'He brought my name into it, no wonder he bowled like that': Ponting destroys Ollie Robinson after Khawaja spat
Ricky Ponting had no mercy for Ollie Robinson as he criticised the English pacer following his spat with Usman Khawaja during the first Ashes Test.
The first Test of the Ashes series saw drama unfolding on the final day as Australia skipper Pat Cummins put out a solid performance with the bat, remaining unbeaten on 44 to steer the side to a famous two-wicket win in Edgbaston. The match, however, also drew significant attention for a verbal altercation between England's pacer Ollie Robinson and star Aussie batter Usman Khawaja; the duo was at loggerheads on two different occasions in the Test, and the incident was discussed at length on social media and even by former cricketers.
Robinson seemed to verbally abuse Khawaja after he dismissed the batter in the first innings, and the Australia star returned the favour as he sledged Robinson on the final day of the Test. Robinson faced criticism for his conduct but defended his actions, namedropping former Australia captain Ricky Ponting in his rather interesting remark.
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“We've all seen Ricky Ponting and other Aussies do the same to us, and just because the shoe is on the other foot it's not received well,” Robinson had said.
And Ponting, now, has responded to the statement, insisting that he found it “unusual” that Robinson felt the need to mention him, and that the England pacer should focus on the present.
"As I said after Ollie Robinson said what he said, this England cricket team hasn't played against Australia and they'll find out pretty quickly what playing Ashes cricket and playing against a good Australian cricket team is all about," Ponting told the ICC Review podcast.
"And if Ollie Robinson hasn't learned that already after last week, then he's a slow learner. Some of the things he had to say – I mean he even brought my name into it, which I felt was a little bit unusual, but for me it's water off a duck's back.
“If he is sitting back thinking about me, then no wonder he bowled like the way that he did in that game, if he's worried about what I did 15 years ago. He'll learn pretty quickly that if you're going to talk to Australian cricketers in an Ashes series, then you want to be able to back it up with your skills.”
On Day 5, Khawaja and Robinson had a war of words which was only diffused when veteran England bowler James Anderson intervened between the two.
