ENG vs AUS: "Was On My Painkillers" - Ollie Robinson On Batting With Ben Stokes At Headingley

Published - 13 Jul 2023, 09:38 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:15 AM

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England pacer Ollie Robinson scored an unbeaten 5 in the first innings of the Headingley Test and added 38 runs for the last wicket with Ben Stokes. England were struggling at 199/9 in the first innings when Robinson walked out to bat.

The pacer struggled with back problems the day before and was struggling with back spasms heading out to bat. He stood there despite his back problems as Ben Stokes smacked a few sixes to entertain the Headingley crowd.

In his column for Wisden India, Robinson spoke about his partnership with Stokes and his thoughts on England winning the Test match and keeping the series alive.

Also Read: AUS vs ENG: Ricky Ponting Predicts Australia’s Playing XI For Manchester Test; Retains David Warner

Had A Surreal Partnership With Ben Stokes: Ollie Robinson

“I had a surreal partnership with Stokesy in the first innings. I was on that many painkillers because of my back spasm the day before that I was kind of spaced out! I was so relaxed, so calm, I just remember thinking, “Yeah, cool, I’ll bat with Stokesy for a bit, that’ll be nice…” I’d face a few balls, then he’d whack it out the park, then I’d give him the strike, then he’d hit a few more. It was a lovely half hour! That was the first time I’ve batted with him when he’s on one. He’s very quiet, doesn’t say much, he’s totally zoned in. His eyes have glazed over and you can tell he’s in the moment. It’s amazing to watch” wrote Robinson in his column.

Also Read: AUS vs ENG: Mark Wood Was Too Quick For Australia – Ollie Robinson Lauds Pacer’s Heroics At Headingley

Introspecting the first two losses in Birmingham and Lord’s, The pacer said that England tried to force the pace in the first two games.

“In the first two games we were a bit too tense. We were guilty of trying almost too hard to get that win. Look at how we’ve played in the 12 months before this series, we’ve been quite carefree in our approach, and I think in the first two games we probably tried to force things to go our way” said Robinson.

He further spoke about the things they did right as a team at Headingley which allowed them to come back in the game and eventually win it.

“At Headingley, knowing it was all on the line, it cleared our minds to play how we wanted to play, and how we’ve been playing for the last year. And the way it happened was so fitting, with Woakesy and Woody both coming back into the side. It couldn’t have worked out better to keep the series alive” the pacer concluded saying.

Manchester (July 19-23) and The Oval (July 27-31) will host the final two Test matches to wrap up the Ashes series.

Also Read: AUS vs ENG: “Ben Stokes Is An Incredible Cricketer With Sharp Cricket Brain” – AB De Villiers