"I don’t want Ollie to change"- James Anderson opens up on Ollie Robinson's send-off to Usman Khawaja in Edgbaston
Veteran England pacer James Anderson feels teammate Ollie Robinson was well within his rights to have a verbal exchange with Australian opener Usman Khawaja during the first Ashes Test.
Anderson was referring to an incident that took place during the visitors' first innings in Edgbaston. Khawaja, who had done brilliantly to get to 141, was cleaned up by Robinson, who proceeded to give him a fiery send-off with some choice words.
Anderson reckons the aggression brings the best out of Robinson and opined that he needs to continue to being aggressive. The veteran pacer gave his own example and said he bowls well when he is fired up.
In his column for The Telegraph, here's what James Anderson had to say about Ollie Robinson's send-off to Usman Khawaja:
"Ollie did nothing wrong when he had his moment with Khawaja. In fact, I stood at mid-off for most of the game and didn’t hear anything said by either team that was unacceptable.
"I don’t want Ollie to change. I like him getting fired up. He bowls better when he is in that mood. From personal experience, I know I bowl better when I am a bit more aggressive and intense."
Anderson also took a sly dig at former Australian cricketers who slammed Robinson for his send-off and his comments in the press conference. The likes of Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting have already provided their views on the moment.
The England veteran added:
"It has revved up a few former Australia cricketers who have had a bit to say in the media. That’s OK. I’m sure I will be doing that as an ex-player.
"You have to keep your name in the papers and keep getting a job. It is to be expected. More and more people will come out of the woodwork with that kind of stuff as the series goes on."
Ollie Robinson thrives on verbal battles: James Anderson
Ollie Robinson and Usman Khawaja were also seen having a conversation in the second innings, but James Anderson claimed that it wasn't a heated exchange. He feels bowlers getting fired up makes for a great watching for fans.
On this, he stated:
"I stepped in to chat to Ollie when he and Usman were having an exchange of views in the second innings. It was gentle stuff, they were just talking cricket.
"Whenever I watched cricket as a kid I wanted to see bowlers fired up. It makes for better theatre and is a lot more enjoyable to watch. Everyone is just encouraged to be themselves in our team. Some people don’t like getting into a verbal battle. Some do. Robbo thrives on it."
It will be interesting to see how Ollie Robinson responds to the flak he received for his comments in the next Test at Lord's. The right-armer notably picked up five Australian wickets across two innings in Edgbaston.