Former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie has asked England pacer Ollie Robinson to find fitness to bowl all day in Test cricket. He said Robinson was not lazy, but agreed that bowling in Test cricket was a step above county championship levels.
“He manages his length very well, can adjust it seamlessly, make proper use of the crease and take the ball in and away with both left and right hands. But England are such bowlers. Who bowls just one brilliant opening spell. They want someone who can repeat it over and over again. And they have challenged him to do the same after suffering a back cramp in this final Ashes Test. ,” wrote Gillespie in his column for the Daily Mail.
Gillespie’s remarks came after England bowling coach John Lewis confirmed that Robinson had a back cramp on the first day of the pink-ball Ashes Test in Hobart, which caused him to miss the bowling in the past two seasons.
Lewis also suggested that Robinson should work harder to maintain the fitness level required in Test cricket.
“But there was no doubt when England bowling coach John Lewis addressed the media on Friday that he was providing a thin-ditch dig in his direction. He gave her what I like to call a proper clip. There was a slight dismay in both John’s body language and voice, and it was clear to Ollie several times that he needed to work and accept and understand that this is a move for Test cricket. from county cricket,” added Gillespie, who played 71 Tests for Australia.
Gillespie pointed to Robinson’s decline in pace after every bowling spell in the ongoing Ashes, despite playing one match more than Stuart Broad.
“His wickets in the series have come down to 24 at the time of writing, yet one thing that is worth noting is that his pace drops with each spell. I don’t think he has been lazy in any way but what you do at the county level will not reduce it at the international level.”
He signed on giving his example from his bowling days. “England would now like to see a positive response from Oli, but as I can attest, it takes a lot of physical exertion to be successful as a Test bowler. Aerobic fitness didn’t come naturally to me, it was something I had to work incredibly hard at and put a lot of time and effort into.
“You need power to be able to bowl at a fast pace, but you also need to develop the core of the body to take it back later and the day after. There is no substitute for hard work in this regard. Not there.”
get all IPL news and cricket score Here
,