Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has hit back in his own style at England pacer Ollie Robinson and the remarks he made during the first Ashes Test. Robinson was questioned about his behaviour towards Usman Khawaja during Australia’s narrow two-wicket victory in Birmingham. The 29-year-old did not shy away from expressing his opinions to the media before and during the Test match.
When asked about his actions and send-off to Khawaja after dismissing him for 140 runs in the first innings, Robinson defended himself by attributing it to the intense rivalry of the Ashes. He claimed that England had previously experienced similar sledging from Ricky Ponting and other Australian players, highlighting the reversal of roles in this situation.
Responding to Robinson’s comments, Ponting advised the young English cricketer to focus more on his own performance rather than dwelling on Ashes history. In an exclusive interview with The ICC Review podcast, Ponting emphasised that the current English team has not yet faced Australia in its full stride and will soon discover the true challenges of playing against a formidable Australian side in an Ashes series.
“And if Ollie Robinson hasn’t learned that already after last week, then he’s a slow learner,” Ponting said.
Ricky Ponting believes England have a lot of questions to answer as they attempt to fight back from a disappointing #Ashes defeat at Edgbaston _
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Robinson has made an impressive start to his career
Robinson made an impressive start to his Test career. He picked up 71 wickets at an average of 21.15 in his first 17 Test matches and played a crucial role in the first Ashes Test by taking five Australian wickets, including those of David Warner and Cameron Green in the second innings. While his comments and justifications regarding Khawaja’s send-off angered Australian fans, both teams commended the spirit in which the opening Test was played.
Ponting brushed off Robinson’s remarks, saying they were insignificant. He found it peculiar that his name was brought into the conversation but shrugged it off, stating that it didn’t bother him.
“Some of the things he had to say – I mean he even brought my name into it, which I felt was a little bit unusual but for me it’s water off a duck’s back – if he is sitting back thinking about me, then no wonder he bowled like the way that he did in that game if he’s worried about what I did 15 years ago,” Ponting said.
Ponting signed off by saying that players need to back up all their talk with performances and this was something Robinson needed to learn.
