Ollie Robinson says he ‘doesn’t care’ about backlash after Usman Khawaja sledge

There has been wild drama on and off the field in the Ashes on Monday morning with one star refusing to apologise for an ugly moment.

Move over Stuart Broad. Ollie Robinson has made no apologies for his expletive-laden spray on live-TV, prompting immediate backlash from cricket commentators.

The great rivalry between England and Australia never takes long to boil over.

After three days of gruelling Test cricket, Ollie Robinson has emerged as the new unlikely villain hellbent on tormenting the tourists for the next two months. While veteran paceman Stuart Broad has built a career-long reputation for getting under Australia’s skin, it was Robinson who pushed tensions over the edge midway through the First Test.

Robinson was fired up after claiming the key wicket of Khawaja for 141, baiting the Aussie opener with a full delivery after Ben Stokes adopted a highly aggressive ring field.

But it was what unfolded next that drew the ire of fans worldwide.

As the stumps sprayed outwards and Khawaja began the walk back to the rooms, Robinson with eyes glaring wide delivered a visceral spray to the Aussie opener. He could be seen yelling “f*** off, you f***ing pr**k” directly at Khawaja.

SEN’s Adam Collins wasn’t a fan of the spray delivered by the English player.

“It just strikes me as so ill-considered and makes no sense to me,” Collins said.

“These two play with such great spirit, I am not sure that was in the spirit though.”

Stream Over 50 Sports Live & On-Demand with Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

But Robinson staunchly defended his animated send-off directed at Khawaja after the day concluded, inviting the barrage of criticism from Aussie fans. Robinson said his only intention was to add to the captivating spectacle of the game.

“It‘s my first home Ashes and to get the big wicket at the time was special for me,” Robinson told the media at stumps.

“I think Uzzie played unbelievably well. To get that wicket for us as a team at the time was massive. We all want that theatre of the game, don’t we? So I’m here to provide it.”

Robinson admitted what came out of his mouth was “not appropriate” and blamed the heat of the moment on his outburst. He also referenced Ashes battles of decades past, bringing former Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting into the debate.

Move over Stuart Broad. Ollie Robinson has made no apologies for his expletive-laden spray on live-TV, prompting immediate backlash from cricket commentators.

“No, it‘s not (appropriate),” Robinson said. ”But I think when you’re in the heat of the moment and you have the passion of the Ashes, that can happen.

“We’ve all seen Ricky Ponting, other Aussies do the same to us. Just because the shoe is on the other foot, it’s not received well.

“I don‘t really care how it’s perceived, to be honest. It’s the Ashes. It’s professional sport. If you can’t handle that, what can you handle?”

Robinson was fired up after claiming the key wicket of Khawaja for 141, baiting the Aussie opener with a full delivery after Ben Stokes adopted a highly aggressive ring field.

Robinson is expected to face a financial penalty in the form of a deduction from his match fee, as well as a demerit point for breaching the ICC’s Code of Conduct, which prohibits players from using language, actions, or gestures that belittle or provoke an aggressive response from a dismissed batter.

Australia’s wicketkeeper, Alex Carey, claimed he was unaware of Robinson’s send-off until being informed by the team’s media manager en route to the press conference.

Former Australian cricket team captain, Ricky Ponting has been making waves in the UK. Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images.

“I didn‘t see it at all,” Carey said. ”Usman hasn’t said anything. It’s an Ashes - at times it’s going to be pretty exciting and hostile cricket, but I actually was sitting there disappointed at getting out and didn’t see anything over the top there. From our dressing-room, there was no comment.”

But before anyone could take Robinson’s spray as a sign England had officially declared war, former skipper Joe Root smoothed things over with Khawaja, patting him on the back as he departed the ground.

It wasn’t all ‘f*** yous’ from the Poms.

Finishing with figures of 3 for 55, Robinson played a crucial role as England bowled out Australia for 386, trailing by a mere seven runs on the first innings.

While Australia managed a scoring rate of 3.32 runs per over in their innings, England’s more aggressive approach, exemplified by Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, seemed to disrupt Australia’s usual attacking style.

“We‘ve made them play in the way that they have,” he said.

“The aggressive nature of the way that we’ve gone about it - batting and bowling - has made them play more defensively. It’s not normally something that you see from an Australian side but the way that we’re playing under Ben and Baz is causing that to happen.”

Robinson also took the opportunity to question Australia’s batting depth, claiming the tourists have brought over “three No. 11’s” with Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland and Josh Hazlewood.

“It‘s something we spoke about as a group,” Robinson said. ”We said once we get past Cummins, we feel like they’ve got three No. 11s. It’s something that we can target through the series and try and wrap up their innings quite quick and try and give us that momentum into our batting innings.”

The action continues tonight at 8pm (AEST), with Australia desperate to dismiss England before the hosts run away with a commanding total.