Ashes 2023: Surprised how defensive Australia was in Edgbaston Test, says Ollie Robinson

England fast bowler Ollie Robinson was surprised by Australia’s defensive approach in the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham. After Ben Stokes opted to bat first, Pat Cummins decided to set a defensive field from the outset after Zak Crawley smashed a four on the first ball of the series.

There were easy singles on offer and England batters made most of the opportunity to score at a brisk pace. On the other hand, though Usman Khawaja scored 141 and 65 runs in two innings, he faced 321 balls in the first innings and then took 197 balls in the second essay.

Moreover, Steve Smith, Cameron Green, and Marnus Labuschagne were defensive in their batting approach in the opening Test. On the other hand, England adopted an aggressive approach with both bat and ball. England scored their runs at a run rate of 5.03 in the first innings whereas they scored at 4.12 in the second dig.

Furthermore, England skipper Ben Stokes was aggressive in his field placements in the opening Test match. Ollie Robinson said Australia were unwilling to go toe-to-toe with them in the first Test.

“We were surprised by how defensive Australia were and how unwilling they were to go toe-to-toe with us,” Robinson said in a column on Wisden.

“Obviously it’s worked for them this Test match. But we feel that with the way they’re playing at the moment, a pitch with a bit more movement would benefit us hugely. You just don’t see the Australians cautious and on the back foot like that. As soon as we saw the field for that first over, we felt like we had a hold on them.”

Robinson added that Australia might have to alter their approach if they have to challenge England. The medium pacer added the team’s dressing room atmosphere is positive despite a two-wicket loss in the opening Test match.

“Baz said it after the game, ‘It feels like we’ve won, lads. We’ve entertained the world, and we’ve put the Aussies on the back foot.’ For him to say that after a loss is quite significant for us,” Robinson continued.

“Of course, it sounds weird because they won it, but I think if they’re honest, Australia will look at themselves and realize they need to change their approach to keep up with how we’re going to play. If there’s any movement in the pitch at Lord’s, the way we’re playing compared to them is going to benefit us hugely.”

The second Ashes Test will be played at Lord’s, from June 28 onwards.