"You have to back it up" - Glenn McGrath indirectly advises Ollie Robinson regarding his sledging incident
Former Australian great Glenn McGrath believes that players must back their words with performances should they resort to sledging. The 53-year-old was referencing England seamer Ollie Robinson's sledging of the Aussie batters in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.
Robinson captured the spotlight with his fiery send-off after flattening Usman Khawaja's stumps in the first innings. He also had a minor sledging episode in the second innings before James Anderson intervened. The likes of Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden were quick to pounce on the Sussex seamer for his expletive-laden send-off.
In his column for the BBC Sport, McGrath wrote:
"You have to back it up. If you don't you can look silly. It's easier as a bowler, because you have plenty of opportunities to take the wicket that proves you right. If you're a batter, it takes one ball to prove you wrong."
While the 53-year-old feels the Lord's Test is a do-or-die game for England, he reckons it's interesting to see Zak Crawley and Robinson being so vocal in the media ahead of the game.
"England arrive at Lord's with more pressure on their shoulders," he said. "If they lose, I can't see a way that they get back into the series. From that point of view, it's interesting to see that Ollie Robinson and Zak Crawley have been vocal in the media. I have no problem with it, especially because I was always ready with a prediction or a target of an opposition batter during my playing days."
Crawley, who scored 61 in the first innings at Edgbaston, predicted that England will beat Australia at Lord's by 150 runs.
"Not sure Australia will want to leave Starc out for two consecutive matches" - Glenn McGrath
Speaking about the conditions at Lord's, McGrath reckons the venue suits Scott Boland more but suggested that Mitchell Starc should be in contention.
"Mitchell Starc will be straining at the leash to play this week, especially after sitting out in Birmingham and playing just once on the last tour in 2019," he said. "It could be that the Lord's conditions are more suited to Boland's pitch-up, nibble-around style, but I'm not sure Australia will want to leave Starc out for two consecutive matches."
Boland was uncharacteristically expensive at Edgbaston. Starc couldn't find a spot in the first Ashes Test after leaking runs in the World Test Championship final against India.