Ollie Robinson slammed Left, Right, and Center by former England legends after dismal show with the ball in the Ranchi Test

Former England cricketer and commentator Michael Atherton have criticised English pacer Ollie Robinson for his performance in the fourth IND vs ENG Test match.

The three lions sustained a five-wicket loss against India in Ranchi and handed over the hosts a lead of 3-1. The final match of the series will be played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.

Ahead of the fourth Test match, Michael Atherton had backed Ollie Robinson and wanted him to get picked by the management. Atherton believed that Robinson would bring in the control that his brought by veteran pacer James Anderson.

However, the English pacer disappointed the former England cricketer believed that Robinson was off-color in the fourth Test match and that England needed to give him some more game time.

Michael Atherton tears into Ollie Robinson

Michael Atherton said to Sky Sports, “Ollie Robinson, I was really disappointed with him in this game. I felt that he bowled, his pace was pedestrian and he was down on pace. Obviously, he scored a half-century but dropped a catch, he wasn’t called upon on the fifth day by Stokes.”

“He looks like a player who has been out of cricket for seven months and for all the training you do and all the practice sessions you had in Abu Dhabi, I think he is a bowler who needs a good run of playtime now. Not necessarily with England either.”

Former England captain Nasser Hussain was also part of that discussion. Hussain also agreed with Michael Atherton’s words and stated that some cricketers in the English team need some game time.

Hussain gave the example of Andrew Caddick and Michael Gough and stated that they used to play county cricket during their time off the field and never really took the time to get into rhythm. He also praised Ollie Robinson and believed that he was a very skillful bowler.

Nasser Hussain said, “I completely agree with that. There are some cricketers that need to. We had two opening bowlers in Gough and Caddick. Gough could just rock up and if there was a camera anywhere in the vicinity, would run in and bowl as quickly as he could.”

“But someone like Andrew Caddick needed to be playing for Somerset time after time to get into the rhythm of the game and the rhythm of bowling. And I see that in Ollie Robinson.”

“Ollie Robinson, as we saw in Pakistan, is a very highly skillful bowler. Even if there’s not a lot in the pitch. He has those skills, but he needs to be playing to show those skills. He needs to be of a certain pace. He needs to be in the 80s, or eighties, not high seventies.”

“And he did look a yard short of a gallop, at least. He just looked like he hadn’t played for a year. And he hasn’t. He hasn’t played since Headingley, so quite a long time.”

The fifth Test match between India and England will be played from March 7, 2024, at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.