them is going to benefit us hugely.”

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The England seamer has been in the crosshairs of Australian pundits and media after some strong comments prior to the series were followed up by a send-off of Usman Khawaja.

But Robinson says he has spoken to the Australian opener about the incident and that there are no hard feelings.

“It was nothing against Ussie, it was just one of those things, I got caught up in the moment and let myself go.

“All the bowlers do it when they’re fired up and trying to get a wicket for their team. I spoke to Ussie after as well and we were all good.”

There will be a lot of pressure on Robinson and England to bounce back in the second Test at Lord’s, which starts on Wednesday 28 June.

And the England seamer has vowed that the team will double down on their ‘Bazball’ approach, and won’t lose hope even if they go 2-0 down in the series.

“I have faith in this team that even if we went 2-0 down we could still win 3-2, because of the style of cricket that we’re playing.

“You could see us come even harder at Lord’s, which is quite a tough thing to do when you’re 1-0 down. We spoke about it in the dressing room. ‘Were we aggressive enough? Did we go hard enough?’

“One thing I can guarantee. You’re going to see us come harder and harder.”

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