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Well Prepared Ollie Robinson Dreams Of Dismissing Kane Williamson Ahead Of Potential Test Debut

Well prepared Ollie Robinson dreams of dismissing Kane Williamson ahead of potential Test debut

Brimming with confidence after a successful County season, Ollie Robinson has said that Kane Williamson would be his top target if he debuts against New Zealand. With the two-match Test series scheduled to begin on 2 July, Wednesday, both New Zealand and hosts England would be looking to unleash a pace heavy attack at Lord’s.

"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 LBW looks like a solid option,” Robinson said to Cricbuzz when asked about how would he like to target the Kiwi captain, one of the most prolific all format batters in the modern generation.

Robinson has been around the English Test camp for a while now and is one of the high-rated swing bowlers in England. Towering at a height of 6’ 5”, Robinson, while not express, has troubled the batsmen in domestic conditions due to additional bounce he can extract. On top of his abilities to move the ball both ways, the 27-year old’s frame helps him to extract seam off the ground.

This has helped the potential debutant scalp 214 First-Class wickets at a freakish average of 17.68.

It is not only Robinson’s natural ability that helps his case. His former coach and former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie has spoken widely about the Margate-born’s forensic ability to dissect batsmen.

Earlier in April, Gillespie, who has 259 Test scalps to his name, told ESPNcricinfo that Robinson is one of the most researched bowlers he has ever worked with.

"What I mean by that is he comes very prepared to every session, every team meeting, he does his research on the opposition batsmen, he watches a lot of footage, he pores over statistics, which may surprise a few people,” Gillespie had said.

Barring his bowling abilities, Robinson’s inclusion bolsters up the English lower order, a trait that the Englishmen do not mind since 2015. The average of 22.2 in First-Class cricket with seven 50s and one hundred will do Robinson’s reputation a world of good ahead of the selection for the upcoming English summer.

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CA remains non-committal on Aussie players’ availability for IPL’s UAE leg

The Australian players might not be available for the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League if Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley’s statements are anything to go by. Hockley, who was handed the full-time responsibility of the CEO earlier today, hinted that the players might not be willing to travel to UAE for the reaming part of the league. "Our players from the IPL only today came out of quarantine, so our first priority is to make sure they are reunited with their families and that they're safe and well," said Hockley in a media conference after assuming his office. “We've been texting, and I've spoken to a couple of the broader group, not just the players but there's commentators, match officials and physios. They are clearly quite shaken from the experience, very appreciative to be home back here in Australia,” he added. The Australian players and other members associated with the IPL 2021 in India, which has now been rescheduled for September 19-October 10 window in the UAE, got out of the hotel quarantine on May 31 only. Hockley is also more concerned about the team playing together and his next focus is the Kangaroos’ tour to the Caribbean. "We've obviously got a tour to prepare for in the West Indies but once they're out of quarantine and we get back together as a group, that (IPL participation) is something we'll need to discuss,’ said Hockley. Australia’s limited-overs tour to West Indies only begins on July 10 with the five T20Is in St. Lucia before they move to Barbados for the three ODIs. The team is likely to regroup around June 15 in Brisbane for practice before they head off to Wet Indies. "It's a couple of weeks before the West Indies touring party regroups at the National Cricket Centre [in Brisbane] and I think that's a time to re-focus," said Hockley. The CA also thanked the Australian government for its exemptions granted to those who have to leave Australia for work purposes. This way the Australian team will be eligible for the vaccine soon. “So now, once the players are out of quarantine, we will be working to offer them vaccinations before heading off to the West Indies,” said Hockley.

IPL 2021 | BCCI to take call on foreign player's availability in July

As Board of Control for Cricket in India members led by vice-president Rajeev Shukla chalk out plans for hosting the Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates, concerns are looming over the availability of the foreign players in the September-October window. With several nations playing their fixtures in preparation for the World T20 scheduled to be hosted later in October, boards such as the ECB have said head-on that they are not interested in sending their national stars for the remainder of the 14th edition of the cash-rich league. Sources in the know have told news agency ANI that the BCCI will take the decision about the foreign players around July after discussions with the foreign boards. Subsequently, the franchises will be intimated if the overseas players will be available to the respective teams or will they need to call in reinforcements during the second leg of the league. “Once the foreign boards come back on the matter of player availability, the BCCI will discuss the matter with the franchises and make them aware of the scenario. In case some foreign players aren't available for the tournament, the franchise will be allowed to rope in replacement in the same manner in which injury replacements are picked under normal circumstances,” the source told ANI. Earlier on Monday, 31 May, Rajeev Shukla had said that BCCI's primary goal was to complete the remainder of the IPL season. "Our main focus is on completing this edition of the IPL. It should not be left halfway through. So whichever foreign players are available is fine. Whoever is not available, it is not going to stop us from hosting the tournament,” Shukla said. Meanwhile, sources from the UAE board have stated that having crowds in the hosting stadiums would not be a problem and vaccinated persons will be allowed into the stadiums in 50 per cent capacity. It has also been intimated that the UAE board are more than eager to host the Indian Premier League in the three stadiums of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai, just like it did last year.

Watch: Emotional Pat Cummins hugs pregnant wife on reuniting after coming out of quarantine

Australian Test vice-captain Pat Cummins was visibly emotional when he reunited with his pregnant wife Becky Cummins outside his Sydney hotel where he was quarantining after getting back from India post the suspension of the Indian Premier League’s 2021 edition. The video was widely shared and liked on Twitter as it captured the true emotions of the player and his partner. Reportedly, Cummins has decided to sit out of the rescheduled IPL in UAE, to spend time with family during the pregnancy of his wife. Cummins, 28 is one of the costliest players in the league and was a key member of the struggling Kolkata Knight Riders. He almost played a blinder with the bat in a game against Chennai Super Kings where he threatened to take the game away from the yellow brigade with his 34 balls 66. The New South Wales player also took nine wickets in seven games in the IPL. Post the suspension of the IPL, Australian players had spent a lot of time in the Maldives before they fulfilled the criteria to get back to the country as there are travel restrictions on travelling from India to Australia. The players further underwent hotel quarantine before they could reunite with their families.

PSL 6 to resume from June 9: Reports

The sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League won’t be starting on the earlier proposed date of June 5 after being initially postponed from June 1 and shifted from Karachi to Shiekh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The delay caused by various travel restrictions for crew and players from India and South Africa means that the tournament can only start from June 9 at the least. “South Africans Faf Du Plessis, Riley Roussow, Cameron Delport and David Miller along with Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz were among the players whose flights landed at various airports on Saturday [May 29]. Also arriving in Abu Dhabi were South African coaches, Herschelle Gibbs and Michael Smith,” The Dawn reported. All these personnel along with the remaining contingent from Pakistan were supposed to reach Abu Dhabi by May 26 and hence with the maximum of 10-day quarantine, the PSL was slated to restart on June 5 for the reaming 20 matches of the league to be completed. But with both countries on the UAE’s red-list due to COVID-19, getting visas on time became a big hurdle. More Indians and South Africans arrived in the UAE by Sunday [May 30] and since they have to complete a 10-day quarantine period, the resumption of the season will not be possible by June 5,” the report said. The PSL which started on February 20 was supposed to take place entirely in Pakistan for this edition. However, with an increase in bio-bubble breaches and subsequent COVID-19 cases in the tournament bubble, on March 4 the event was postponed.