Last Updated on 17 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey
Worth the wait. Ollie Robinson made an outstanding return to Test cricket, taking three wickets in his first over against New Zealand at Lord’s.
Robinson couldn’t have asked for a better pitch, with the surface perfectly suited to his accuracy and ability to move the ball. After England were bundled out for 140 against a threatening New Zealand attack, Robinson made full use of the conditions from the get go, asking questions of the Black Caps top order on the front foot.
He began by catching the inside half of Devon Conway’s bat twice. The third ball was a little straighter, beating Conway’s inside edge and rapping him on the pads. The decision was upheld on review.
Robinson’s two deliveries to the great Kane Williamson were magnificent. He nipped the first away, beating Williamson on the outside edge. The next was a big nip-backer, with New Zealand’s highest-ever run-scorer only able to inside edge to Emilio Gay at short leg. Robinson wasn’t done there, trapping Rachin Ravindra LBW to complete a dream first over.
The seam bowler wasn’t done, later knocking over Daryl Mitchell who shouldered arms to a delivery that decked back off the Lord’s track.
“On cloud nine” – Ollie Robinson shares his thoughts on dream first over back in Test cricket
New Zealand finished day one at 61/6, still trailing by 79. 16 wickets fell on an eventful day that was even shortened due to rain. Robinson produced the headline act along with Kyle Jamieson who took five wickets for the Black Caps.
“There was a point where I couldn’t really hear [the crowd],” Robinson said after day one. “I was just on cloud nine, I suppose, and my legs were numb, and I was just trying to really calm myself down and focus on the moment.
“But I think after the second wicket, that’s probably the loudest I’ve ever heard on a cricket field. The crowd were amazing and it was just an unbelievably special day for me and for the team.”
Robinson admitted he had plenty of nerves on match eve and on day one. The seam bowler hadn’t played a Test in two-and-a-half years, and was keen to make an impact immediately. He then went on to say that the England batters provided the bowlers with crucial insights in terms of how the pitch was behaving.
“I had a lot of nerves yesterday, a lot of nerves this morning, and to get out there and do that was pretty special,” Robinson said. “I still can’t really put it into words; I think it will sink in, hopefully later tonight. But it was just an incredible day of Test-match cricket, and an incredible feeling to be out there and do that too.
“We saw [New Zealand] bowl first, and I was watching the TV in the changing-room quite closely. We saw that their swing balls weren’t really reacting off the pitch as quick as their wobble was.
“All of the batters came back and said it was nipping quite fast, even though some of the air-speed wasn’t as quick as maybe normal. I thought, as soon as I went out there, I would try and just wobble it, because you could see when people were on those tight wobbles, it was a little bit quicker off the surface,” he said.
Fans lamented England’s call not to select Robinson for the 2025/26 Ashes that England lost 4-1. However, he admitted he wasn’t ready to be selected at that stage.
“To be honest, I was nowhere near ready to play, or anywhere near where I am now, as a person, as a cricketer,” he said. “It’s only probably been the last few months that I’ve got the enjoyment back for the game, and knuckled down a bit more.”
The weather forecast looks promising for day two at Lord’s.
