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Cricket News: Australia unwilling to go toe-to-toe with us – Ollie Robinson | Ollie Robinson believes England had the better of the first Test

The war of words in the ongoing 2023 Ashes series has continued, with seam bowler Ollie Robinson claiming Australia were not willing to go toe-to-toe with England in the first Test at Edgbaston.

In his column for Wisden.com, Robinson touched on Brendon McCullum’s words after the two-wicket defeat. The coach was full of praise for his players, saying that Australia would not have won had it not been for England’s positive approach.

“Lads, I’m immensely proud of the efforts that you’ve put in, we’ve made the game what it was,” Robinson quoted McCullum as saying. “We were so close to pulling off an unbelievable victory. We played all the cricket in the game. If it wasn’t for us, the Australians wouldn’t have even had a chance to win.”

‘”We’re trying to create memories and be that team that everyone still speaks about in 20-30 years’ time. We’ve entertained the world, and we’ve put the Aussies on the back foot.”‘ For him to say that after a loss is quite significant for us,” said Robinson.

ALSO READ: 6 reasons why Australia won the first Test at Edgbaston

Seaming pitch will suit England over Australia – Robinson

Robinson himself echoed McCullum’s thoughts. The bowler wrote about how surprised he and his teammates were at Australia’s defensive approach, amplifying their belief that they can come back in this series.

“We were surprised by how defensive Australia were and how unwilling they were to go toe-to-toe with us. Obviously it’s worked for them this Test match,” he said.

“But, we feel that with the way they’re playing at the moment, a pitch with a bit more movement would benefit us hugely.”

Such a statement can come as a surprise. England’s attacking style of play under Stokes and McCullum has been successful on good batting pitches, so a surface with movement will put their approach of driving on the up and reverse scoops under the microscope.

Robinson’s words come after Fox Cricket described him as Australia’s new number one villain. His expletive-laden send off of Usman Khawaja was not received well, doubling down in the press conference following day three.

Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden went in particularly hard. Speaking to SEN radio, Hayden didn’t miss, claiming that Robinson’s talent does not match his words.

“He’a forgettable cricketer. A fast bowler that is bowling 124kph nude nuts and he’s got a mouth from the south,” Hayden said. “Someone like him, you can just go, ‘Brother, I’m coming at ya’. Davey Warner can do that, right. He can just say, ‘You’re bowling 120′.”

“But, we feel that with the way they’re playing at the moment, a pitch with a bit more movement would benefit us hugely.”

Ollie Robinson

However, Robinson does have 71 Test wickets at 21.15. His ability to move the ball on a good length will make him a factor for the rest of the series, and he promised England fans the team will “come harder and harder” at Australia.

“It’s not just the game and the result on the line, but also the faith that we’re asking the English public to have in us for playing in this new way,” Robinson added. “I have faith in this team that, even if we went 2-0 down, we could still win 3-2, because of the style of cricket that we’re playing.”

The second Test begins at Lord’s on Wednesday June 28.