England pacemaker Ollie Robinson has spoken out about the sacking of Usman Khawaja in the first innings of the ongoing 2023 Edgbaston Test of the Ashes. He said it was one of those plans that he came up with and made skipper Ben Stokes look like a genius.
Usman Khawaja was the only batsman for the Australia side to worry England as he played a magnificent strike and crushed a sensational 141-run strike that helped his side move closer to the total for the Ben Stokes-led team in the first innings.
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It took something special to get him out and Captain Ben Stokes did just that. He pressured the hitter with his extraordinary range and forced him to do something different, which ultimately led to the ouster of Usman Khawaja after a marathon knockout.
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Ben Stokes set up an attacking field and kept four fielders in a quarter circle arc on the side, starting from half fool to square leg. With chances very narrow, Usman Khawaja tried to go down for the wicket.
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But Ollie Robison, who had planned to deliver a yorker, executed brilliantly and sent the stumps tumbling. After Usman Khawaja’s wicket, England quickly wrapped up the Australian tail and took a 7-run lead.
While talking about the plan for Usman Khawaja, Ollie Robinson said that Ben Stokes approached him and told him about the umbrella field they had in Pakistan. He revealed that he had a yorker and a slower ball in mind, but the skipper insisted that he go for the yorker. Speaking to the reports, he said:
“Stokes approached me about the ball earlier and said: What did we do in Pakistan? I think an umbrella field? He said let’s go for it, okay? I said yes, let’s go for it. He said what are you going to bowl? And I said slower ball or I could throw a yorker.
“He said go for Yorker first. I just went for a yorker and Uzzie came down the wicket and played a different shot than he had been playing and luckily hit the stump. It’s one of those plans that comes out, and Stokes seems like a genius.”
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Ashes 2023: Kumar Sangakkara Correlates Usman Khawaja With Steve Smith
Kumar Sangakkara was impressed with Usman Khawaja’s patience, saying that when he was in his zone he looked like Steve Smith and that he will be an important hitter in the series. He elaborated:
“He was a lot like Steve Smith when he got into that zone – the internal camp where he prepared for a big one. I was impressed with his patience and how he played with Moeen, taking the attack to the deflective. His defense was impressive against pace and spin and he will be another important hitter for Australia.”
Notably, this was Usman Khawaja’s first Test century in England. He would hope to continue his rich streak of form and play a crucial role in moving his team forward in the series.
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