"I think maybe a little bit too much is being made out of it" - David Boon on Ollie Robinson's verbal exchanges with the Australian players
David Boon feels a bit too much is being made out of Ollie Robinson's verbal exchanges with the Australian players in the recently concluded first Ashes Test.
Robinson gave Usman Khawaja a send-off after dismissing him in Australia's first innings of the Ashes opener at Edgbaston in Birmingham. He engaged in a couple of other verbal duels with Pat Cummins and Co., with other England players intervening at times.
During an interaction on the podcast 'SEN Tassie', Boon was asked about his thoughts on Robinson's verbal exchanges with the Aussie players, to which he responded:
"The guys are playing for their country. They are trying to be aggressive without going over the line in the sand. I think maybe a little bit too much is being made out of it. The referee and the umpires at that stage, they didn't make a report, he hasn't been on a code of conduct."
The ICC match referee reckons the England seam bowler didn't cross the line:
"It's all being led from other areas. I don't have a lot to comment about it but for mine, he was looking away. Ya, he might have said something. It's a part of the game at times as long as it doesn't become personal and for me looking at it, there wasn't a lot of personal in that."
Robinson had no regrets about his words to Khawaja when asked about the same in the press conference. He pointed out that it happened in the heat of the moment and that Aussie players, including former greats like Ricky Ponting, are known for their aggressive demeanor.
"He is an exceptional young leader" - David Boon lauds Pat Cummins' captaincy
David Boon was also asked about his thoughts on Pat Cummins' captaincy, to which he replied:
"I think he is an exceptional young leader. When I was lucky enough during COVID to referee some Australian games in Australia, he captained well, he communicates well and he listens to things that he is told from a referee and umpire's point of view and he gets it right."
Boon concluded by observing that the Australian team is responding positively to Cummins as a leader:
"I think he is a very good leader. He is obviously leading them in the right fashion, they are responding, and he is going okay. So there is nothing to change there."
Cummins led Australia to the World Test Championship (WTC) trophy ahead of the Ashes. The New South Welshman shone with both bat and ball in the Edgbaston Test. He scored 82 runs across his two innings, including the match-defining unbeaten 44 in the second essay, and picked up four wickets in England's second innings.