Former Australia cricket legends Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden came down hard on England pacer Ollie Robinson, who was involved in several sledging incidents during the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston this week.
Robinson has been under fire from Day 2 onwards after he gave a foul-mouthed send-off to Australia opener Usman Khawaja, who was dismissed on 141.
Robinson again had a go at Khawaja at the stroke of tea on the final day. He copped a lot of criticism from the Aussie media and fans for his on-field behaviour and comments justifying his actions off it.
Robinson also dragged Ponting's name into the controversy when asked about his actions in a recent press conference.
Ponting calls Robinson a 'slow learner'
“We’ve all seen Ricky Ponting and other Aussies do the same to us, and just because the shoe is on the other foot it’s not received well,”Robinson had said after being asked about his run-in with Khawaja.
Ponting did not take this lightly and called out Robinson for his comments.
“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,” Ponting said.
“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," Ponting added.
'He's a forgettable cricketer': Matthew Hayden
Hayden was also critical of Robinson and his performance in the Edgbaston Test.
"That's how you combat England as well. As soon as Pat Cummins started coming at Joe Root and hit a couple of sixes. Then the other bloke; he's a forgettable cricketer. A fast bowler that is bowling 124 (kph) nude nuts and he's got a mouth from the south," Hayden said.
