LONDON: Ollie Robinson said Sunday he will bring an “extra edge” to the England pace attack if he is handed his Test debut in the first Test against New Zealand.
Sussex bowler Robinson is one of county cricket’s most prolific performers, with 279 first-class wickets at an average of 21.04, and the 27-year-old is no stranger to the international set-up having spent long stretches working with the Test squad over the past year.
However, he is closer than ever to a Test debut on Wednesday due to injury ruling out his county team-mate Jofra Archer, while others have been rested. “As soon as I cross the white line, there’s a different edge to me which people might not have seen from county cricket,” said Robinson.
“I will be getting in New Zealand’s faces and trying to gee the boys up a bit.
“Just bringing that little extra edge hopefully next week and I’ll be going fairly hard.
“I call it ‘white line fever’ where I’m a changed character when I go on the field.”
Robinson may lack the pace of rivals for the bowling spots on Wednesday such as Mark Wood and Olly Stone but he believes he has other facets to his game.
“I’ve just got to back my skill and back my ability,” he said.
“There’s people that have averaged 21 in Test cricket who bowl slower than I do.
“I’ll use all my attributes — my height, my skill — and hopefully it’ll stand me in good stead.”
One quality Robinson is renowned for is the homework he does on opposing batting line-ups.
He has shown the same application to that as he has in turning round his career after being sacked by Yorkshire aged 20 in 2014 due to off-pitch issues.
Indeed Jason Gillespie who was in charge of Yorkshire at the time was then reunited with him at Sussex and the former Australian paceman has been singing his praises at how he has progressed.
Robinson, though, only has his eyes on the New Zealand top order especially captain Kane Williamson.
“I won’t reveal too much yet but I have done quite a lot of research on their top four especially,” he added.
“Williamson is obviously the main one. “It looks like swinging it away from him, setting him up, pulling him across the crease and then using the crease with the nip backer to get him looks like a solid option.”
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