Ollie Robinson: 'Getting stuck into the opposition is a role I've taken upon myself'

By Ollie Robinson's estimation, he is currently in his longest stint without playing cricket since he was eight.

His last competitive match was the third Ashes Test against Australia, way back at the start of July. "I reckon it got to November when I thought, 'Hold on, this is quite bizarre,'" he says. "Then again, we've got, what, 17 Tests this year? So I'll probably look back and be thankful for this time off."

A finger injury on his bowling hand meant he missed the end of Sussex's County Championship campaign. But the break has been productive. With the help of England men's strength and conditioning coach Peter Sim and recently appointed physiotherapist Ben Davies, he has knocked around 20 seconds off his 2km time trial.

Robinson was chuffed to see "7 minutes 37" staring back at him after jumping off the treadmill, and a little relieved. "They've put in all this time with me the last few months - to not give it back to them I feel would be a waste. I really wanted to get fitter as well. I've never been someone who has excelled at distance running, but that was a bit of a milestone to tick off."

That personal best was set in November, on the eve of a training camp in the UAE that reunited him with those England Test team-mates selected for the upcoming tour of India who were not involved in the 50-over World Cup campaign. Even this small gathering, overseen by Brendon McCullum, with training sessions in the morning and - yep, you guessed it - golf in the afternoon, served as a top-up of morale, scope and vibes of the summer just gone. "It was good and relaxed," says Robinson, "and just nice to be around some of the guys again."

It was while in Abu Dhabi he received a "weird" call. Weird because it was about something that had not been on his mind.

"The ECB called, telling me the BCCI had been in contact saying a couple of teams were interested in Ollie Robinson. But I wasn't registered for the auction. I mean, I've not played white-ball cricket in two years now or something.

"I went into the auction and put my reserve at Rs 50 lakh. Obviously, I didn't get picked up, but it would have been cool to experience. I'd love to do it one day."

England had an uncharacteristically quiet 2023 as far as Test fixtures were concerned. But with five of their eight matches housed in a frenetic Ashes series, Ben Stokes' entertainers remained at the forefront of the year's sporting narrative.

Robinson played the first three Tests against Australia, before missing the final two after a back spasm in the first innings of the third Test, at Headingley. And while England finished with a degree of satisfaction, squaring the series 2-2 having been 2-0 down, even if Australia returned home with the urn, he carries personal regret.

"Looking back, I feel like I didn't leave it all out there," he reflects six months on. "I feel like I missed opportunities to get things right, which is something I beat myself up about when I think back. And I'm not someone that dwells on things, but when it's such a big Ashes series and such a big occasion in England, I felt like I didn't do myself and the team justice.

"I wish I could do it again, really. I wish I could start the summer over again. I feel like if we did play the series again, we'd beat them. Unfortunately, the rain in Manchester didn't help. It's a bit bittersweet, the Ashes."

Memories of the deep bone bruise in his landing foot (left), sustained in the build-up to the series, temper thoughts about what he could have done differently. "I played at Worcester, on a green seamer, got 14 wickets and felt unbelievable, I had really good rhythm, body felt great. Two weeks later I play at Hove [against Glamorgan] and my foot was sore almost straightaway." In an ideal world, he would have played the one-off Test at Lord's against Ireland, but the ECB decided it was not worth the risk.

With ten wickets at 28.40, he was not quite the scourge of Australia's batters. Stuart Broad secured that mantle (again), signing off with 22 dismissals in the series. But Robinson did trump Broad for Ashes villainy.

There was the send-off to Usman Khawaja after dismissing him for 141 in the first Test. In his subsequent press conference, he explained it away as passion, adding that the Australians were only aggrieved "because the shoe's on the other foot". Comments that Australia's line-up featured "three No. 11s" followed - riffing on a theme about their lack of lower-order runs - before another back and forth with Khawaja on the field the next time their paths crossed. All this across a few days in Birmingham.

One of those "No. 11s", Nathan Lyon, accompanied captain Pat Cummins to get Australia over the line in that first Test. The ill-feeling toward Robinson simmered throughout the 12-day lead-up to the second Test. The great and good of Australian cricket had their turn. Ricky Ponting - whom Robinson had cited in his press conference - returned serve, while Matthew Hayden labelled Robinson a "forgettable cricketer", and introduced "nude nuts" into the game's lexicon. Robinson also stirred the pot with a debut online column for Wisden Cricket Monthly.

He wore it all then and remains phlegmatic now. There is no remorse, not that his comments required any deep introspection.

"Looking back, mentioning Ricky Ponting in a press conference wasn't the smartest thing to do. But I've watched so much cricket, I've seen so many of them do the same thing to the opposition. I just thought it was so funny that they were then getting stuck into me for the same thing they used to do."

Still - what was it like being in the centre of an Ashes storm?

"I remember waking up that week and people were texting me saying, 'Oh Matt Hayden's said this, [Adam] Gilchrist said this, Fox Sports have said this.' Every morning, someone else would come out of the woodwork and have their 20p. But I enjoy that sort of thing, I feel like it really motivates me.

"At Headingley, before I got injured, I felt really, really good. I had no inkling I was going to have a back spasm or anything, and I felt those comments really drove me on to finish the series well. But unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

"Even the No. 11s thing: you say something, someone snicks off for none and you look like a genius. Or they hit the winning runs and you look like a fool. But it's one of those things - you take the risk. If it comes off, it comes off. If it doesn't, you hold your hands up. I just felt like that press conference, it was the right thing to say at the time. That's all you can do, really, is say what you feel at the time.

