You hardly needed to be a cryptographer to work out the person to whom Kevin Pietersen was referring to when he lamented “bowlers running in at 78, 79mph – it’s absolutely shambolic”. But this was among his most ineffectual performances, doing little to deflect his critics’ contention that he was a glorified medium-pace trundler. On this evidence, it seemed perfectly justified.Įven after this torrid opening day for England, Robinson could still boast an impressive bowling average against Australia of 27.3. At the time, it sounded like a harsh verdict. Sending down 78mph deliveries that Steve Smith merrily milked for singles, all while throwing in six no-balls? It was not exactly a masterclass to silence Hayden, who had accused him of serving up “nude nuts”, Australian vernacular for pedestrian balls that neither seam nor swing and are crying out to be hit. Sadly, he followed his florid outburst towards Usman Khawaja at Edgbaston with a bowling display at Lord’s that could most kindly be described as monochrome. Here was his time to deliver a savage riposte to Matthew Hayden, the former Australian opener who labelled him a “forgettable cricketer”, and to Michael Clarke, the ex-captain who declared from a Sydney radio studio that if Jofra Archer or Mark Wood had been in this England team, he would be “back playing clubbies”. Here was Ollie Robinson’s moment to prove that his right arm could fire with the same ferocity as his mouth.
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