'We’re lucky to have him' – Stokes on Ollie Robinson's return to England team 

Ollie Robinson | Source: Twitter

England cricket team on Wednesday announced the playing eleven set to take on high-flying South Africa in the second Test of the three-match series at Emirates Old Trafford. 

The one and only major change for the English side from the first Test at Lord's is the inclusion of the bowling all-rounder Ollie Robinson in the place of fast bowler Matthew Potts. 

The Sussex seamer last featured for England in the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia in Hobart in January earlier this year. 

The 28-year-old had a phenomenal start to his Test career since his debut in 2021, taking 39 wickets in nine Tests at an average of 21.28. 

Robinson thoroughly deserves this: Ben Stokes on seamer's return 

The England Test captain Ben Stokes recently opened up on Robinson's return to the team after a long break owing to injuries. 

Stokes revealed that he was constantly in touch with the 6ft 5in right-arm bowler throughout this time and they are lucky to have him in the team.

“I stayed in contact with him quite a lot throughout this period and just told him that any team that he plays for is very lucky to have him because of what he possesses as a bowler. He thoroughly deserves this. And I can’t wait for him to go out there and show what it’s all about.”  

The second Test of the series is scheduled to be played at Old Trafford – the pitch that traditionally offers bounce to the bowlers. 

Stokes cited it as a major reason behind Robinson and Potts swaps as the former has got a good height with a high release point and he is likely to extract more bounce from the surface as compared to the other bowlers.

“The selection was based around what we thought was the best bowling attack to suit this particular ground and he completely understood that. For a 23-year-old to understand the bigger picture of what we’re trying to achieve here and not be throwing his toys out the pram was honestly something that I think shouldn’t be overlooked.”

Robinson recently played the practice match against South Africa where he ended up picking five wickets for England Lions. Playing his first game for England after a long break, he will be keen to replicate his recent performances from the County and practice game against the Proteas in the second Test. 

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