"And I've seen a few things since, people saying, 'He should have kept his mouth shut.' But you can't see what's going to happen. I was giving my all for the team and that's a role I've taken upon myself, to get stuck into the opposition and get the lads going."

There are still Australian fans keen to drag Robinson on social media. "They love getting stuck into every post, every video," he says, like a man who really does seem to find it funny they are still after him now. He "likes" the odd negative comment, which he squares as par for the course in his self-appointed role as antagonist.

"It's just part of it, isn't it? If you take it to heart, it makes it harder on yourself. A lot of them have probably watched a lot of cricket and can have their say."

Robinson, though, does have a line - when comments get personal. It is a line that, over the past three months, he feels has been crossed. Not just by private messages from newly created Instagram accounts wishing ill on him and his family, but in the broader media too.

On August 11, 2023, the Daily Mail published an article about his break-up with his ex-partner. The piece contained criticism of Robinson from an anonymous source, along with details of his new relationship with Mia Baker, a presenter and golf influencer. Robinson said there were inaccuracies within the article on social media.

"What they were writing was not factual," he says. "I had so many messages saying, 'You're this, you're that', but people don't know the whole story. They put out an article filled with assumptions, encouraging readers to create whatever storyline fitted their narrative.

"I actually looked a couple of days after at my Instagram requests and the guy that wrote the article in the Daily Mail had messaged me and said, "Do you want to put your say on the story?" I hadn't seen it until the article had already come out, so I couldn't really do anything about it. But they sent me that message at 9pm - the article came out at 8am the next morning. So they obviously didn't want me to have my say on it either. I understand their job is to generate stories that result in clicks but for them to write this without getting my input really impacts myself and others.

"That was quite tough to handle, not only for myself but those around me. I'm grateful to have had the support from people close to me who understood the situation and how tough it was."

Robinson has a daughter, who has been front and centre of his thoughts throughout this period. He sees her as often as possible and remains a full part of her life.

"Technology these days is so incredible because no matter where you are in the world, a video call really does make a difference. With England, we travel all over the world for long periods of time and everyone knows how difficult missing someone can be.

"But over the Christmas period, we've had the chance to spend lots of time together with family and it really has been amazing, which makes being away in India that bit harder.

"The last year hasn't been easy. Dropping your daughter off, knowing you're not going to see her for a while, is upsetting. But in myself, I now feel in a much better place both mentally and physically."

This will not be Robinson's first tour of India. He travelled over in 2021 as a "reserve" in the extended squad that England took with them to mitigate any contingencies arising due to Covid.

It was a gruelling experience beyond the result, which saw India win 3-1 after England triumphed in the opening Test, in Chennai. Those on the periphery spent time training, locked down in the hotel, and occasionally carrying drinks. "It's why I'm really looking forward to this tour," he says. "Last time we didn't have full capacity crowds either, so it's going to be incredible to experience."

Tests in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ranchi, Rajkot and Dharamshala will offer a variety of surfaces and conditions. As is the way under McCullum, England will arrive with an open mind. Be that as it may, this will be the sternest examination of what they are about. That in itself excites Robinson.

"You feel like you don't know what you're preparing for, which is a challenge I've not really had yet.

"On this tour, it'll be about being adaptable; look at the pitch a day or two before and assess how it'll play, or try to get clues from the nets on the square. It'll be a different challenge but one that I'm looking forward to because it'll engage my cricket-nuffy brain."

Robinson's nerdy side has already been at work. He has been studying footage of India's attack in their home conditions, and workshopping those learnings.

"I've actually been practising Mohammed Shami's dead-straight seam," he reveals. "He's one of the best bowlers for India. I was looking at Ishant [Sharma] as well - he played at Sussex for a bit and he's done really well in India for quite a while. He's tall, similar to me."

As for the batters, he has plans and fond memories of his last engagement with them in 2021. He took 21 wickets at 21.33 in the first four matches in a series that was eventually squared after England won the fifth at Edgbaston a year later. Of those dismissals, 15 were of full-fledged batters.

He got Virat Kohli three times, and, unsurprisingly, the two were not short of words to each other. Robinson is relishing more of the same.

"I actually saw the video of me walking out to bat at Lord's a couple of days ago. I think [Mohammed] Siraj bowled the ball that hit length and hit me in the chest. And in the video, all the Indian players surround me and Kohli is saying… well, I can't remember what he said.

"You always want to play against the best players, don't you? And you always want to get the best players out. Kohli is one of those. He's got a big ego and I think playing on that, especially in India, where he is going to want to dominate and score runs, playing on the fact we've had battles in the past, is exciting."

The other strand to this tour is that it is Robinson's first in a post-Broad world. There have been times in Robinson's 19 caps to date when he has played ahead of the latter. But having ended the 2023 English season out of the XI, Robinson sees 2024 as an opportunity to restate his worth as a new-ball lock and a Test bowler outright.

"Last time it happened [playing ahead of James Anderson and Broad] was before the Caribbean tour in 2022. Jimmy and Broady didn't get selected, all the pressure was on me to lead the attack, then I go out there and get a back spasm in a warm-up game.

"I prepared like I was going to be the leader of the attack for years, and probably looked too far ahead, if anything. I think now, maturing a little bit and knowing what can happen, I'm preparing like I'm playing another series and just going to do my best for England. Not looking too far ahead, not looking to be the leader of the attack or anything like that. Support Jimmy, support the spinners, and just support the team.

"If I can have a big tour in India, then it should set me up for a while. If I do well, I can cement myself back in the team."