Bullish Ollie Robinson promises to take game to Australia ahead of first Ashes experience

GEORGE DOBELL: Despite the weather hindering preparation for both teams, Robinson believes that conditions might suit England's seamers

It says much for Ollie Robinson's smooth start to Test cricket – on the pitch, anyway – that, just five matches into his career, he is arguably England’s first-choice seamer for the Ashes series.

For while Mark Wood’s pace is a precious, Stuart Broad's experience essential and James Anderson's skill unmatched, perhaps only Robinson is likely to play in all five Tests.

It's not hard to see why England rate him so highly, either. He has averaged 19.60 with the ball in those games and, with his competitive but positive nature, quickly seemed at home at a level where self-doubt can be a dangerous attribute. While some England players have seemed a little overawed by their first taste of Ashes cricket – especially in Australia – you suspect Robinson is going to love every moment of it.

He's certainly not lacking in confidence. As well as celebrating the return of Ben Stokes, he reasons that the conditions and even the ball may help England more than expected. He accepts he "couldn't keep my head down if I tried" and is "definitely going to be trying to get under the skins" of the Australian players. He also believes England have, despite their limited preparation, an advantage on Australia in that regard.

"We feel in a good place," Robinson said. "And we feel ahead of the Aussies, which is the main thing.

"Having Stokesy back is a big plus for us. It gives us depth and we're able to change the team as well. So I feel we are definitely the underdogs and can take the urn home.

"We've had a good two days' training and the bowlers have got quite a lot out of that. It's obviously not ideal preparation but Australia were at the World Cup and in quarantine so they are probably a few weeks behind us. We feel like we have some good work in us since being here and hopefully that will give us the edge in the first Test."

^{Ollie Robinson has impressed in the early days of his Test career (Stu Forster/Getty Images)}

While there may be an element of positive thinking in all this – it all sounds a bit like 'we're lucky we didn't win the World T20' – there may also be some truth. It really does seem possible that the wet weather may rob the pitches of a little of their pace and, to listen to Robinson, the Kookaburra ball.

"I think last time the ball was slightly different," he explains. "There wasn't as much lacquer on it as this time. The ball has felt like it's swung a bit more this time round. That's obviously a bonus for us. If the balls stay like that we feel we can get early wickets and get on top.

"In the warm-up match, it swung after lunch when the ball was 25-30 overs old. It probably hasn't done in the past. The lacquer feels a bit more like the Dukes lacquer and there's a lot of positives to take from that.

"The weather we've had is only going to play into my hands. The wickets have been a bit softer and there's been a bit more grass because of the conditions, too. Hopefully when it comes to the first Test we can get the ball nipping and swinging early. Hopefully there'll be a bit in it for the bowlers and we can go one nil up early in the series."

It's not exactly Robinson's first taste of Ashes cricket in Australia, either. He was a spectator on the 2006/07 tour – he was 12 during the Brisbane Test and turned 13 later in the series – and, while England clearly took a hammering, remembers with great affection Andrew Flintoff's innings of 89 in Sydney. Having seen his career flash before his eyes earlier in the year – when those historic tweets came to light – the significance of the moment is not lost on him.

"I remember thinking he just took it to the Aussies," Robinson says now. "Growing up that's what I wanted to do and how I wanted to play my cricket. It's massively inspiring to watch that as a youngster and now hopefully try and emulate Flintoff went about it.

"Playing in the Ashes is massive. It's a massive achievement. Something that I'll never forget. I thought, at one stage, I wasn't going to be playing for England again. So, it's been quite a roller coaster over the last six to eight months and to be here and be with the team, it's quite an emotional time for me."

^{Robinson made his Test debut against New Zealand in June (Stu Forster/Getty Images)}

While he's never played in Brisbane, he does have the benefit of winters spent playing grade cricket and a Lions tour to fall back upon. In forming a friendship with Josh Hazlewood, among others, he took every opportunity to learn and improve.

"That Lions tour taught me a lot of discipline," he says. "You have to be fitter and stronger out here. You have to use the crease a bit more to create the angles and the movement. Out here the ball doesn’t move as much. My height and bounce is going to be crucial when it's not moving, so I am going to have to use that along with discipline to take wickets and hold the run rate.

"My times in Australia were really great with Josh Hazlewood and Trent Copeland. I really spoke to them in depth about how they bowled in Australia. I was actually a professional cricketer the second time out. So, I knew that I was trying to make it at a higher level and any information they could give me would help.

"I definitely feel ready and fit enough to take the challenge on."

The England squad resume training on Sunday having had a day-off on Saturday. They have confirmed that Peter Sim, the strength and conditioning coach who is currently with the Lions, will remain with the party as originally planned despite having been sacked by Yorkshire on Friday.

Our coverage of the Ashes is brought to you in association with Cricket 22

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