Ollie Robinson was a 'reserve' for England's winter tours of Sri Lanka and India, was named in three Test squads last summer, but the Sussex seamer tells Sky Sports he feels closer than ever to a dream debut after another impressive start to the summer with the ball
Saturday 22 May 2021 11:25, UK
Ollie Robinson has been close before, but this time feels different.
A 'reserve' for England's winter tours of Sri Lanka and India, the Sussex seamer was also named in three Test match squads last summer but was denied a debut.
"It actually feels like I'm part of the team now," Robinson told Sky Sports after being named in the 15-man squad for the two-Test series against New Zealand, starting on June 2.
"Before, it didn't feel like it was as close. Now I'm not relying on injuries, or Covid, to get a go. I've got a really good chance of playing Test cricket."
And Robinson certainly deserves his chance. The 27-year-old has averaged in the teens with the ball for the last four seasons in county cricket.
From 2018 to 2020, Robinson claimed 159 wickets at an average of 17.59. This summer, remarkably, he has improved on that figure even further, with his 29 wickets coming at 14.72 a pop - a tally which included a remarkable haul of 9-78 in an innings in defeating Glamorgan in Cardiff.
Robinson is left in no doubt as to where his early-season form has come from. "The winter helped me. Any time you're with England for a long period of time, you improve.
"Reverse swing definitely helped me get my nine-for at Glamorgan, which was something I learned from Jimmy [Anderson] and [Stuart] Broady in India.
"Also, I'm bowling longer, harder spells than maybe I did before. My pace is the same and my fitness is a bit better.
"It's things like that which have improved my game five or 10 per cent from before."
It's not the first time Robinson has benefitted from being able to pick the brains of England's all-time leading wicket-taker in Test cricket, with Robinson first linking up with Anderson as part of a specialist bowling camp in South Africa put on by the ECB in late 2019.
And that relationship has since blossomed. "I speak to Broady and Jimmy almost every day," Robinson said.
"I met Broady last summer and I get on really well with him as well. It's nice to have that relationship with them where we can obviously speak about cricket, but we can also just be mates as well.
"It will be a pretty special day If I get to take the field with those two guys - after all of what they've achieved.
"For any aspiring international cricketer, they've been at the forefront of our careers really - players that we all wish to emulate."
One familiar face Robinson won't get to share the field with, however, is his county team-mate Jofra Archer. The fearsome fast bowler is ruled out of the New Zealand series due to a longstanding right elbow injury.
Robinson was sad to witness Archer's struggles as he attempted to prove his fitness in Sussex's clash with Kent last week, only for his elbow to again flare up.
"It's always hard to see someone struggling like that," Robinson said. "I really felt for him - I could see that he was not right and in some discomfort.
"It's tough for him. But knowing Jofra, and the sort of person he is, I have no doubt that he'll come back fitter, stronger and better than before.
"Hopefully the operation goes well and we see him in England colours soon again."
Along with Broad and Anderson, joining Robinson instead in the 15-man squad to face New Zealand are, as luck would have it, the three other bowlers who were with him as part of that camp in South Africa 18 months ago - Craig Overton, Olly Stone and Mark Wood.
England head coach Chris Silverwood said this week that "the two of them [Robinson and Overton]", the standout bowlers of the summer so far, and both capable lower-order batsmen, "are competing, realistically" for one spot - in an attempt to balance the side in the absence of allrounders Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes.
When I was 17, 18, I was more of a batter; it’s something that over the last 18 months, two years, I’ve worked hard on again. I'm fairly confident with it and hopefully the England coaches have seen that and feel I can do a job.
Robinson isn't fazed and welcomes the strength in depth of England's contingent of quicks. "You've got a little bit of everything in there, haven't you?" he said of the squad.
"Obviously there's the pace of Stoney and Woody, then there's also the accuracy of myself, Overton, Broady and Jimmy. We can all swing the ball as well.
"Myself and Craig have actually played Lions cricket together, and we bounced off each other quite nicely when we were out in Australia.
"Spending three weeks together for the New Zealand series, hopefully we can bounce off each other a bit more and push each other.
"Obviously there's always a little bit of friendly competition, but we'll just have to see how we go."
It was Robinson's success for the Lions in Australia that really paved the way for the England recognition that has followed. In February of last year, he claimed seven wickets (and Overton six) in a nine-wicket hammering of Australia A in a one-off unofficial Test.
Dan Lawrence, who hit a fine hundred in the same game, has since been rewarded with a Test debut; James Bracey, who scored 65, could well join Robinson in making his against New Zealand; Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, Dom Bess and Overton, all of whom played, are also very much at the heart of both England's long-term planning and immediate future - with a return to Australia on the horizon.
Robinson describes himself as "someone that doesn't like to look too far ahead", but admits he'd by lying if he said he hadn't thought of the prospect of playing some part in the 2021/22 Ashes.
"I'm obviously dreaming of being on that flight to Australia," he said. "Like all of the other lads.
"But for me, at the moment, it's just about trying to take my chance when it comes and make sure I'm 100 per cent ready.
"It's just a case of showing England, and Spoons [Silverwood], how consistent and good I can be. Whether that be in the nets, training, or in games.
"I'm desperate to make my debut and show what I can do. If I look after that side of it this summer, hopefully being on the plane to Australia will take care of itself."
Robinson is so close to making his England Test dreams come true. And he knows it.
Watch the first Test between England and New Zealand at Lord's from Wednesday, June 2, live on Sky Sports Cricket.
