England fast bowler Ollie Robinson has defended his send-off which he gave Australian opener Usman Khawaja after dismissing him as well. He said that getting the big wicket was special for him, claiming that passionate celebrations have always been part of the Ashes as well. However, England captain Ben Stokes placed an umbrella field for Khawaja on Day 3 of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston on Sunday, June 18 where he looked to take on Robinson, but ended up getting bowled for 141 as well.
As Khawaja was returning following a brilliant knock, Robinson was heard telling the Aussie opener something like, “F*** off, you f***ing p***k.” Ollie Robinson finished the first innings with figures of 3/55 from 22.1 overs. Apart from Khawaja, he also dismissed Nathan Lyon (1) and Pat Cummins (38) as well.
Speaking at the end of the day’s play, the England fast bowler defended his aggressive celebration and said:
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“It’s my first home Ashes and to get the big wicket at the time was special for me. I think Uzzie played unbelievably well. To get that wicket for us as a team at the time was massive. We all want that theatre of the game, don’t we? So I’m here to provide it. No, it’s not. But I think when you’re in the heat of the moment and you have the passion of the Ashes, that can happen. We’ve all seen Ricky Ponting, other Aussies do the same to us. Just because the shoe is on the other foot, it’s not received well.”
However, Ollie Robinson’s fierce send-off has become a hot topic of discussion at the press conference. Asked how Australia might view his aggressive celebration, the pacer replied:
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“I don’t really care how it’s perceived, to be honest. It’s the Ashes. It’s professional sport. If you can’t handle that, what can you handle?”
Meanwhile, Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey played down the incident and said that he didn’t see anything over the top. I didn’t see it at all. Usman hasn’t said anything. It’s an Ashes – at times it’s going to be pretty exciting and hostile cricket, but I actually was sitting there disappointed at getting out and didn’t see anything over the top there. From our dressing room, there was no comment.”
