Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has criticised England cricketer Ollie Robinson for his aggressive send-off of Usman Khawaja. The Australian was dismissed for 141 during the opening Test match, and Robinson gave him a raucous send-off during his celebration that may have included abusive language. When questioned about the incident, Robinson defended his behaviour by referencing past instances of similar actions by Australian cricketers. However, Ponting called on Robinson to focus on his own performance and to back up his words with skills rather than looking to Ashes history for justification.
Ponting also questioned England’s claims that results don’t matter, referring to post-match quotes by Ben Stokes following the Edgbaston loss. Stokes said that players were in absolute pieces in the dressing room after the loss, suggesting that England does care about losing despite their mantra to the contrary. Ponting disagreed with their supposed lack of competitiveness and stressed the importance of not giving good cricket teams opportunities to edge back into a game.
The second Ashes Test match will be held at Lord’s on June 28, and Australia currently leads the series 1-0.
