Ollie Robinson established himself as enemy number one for the Australian media after his comments during and after the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston rubbed many the wrong way. Robinson earned a degree of redemption, however, as he was part of the team that got England on the board in the series with the win at Headingley.
Robinson used his column for Wisden to write about the impact that Mark Wood’s introduction in that match had. He said the express pace bothered the Australian batters and left a mark on them psychologically. Robinson, who suffered from back spasms throughout the match, gave his perspective on how the Aussie batters were struggling against Wood’s spells.
“I’ve never seen a spell like Woody’s on that first morning. I was at mid-off to start with, and first few balls, I thought, ‘Jeez, that looks pretty quick…’ He carried on through the over, finished the job, and then someone ran past me from slip and said that they were standing past my bowling mark, which is 22-and-a-half metres back!”
Wood took a five-fer in the first innings at Headingley, setting up the tone early by castling Usman Khawaja before wrapping up the tail in quick time. “The fact he was consistently getting the shape and movement on it as well – at that speed – was just unbelievable bowling. It was just amazing to watch and be a part of. Though not so amazing for the batters, I’d imagine,” wrote Robinson, who is fit to play in the fourth Test.
{{/usCountry}}Wood took a five-fer in the first innings at Headingley, setting up the tone early by castling Usman Khawaja before wrapping up the tail in quick time. “The fact he was consistently getting the shape and movement on it as well – at that speed – was just unbelievable bowling. It was just amazing to watch and be a part of. Though not so amazing for the batters, I’d imagine,” wrote Robinson, who is fit to play in the fourth Test.
{{/usCountry}}“Every batter during that spell was doing the same thing. It was awkwardly fast and awkwardly uncomfortable, and as a batter you’re trying to convey that you’re fine when you’re really not,” continued Robinson.
The English pacer also talked about the influence someone like Wood can have over the dressing room. After missing the first two Tests recovering, Wood was fit in time for the Leeds Test, and his addition made the difference for the hosts. “Woody’s just got this mad, unique energy. There’s no one else like him. You think he’s drunk half the time yet he doesn’t touch a drop.”
Robinson also shared a hilarious story of Wood’s antics before play started in Leeds: “Bear in mind this is a bloke who, 10 minutes before we went out, literally at 10:50am, was on all-fours barking on the changing room floor, going, 'here’s a dog in the dressing room. There’s a dog in here, lads…'”
If Wood’s contributions with the ball weren’t enough, he also pitched in with a blitz of an innings, scoring 24(8) and adding some impetus to England’s response. Later, with England trying to chase down the target and not too many wickets left, he helped Chris Woakes shepherd the chase home, adding on another 16 in 8 balls.
It was a memorable Test for Wood, and his seam-bowling partners will hope he is rearing to go in Manchester as well. Robinson also confirmed that he will be fit for the Old Trafford Test, and England will want him to be aggressive and prepared to get in the face of the visitors once again in an effort to bring the Ashes back all the way from 2-0 down.