Ricky Pointing shared his views on the spat involving English bowler Ollie Robinson and Australian batter Usman Khawaja during the first Ashes 2023 match at Edgbaston. The former Australian captain hits back at Robinson about his comments on Australian players and asked him to focus on improving his skills to back his 'talk'.
Ponting's remarks came after the English pacer brought the former's name while clarifying his involvement in a spat with Khawaja. The Australian opener scored a century in the first innings and fifty in the second to bag the Player of the Match award in Australia's thrilling two-wicket win on Day 5.
Khawaja's innings clearly frustrated Australia's bowling attack on Day 2 and Day 3. Robinson finally got rid of Khawaja but his aggressive reaction while celebrating the wicket drew strong criticism from the cricket fraternity. Robinson clarified his act by saying that Ricky Ponting did the same to England cricketers during his playing time.
"We've all seen Ricky Ponting, [and] other Aussies do the same to us. Just because the shoe is on the other foot, it's not received well," Robinson said after Day 3.
However, Usman Khawaja had a final laugh as Australia chased down the 281-run target with two wickets remaining and took a crucial 1-0 lead in the five-match away series. Ponting highlighted the importance of Ashes and said that Robinson should learn that facing a good Australian team will not be easy for England.
"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 said to ICC Review. "And if Robinson hasn't learned that already after last week, then he's a slow learner."
Speaking about Robinson's comment on him, the legendary cricketer said that if Robinson wants to talk about Australian cricketers then he should back it up with his skills as well.
"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," Ponting said. "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."
