Vaibhav Tripathi
England pace bowler Ollie Robinson has defended his actions on giving Australian Usman Khawaja a send-off after taking his wicket on day 3 of the Edgbaston Test in Ashes 2023. Khawaja was dismissed by Robinson’s yorker after a well-made 141 runs as Australia got bundled out for 386.
Right after removing Khawaja, the right-arm pacer was captured on camera unleashing a verbal outburst, shouting expletives directly at the departing batter.
“It’s my first home Ashes and to get the big wicket at the time was special for me,” Robinson said at the post match presentation. “I think Uzzie played unbelievably well. To get that wicket for us as a team at the time was massive. We all want that theatre of the game, don’t we? So I’m here to provide it.”
“No, it’s not,” Robinson, said when asked if he thinks abusing opposition players is part of the theatre of the game. “But I think when you’re in the heat of the moment and you have the passion of the Ashes, that can happen. We’ve all seen Ricky Ponting, other Aussies do the same to us. Just because the shoe is on the other foot, it’s not received well,” he added.