Former Australia captain and legendary batter, Ricky Ponting responded to England pacer Ollie Robinson citing his example in order to justify giving an abusive send-off to Aussie opening batter Usman Khawaja during the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston. Robinson was brutally criticised by a certain section of Australian fans for giving Khawaja a mouthful on Day 3 of the Edgbaston Test.
The right-arm pacer delivered a brilliant yorker and uprooted Khawaja's stump that ultimately helped the Three Lions to close out Australia's innings before lunch on Day 3. Upon picking Khawaja's wicket, an animated Robinson told Khawaja to, "F*** off, you f***ing prick."
"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," Robinson had said while defending himself.
Responding to Robinson's remark, Ponting schooled the English pacer and opined that the right-arm pacer should focus on the task at hand, that is to win the Ashes against a strong Australian side rather than thinking about him and what happened 15 years ago. The ex-Oz skipper also reiterated that players need back the talk with ominous performances in the match.
"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 told in the latest episode of The ICC Review.
"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.
"He'll learn pretty quickly that if you're going to talk to Australian cricketers in an Ashes series, then you want to be able to back it up with your skills." the former Aussie captain added.
The second Ashes Test between England and Australia is scheduled to begin on June 28 at the iconic Lord's stadium.
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