Sometimes, the first impression is really the best one. Ollie Robinson, the England pace bowler, is one of those cricketers who can leave a lasting impression, the first time you watch him bowl.
During the third week of September 2019, Sussex completed a rather disappointing County season, as they finished mid-table in Division 2. Around that time, Sussex Cricket had just released a video of all the wickets picked up by Robinson in the County season. Just a peek through the video, and one could notice Robinson’s unrelenting control and skill-set: Barring one strangle down the leg-side and a catch taken at square leg, almost every single wicket was on the back of vicious nip-backers, blended with the odd one straightening off the seam.
Incidentally, Robinson had bagged 81 wickets in the previous County season. But by scalping 64 wickets the following year, Robinson reaffirmed his class on the County circuit, and indicated that he was set to scale the higher echelons of cricket.
Just a few years later, in 2021, Robinson was donning the white flannels for his national side and bustling to the crease against New Zealand, from the Pavilion End at Lord’s. Consistent movement off the seam and bounce – Robinson’s array of skills were on full view as he finished with a collection of six wickets in the match. If Devon Conway was done in by the extra bit of lift and an angle that went across him, then Robinson nipped deliveries back via the slope to remove Ross Taylor and Colin de Grandhomme. It was classic seam bowling from the Pavilion End.
At that point of time in Robinson’s career, if you had to jot down a few notes on his strengths, it would have been nifty movement off the deck, bounce and accuracy. But Robinson seems to have a habit of improving bit by bit. A few months later, he was generating some outswing against the Indian team. It is true that on a few occasions, he had found swing in County cricket, but it was quite evident that he had sharpened his conventional swing-bowling skills. In that series, he bagged 21 wickets at an average of 21.33.
Robinson has the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad bowling from the other end. Two cricketers who have played a whopping 340 Tests combined. Basically, the duo seem to have been wired for Test-match bowling. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that Robinson has tried to pick up various tricks of the trade from his seniors. During the Test series against India at home, he unleashed his wobble-seam delivery after discussions with Anderson. The small upgrade did play a role in Robinson scalping a five-for in the second innings of the Leeds Test.
“I noticed Jimmy (James Anderson) holding his wobble grip slightly differently,” he told reporters. “I was holding it from the other side so I spoke to him and just tried to practice it in the nets. It went quite nicely, so I tried it in the game and it worked quite well. It’s something I need to practice a bit more. This learning opportunity is invaluable for me at this stage in my career and luckily it came off today. Obviously, it’s great to open the bowling with Jimmy and build pressure on both ends. I enjoyed it and hopefully, I can continue.”
More than a year later, when England toured Pakistan, there was a small question mark over whether Robinson had enough ammunition to pass the test on unresponsive surfaces. Robinson didn’t just pass that litmus test, but came out of the tour securing distinction marks: nine wickets at 21.22. In fact, a photo of Babar Azam’s dismissal from the Multan Test could be framed and hung on the wall of his living room.
In the 19th over of the second innings, Robinson got a hint of swing with the old ball, which then nipped back viciously off the seam, via a crack, to rattle the timber. All a shell-shocked Babar could do was offer a raised bat and watch the ball uproot the bails. So, Robinson now had an enviable skill-set at his disposal – bounce, seam movement (including the wobble ball), a hint of old-ball swing and control.
Just a few overs before Babar’s dismissal, Anderson, his senior teammate, had left Mohammad Rizwan in a state of wonderment: A wee bit of inswing, and then the ball straightened off the track to hit the top of off stump. Once again, having a senior pro at the other end would have helped Robinson in Pakistan. It took years together for Anderson to hone and perfect his skills outside of conventional swing; particularly reverse swing and the wobble-seam delivery. But with a couple of senior bowlers at the other end, Robinson seems to be graduating quicker from the pace-bowling school.
“I think a big thing for me is the use of the crease that I’ve learnt from Jimmy and Broady, probably more than anything coming to England,” he said during a press conference in New Zealand. “In county cricket you sort of run up and bowl from mid-crease – it’s quite generic – whereas in international cricket, the batters are that much better that you have to be more on it and use the crease and use your skills to get more out of it.”
Robinson deserves his share of praise for being a quick learner. But on the flip side, his career has been plagued by injuries. In the Ashes 2021-22, he had back spasms, which continued to act as a hurdle for a period of time. In fact, during the current County season, he took a painkilling injection before the game against Worcestershire. But the back problem didn’t stop Robinson from taking a seven-for. A week or two later, Robinson was troubled by ankle soreness in the match against Glamorgan. Later on, scans cleared him of any major injury, but he will be rested for the upcoming one-off Test against Ireland at Lord’s. He has had to deal with a couple of other woes as well – dental issues and Covid-19.
As Jon Lewis, the former England Men’s bowling coach, said to BT Sport during the Hobart Test of Ashes 2021-22: “It’s something he’s definitely looking at, and definitely we’re working on with him. If he’s going to perform consistently over a long period of time at this level, he will need to be a fitter bowler, 100%.”
With 66 wickets at an average of just 21.27, Robinson has had a flying start to his Test career. He doesn’t just seem to have the subtle skills and accuracy to take over the mantle of being England’s spearhead from Anderson, his illustrious teammate, but he could also end up as one of one of their finest bowlers in Test cricket. The missing piece in the jigsaw that might still stop Robinson from touching such lofty heights? Fitness.
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