Ollie Robinson has become the centre of the banter battle after his comments during and after the Ashes 2023 Test at Edgbaston. However, following England’s win in the third Test, Robinson now has a little more authority to step up his banter game. He did so by using his column at Wisden and talking about Australian batters’ approach to counter the express pace of his teammate Mark Wood. He said Wood’s pace left a psychological impact on the Australian batters.
“I’ve never seen a spell like Woody’s on that first morning. I was at mid-off to start with, and first few balls, I thought, ‘Jeez, that looks pretty quick…’ He carried on through the over, finished the job, and then someone ran past me from slip and said that they were standing past my bowling mark, which is 22-and-a-half metres back!” Robinson said.
‘Every batter during that spell was doing the same thing…’ – Ollie Robinson
Notably, Mark Wood completed a five-wicket haul in the first innings of the third Ashes 2023 Test. He scalped Usman Khawaja early and cleaned up the Australian tail. “The fact he was consistently getting the shape and movement on it as well – at that speed – was just unbelievable bowling. It was just amazing to watch and be a part of. Though not so amazing for the batters, I’d imagine,” wrote Robinson, who is fit and expected to take part in the fourth Test.
“Every batter during that spell was doing the same thing. It was awkwardly fast and awkwardly uncomfortable, and as a batter, you’re trying to convey that you’re fine when you’re really not,” continued Robinson. He concluded by talking about Mark Wood’s dressing room Antics. “Woody’s just got this mad, unique energy. There’s no one else like him. You think he’s drunk half the time yet he doesn’t touch a drop. Bear in mind this is a bloke who, 10 minutes before we went out, literally at 10:50 am, was on all-fours barking on the changing room floor, going, ‘Here’s a dog in the dressing room. There’s a dog in here, lads…’”, he said.
