"Mouth from the south", "slow learner": Former Australian cricketers ridicule Ollie Robinson after England lose Edgbaston thriller

England pacer Ollie Robinson has been in the headlines over the last few days. He gave a foul-mouthed send-off to Usman Khawaja after dismissing the latter for 141 in the first innings of the Ashes 2023 Edgbaston Test.

Defending his act at a post-match press conference, he pointed out that Australian players like Ricky Ponting have been doing the same to England cricketers for numerous years.

At the media interaction, he also took a dig at Australia’s tail, stating they seem to have "three No. 11s," after the visitors lost four wickets for 14 runs in the first innings.

It was obvious that he was going to get it back from the Aussies if England ended up losing the first Ashes 2023 Test. And so, it’s least surprising that a number of former cricketers have ridiculed Robinson for his antics after Australia’s thrilling two-wicket win at Edgbaston.

Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden described Robinson as a "forgettable" cricketer on SENQ Breakfast. Urging David Warner to take on the pacer, he described the England cricketer as a "fast bowler that is bowling 124 (kph) nude nuts and he’s got a mouth from the south". Hayden added:

“Davey Warner can do that, right. He can just say, ‘You’re bowling 120km…’”

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting also hit out at the right-arm pacer for dragging his name into the sledging debate. Speaking on the ICC Review Podcast, the Aussie legend referred to Robinson as a 'slow learner'. He said:

“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. 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.”

Earlier, hitting out at Robinson, former Australia stumper Ian Healy described the fast bowler’s send-off to Khawaja as ‘rude’ and ‘rugged’. He told SEN Radio:

“It is a lack of class like he’s been criticized for, but that’s ok, it happens in the heat of the moment. I think he should have been punished because it was shown so closely on TV and it does incite retaliation.

"If Khawaja retaliated to that and said something back to him, he’d probably get in trouble. He (Robinson) was trying to incite that, it was rude and it was rugged. There probably should have been a little fine handed down to Ollie.”

According to reports, Robinson has been let off with a warning by match referee Andy Pycroft for his aggressive behavior towards Khawaja.

Meanwhile, another former Aussie keeper-batter Brad Haddin stated that Robinson’s comments on Australia having 'three No.11s' did not work. He told the Willow Talk cricket podcast:

"Well that didn't work. Robinson needs to be a bit careful here. Maybe emotions got the better of him. You win the Test matches on skill on the last day and it is war and attrition. He just got a bit ahead of himself and just needs a tap on the shoulder from some of the senior players."

29-year-old Ollie Robinson has featured in 17 Tests so far, claiming 71 wickets at an average of 21.15.

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How did Ollie Robinson perform in the Edgbaston Test?

Although England lost the Edgbaston Test, Robinson had a decent match. He returned figures of 3/55 in the first innings, picking up the wickets of Khawaja, Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins.

He picked up two wickets in the second innings as well, dismissing David Warner and Cameron Green. Robinson chipped in with the bat too, scoring 17* and 27 respectively.