Dom Bess Added To England Squad For 2nd New Zealand Test; Ollie Robinson Sent Back To Sussex After Suspension
Updated - 07 Jun 2021, 07:42 PM
England have added off-spinner Dom Bess for the second Test against New Zealand at Edgbaston, starting Thursday (June 10), while pacer Ollie Robinson is sent back to his county, Sussex, after being handed a suspension by the ECB.
Dom Bess has been called up as a back-up for Jack Leach, who is expected to feature in the second Test considering pitch providing assistance to spin in recent years. Bess arrived at the team hotel on Sunday (June 6) evening and will go through 48 hours of managed isolation; he will be needed to clear the covid-19 tests before being allowed to train with the squad on Wednesday (June 9). Bess picked 17 wickets on the tours of Sri Lanka and India earlier in the year.
“The reason we’ve added Dom is that any cover we may need has to be in here with us. If Jack was to feature, we would need back-up for him in terms of concussion replacements and things like that,” Chris Silverwood, the England coach, said.“If we are looking at playing a spinner and Jack were to get injured leading into the game, then we will need someone else there as well. It’s making sure we cover that. Are we expecting a spinning wicket? We will see when we get there, but I’m making sure we’ve got every base covered,” he added.
Ollie Robinson was devastated, embarrassed, and very remorseful: Chris Silverwood
“Obviously [he was] devastated. Embarrassed, and very remorseful. He was very quick to take on board what had happened. He apologised whole-heartedly to the dressing room. He came out and apologised to the rest of the world to, which he had to. He had to face up to this.
“It was very disappointing. What should have been one of the greatest days of Ollie’s career didn’t end up well for him. It was disappointing for the group. It was a stark reminder for us all the responsibilities that we hold in the position that we are in.
“There is absolutely no place in this game for any form of discrimination whatsoever. He showed a lot of remorse, he apologised publicly, he apologised to the dressing room.
“I think it’s been a really big learning for him. The big thing for us all is education. We are all striving to be better, none of us are perfect, and we all need to make sure we are learning all the time,” the coach reflected further.
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