England Test captain Ben Stokes applauded Ollie Robinson’s mentality while being on the sidelines throughout the ongoing Test series in India so far. The veteran pacer is yet to leave a mark in the upcoming fourth Test of the series in Ranchi, which begins on Friday, February 23. However, Robinson was one of the three frontline pace bowlers named by England for the ongoing five-match Test series as well.
“He has worked incredibly hard while he has been out here. And it is tough for someone like Ollie, who’s played such a big part in the game over the last two years, where he has not taken part in a game and the stuff he has done away from the game itself has been very good,” Stokes was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
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“He’s got unbelievable skills to be a successful bowler anywhere in the world. What we’ve seen in England is he’s very skilful, but we’ve seen more than that in Pakistan. It’s similar but different here, but the skill he possesses, he can find any movement, and his release point is always going to be dangerous,” Stokes further added.
However, Ben Stokes again shared that he had talks with Robinson about waiting for the opportunity, and he also understood his plight of missing out on the first three Tests of the series as well.
“I told him today he has been a great example of doing the right things and waiting your turn if it comes. Not playing the first three Tests can be tough and disappointing. But the way he has cracked on and got his fitness stuff in and not let disappointment get in the way of a potential chance that might come in this series,” Stokes said.
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“You can have a good game and lose, and a bad game and win, so reflecting on your performance as an individual is the most important thing to do, rather than reflecting on the result itself. So many things go into a Test match and focusing solely on the result of the game is not the best type of reflection. You will have good days and bad days, good games and bad games. Going out there and sticking to the way that we know allows us to play our best cricket is what we constantly focus on. That’s what we’ll be doing in this game, the next game and other games too,” Ben Stokes concluded.
