‘Mate, just be careful what you say’: Ollie Robinson reveals chat with Usman Khawaja after Edgbaston send-off

Robinson had used a few expletives after uprooting Khawaja’s off-stump in the first innings following the ‘Brumbrella’ field set up from Ben Stokes. Khawaja by then had smashed 141 runs and taken Australia close to England’s 393-run first innings total.

Giving such a fiery send-off to Khawaja who silently went about his business to smash his first Test hundred in England was not well received and the 29-year-old had to face a lot of backlash.

Robinson has explained his decision and defended himself by saying that it all happened in the heat of the moment. adding that Khawaja’s wicket was a big moment in the match.

“I didn’t realise the Ussie [Usman Khawaja] send-off was such a big thing until I got off the pitch to find my phone blowing up with mates texting me and it all going off. I just got caught up in the moment. I was desperate for a wicket; I hadn’t bowled that well in the first innings, I’d had that slip in my second over and lost a bit of confidence, and then I was trying to feel my way back in a little bit, having not played much for a while. And obviously Ussie was the big wicket, he was playing beautifully. It was nothing against Ussie, it was just one of those things, I got caught up in the moment and let myself go,” said Robinson in his column for Wisden.

Robinson also revealed that he talked out the whole matter with Khawaja who just asked him to be careful with what he says. Robinson added that he gets along nicely with Khawaja.

“We’ve all seen it with Jimmy [Anderson], Broady, [Glenn] McGrath, Brett Lee. All the bowlers do it when they’re fired up and trying to get a wicket for their team. I spoke to Ussie after as well and we were all good. He was just like, “Mate, just be careful what you say.” It was nothing against him and we had a good chat. He’s a nice guy and I’ve always gotten on well with him, having played against him a few times,” said Robinson.

Further, Robinson, who picked five wickets across two innings in the Ashes 2023 first Test, admitted that he had learnt his lesson after the incident.

“I think in those big moments I sometimes forget where I am. And there’s a thousand cameras on me! I’m not normally an explicit sort of person when I get a wicket, it’s normally just a big roar, or my eyes go a bit crazy. Anyway I’ve definitely learned my lesson!” Robinson wrote.