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Ollie Robinson’s X-rated send off of Usman Khawaja “has lit a much needed fire” in the Ashes series and shown the paradoxes of Bazball, according the the UK media.
Oliver Brown, writing in the Telegraph, said Robinson’s decision to send Khawaja on his way by calling him “f–king prick” produced an ironic response from Australians as “the detonator was pressed on this most famously antagonistic of duels.
“Reactions from Down Under did not flatter Robinson. “Ridiculous” and “outrageous” said The Age of the bowler’s volley for Khawaja, whom he finally dispatched for 141 after 20 overs of fruitless toil. “Classless”, said the moral guardians at Australia’s Fox Cricket, who described him as having “minimal impact” until his “bizarrely aggressive intervention”.
“It was ironic to encounter this level of censoriousness from the land that produced Rod Marsh and Ian Chappell, men whose language in their mid-Seventies prime would make Robinson look like Mary Whitehouse.
“And yet a little vitriol, coupled with the righteous indignation that inevitably ensues, is a core element of series folklore. Can it even be called the Ashes until the first sledge has been hurled? Robinson, in an exasperated mood after Khawaja’s eight hours at the crease, was only too happy to oblige.”
Brown said the Australians are “hardly angelic themselves, as Steve Smith showed by clapping directly in Harry Brook’s face when the ball hit him, ballooned off his hip and landed on his stumps.
“Judged by that standard, Robinson’s celebration merely reflected the same disdain for protocol.”
He continued: “Robinson is an agitator by temperament. He does not think twice about riling up even a modern great like Virat Kohli, who, tiring of his verbals at Lord’s a couple of summers ago, replied: “Come on, big mouth.”
“Within the England team, this feistiness has earned him the admiration of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, a duo who are not easily impressed. And as this first Test heads towards a dramatic denouement, his streetfighter’s attitude has lit a much-needed fire.”
Barney Ronay in the Guardian said the Robinson sledge showed the “paradoxes of Bazball”.
“We’re here to make memories. We’re here to save Test cricket. Dream bigger. Nothing is out of reach. Also, “f–k off you f–king prick”.
England’s Ollie Robinson celebrates after taking the wicket of Australia’s Usman Khawaja. (Photo by David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
“The paradoxes of Bazball are already manifest, and indeed a huge part of the fun. Here we have the game of reinvention, where the only rule is to break all the rules. Play like it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, because that’s the best way to win. Dance like nobody’s watching so everyone can see what a great dancer you are. Is this still maverick thinking? Probably. It is, at the very least, an utterly engrossing spectacle.
“England are here to save Test cricket. In their own version of this story England are only ever the heroes. But what if they’re not?
“One element missing so far from these Ashes is a genuine collision of old and new. What we haven’t had yet is some proper needle. And make no mistake, Australia are desperate to beat this Bazball England. To the extent that a beating may not be enough. Maybe only a crushing will do.”
Ronay said “in the Stokes era England’s cricketers have found an even more annoying way to win. Now the English are trying to be the good guys. Not dry or cold. But fun and fiery and full of wonder.”
He added: ““Our vision as a team is far greater than just results,” Paul Collingwood could be heard telling the press conference room on Saturday night, before moving on to England’s wider mission to save Test cricket by making it more entertaining than you, the current world champions, have been able to manage.
“At some point this kind of stuff is going to become a provocation.”
While Robinson’s send off was the noisiest note of day three, several sub plots were bubbling under the surface in a game that might yet be ruined by the weather.
Scyld Berry, also in the Telegraph, has found himself enamoured by Cameron Green, after the Aussie’s spectacular grab to dismiss Ben Duckett.
“Superlatives already cluster around Cameron Green like flies in the outback of his native Western Australia,” wrote Berry.
“The youngest player ever to take five wickets in an innings in the Sheffield Shield, aged 17. The best pace-bowling all-rounder Australia have had since Keith Miller, even though he is now only 24. The most expensive Australian ever purchased by the Indian Premier League, at more than three million Aussie dollars. And for the last fortnight, since the final against India at the Oval, the youngest world Test champion.
Cameron Green. (Photo by Ryan Pierse-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
“Green owns another superlative too, as relevant as any for England’s batsmen. Green is the finest gully fielder of the moment, and arguably of all time, both for the percentage of chances that he catches and for the enormous span that he covers, being 6’ 6” tall and highly flexible.
“When Ben Duckett steered Pat Cummins in Sunday’s third day of the first Ashes Test, he was hoping for a four to the vacant third-man boundary. But it was like a desirable apartment for sale in Highgate or Hampstead. One moment there was a vacancy, the next it was gone. Green had swooped and scooped, as low as could be to his left.”
Since his Test debut, Green’s 22 catches from 26 chances – a success rate of 84.6 per cent – has only been bettered by one other player, Ajinkya Rahane.
While England are right to be concerned about Green’s big mitts, there are other more pressing issues – including the hapless situation surrounding their spinner Moeen Ali.
The 36-year-old endured a dispiriting morning with his injury-affected bowling being smashed around at Edgbaston just when it was being announced that he’d been docked 25 per cent of his match fee and handed one demerit point for using an unauthorised drying agent on his bowling hand on Saturday.
The pre-match injury to Jack Leach could end up proving as significant as the moment Glenn McGrath stood on the ball in the warmup at Edgbaston in 2005.
Wisden’s Yas Rana said England having to call-up Moeen proved “English cricket is no closer to answering longstanding questions around the development of spinners”.
“It’s an extraordinary situation. A guy whose major early work in county cricket was as a batter – who was retired from Test cricket last week – bowled the second most overs he’s ever done in an innings in England…
“Whatever you think of the relative merits and potential shortcomings of Moeen’s recall, the underlying truth is the absence of viable alternatives.”
Former England captain Nasser Hussain admitted he hadn’t seen the biggest issue coming.
“I thought the challenge for Moeen Ali in this match would be a mental one. I hadn’t thought about the physical side of things,” Hussain wrote in the Daily Mail.
“Make no mistake, this injury is a real concern and a by-product of going from the demands of bowling four overs in white-ball cricket to a Test match in which 33 are required in the first innings alone.
“It will need managing because if England get a lead of 200 runs or more, there will be expectations of their number one spinner. Yes, they have got Joe Root as an able deputy but Moeen is their first choice and to lose him would be a massive blow.”
Nick Hoult, in the Telegraph, looked over the horizon to day four and cast his gaze for an English hero.
“English hopes rest heavily on the shoulders of Joe Root. He may no longer be the captain but he carries a burden of batting leadership and in English cricket that is often just as onerous,”” Hoult wrote.
“With England 35 ahead, two wickets down, and Australia at last baring their teeth, the Bazball buccaneers face a test of their nerve like never before with the first Ashes Test on the line.
“If they can bat for 60 overs they will score at a tempo that should give them a total above 265; then it is over to Australia to see how they respond.
“England will relish this situation because they have clarity from the captain and coach about how to play. In the past they would have dithered, been tentative when facing a task like this against Australia but if they stick to their principles they can put themselves in a winning position. Brendon McCullum insists his philosophy is not slogging, it is about absorbing pressure and putting it back on opponents by being positive.”