sport news Ollie Robinson admits he is at a crossroads as he faces serious questions over ... trends now
His figures stand comparison with some of the greatest of all fast bowlers and he would appear the obvious choice to replace Stuart Broad as an ever-present in the England attack.
But Ollie Robinson goes into the new season facing serious questions over his very England future rather than providing the answer to the huge gap left by the retired Broad.
Simply, Robinson has to prove he not only has the ability but also the heart, desire and fitness for purpose to even play for England again later this summer in Test series against West Indies and Sri Lanka, let alone step into the distinguished shoes of Broad.
He knows it, too. Robinson accepts he is at a crossroads in an England career of high achievement, notably in Pakistan 18 months ago when he looked every inch the perfect England seamer, punctuated by far too many setbacks, all too often self-inflicted, both on and off the field.
A slimmer, fit-looking Robinson will begin the County Championship season for Sussex against Northants on Friday admitting he has invariably been his own worst enemy with his words and actions but desperate to prove he really does care deeply about an England career now very much in the balance.
Ollie Robinson has admitted that there is much uncertainty regarding his England future
It had been expected that Robinson would fill the significant void left by Stuart Broad
The latest of those setbacks came during England’s 4-1 defeat in India earlier this year when he suffered another back injury scampering a single while batting with Joe Root in his only appearance of the series in the fourth Test in Ranchi and subsequently bowled more at club rather than international pace.
It followed long-standing questions about his fitness at the highest level which, together with controversy over historic tweets that emerged on his Test debut and his penchant for often ill-timed sledging, have overshadowed some world-class bowling which has earned him 76 wickets at just 22 apiece in his 20 Tests.
‘I’m 30 now and in sport that’s not young anymore,’ said a brutally honest and open Robinson at Hove as he prepared for a start to the domestic season pivotal to his England future.
‘I feel this is the last summer when I will get any slack. Going forward I have to perform, I have to be injury free and prove I’m the best bowler for the job. It’s probably make or break time for me.’
There is no doubt Robinson’s hugely disappointing cameo in India, which followed a different back injury that forced him out of the Ashes last summer and other issues on tour in Australia and the West Indies, has left him with a big point to prove.
‘Yes, definitely, and I don’t mind that,’ said Robinson, who is due to play in ‘four or five’ of Sussex’s opening six Championship matches. ‘It’s something to drive me forward and engage my mind. It’s not that I’m not driven normally but when you have such a big point to prove you have to really focus otherwise it can all slip away.’
It is that seeming lack of drive that can affect perceptions of Robinson together with his knack of attracting attention for the wrong reasons, like when he upset a couple of Australian legends last summer after giving Usman Khawaja a foul-mouthed send-off.
Ricky Ponting fumed when Robinson name-checked him as someone who used to have something to say in the middle while Matthew Hayden memorably and colourfully accused Robinson of only bowling ‘124 kph nude nuts.’
