'Was upset by numerous comments about...' - Ryan Sidebottom defends Ollie Robinson amid criticism

Former England pacer Ryan Sidebottom has backed Ollie Robinson to come out of his rut in Dharamsala after England lost the 4th Test in Ranchi. In the process, India won the series 3-1 and have claimed the second spot on the WTC points table.

For England, this was the first Test series loss under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. This was also the first time that England lost three Test matches on the trot under the “Bazball regime.

Ollie Robinson came into the side in the Ranchi Test for Mark Wood. That was his very first Test match of the series and he looked a bit undercooked. The England pacer bowled 13 overs and gave away 54 runs without taking a wicket. He was not used with the ball in the second innings. Sidebottom felt that the pacer should have played the practice games for the England Lions before the Test series started.

“I was not disappointed, but I was quite upset by the numerous comments about his bowling and him being out of form. There’s no number one villain in any team if someone’s not performed how they should,” Sidebottom told the Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club Podcast.

He further blamed the team management for bringing him into the Ranchi Test match with England facing a must-win situation and Robinson was not ready whatsoever. He also questioned the message that the team management might have sent to the pacer before the fourth Test.

“For me, you can bowl in the nets all you want. It doesn’t matter. You need to play games. You need time in the middle, as a batter, as a bowler, you need to get some overs under your belt. Just to thrust him in when he’s been carrying drinks and probably doing lots of fitness to then go into a very high-pressure situation, England needing to win, to then put the onus on him,” Sidebottom defended Robinson with his comments.

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Ollie Robinson Needs Time: Ryan Sidebottom

The former England pacer said that Robinson needs time to get back into his groove. The England pacer who has 76 Test wickets in just 20 Test matches has taken 21 wickets in five Test matches against India including two fifers.

He further said that bowling in a match situation with limited practice is way more tougher than bowling at the nets. He said that the intensity levels are very different in a match to what it is during practice sessions and hence the expectations get very different.

“He needs time, he needs to bowl, he’s definitely the type of bowler that needs to get into a rhythm and feel good, and have the ball in his hand for numerous overs to… to feel good about himself. You look at his record, it’s fantastic, isn’t it,” the former England pacer said.

England’s Test series loss has seen them lose crucial WTC points as they are languishing in the eighth position of the WTC 2023-25 cycle. They have a PCT of 19.44 across the nine games they have played so far. They have won three and lost as many as five Test matches in the meantime with three against India.

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