Allan Border calls out English villain after Usman Khawaja spray
The former Aussie captain had a little warning for the England bowler.
Aussie cricket icon Allan Border has attempted to play down the incident between England bowler Ollie Robinson and Aussie Usman Khwaja, despite claiming the team won't forget his actions. The Ashes erupted on day 3 when Robinson directed an ugly tirade at centurion Khawaja after taking his wicket.
Khawaja was on 141 runs when Robinson used Ben Stokes' bizarre field to bowl the opener out and open the door for England. And in his excitement, Robinson appeared to yell "f*** off, you f***ing prick" when running towards Khawaja.
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The cricket world erupted over the spray with the match played in good spirits up until Robinson's dig. And after the day's play, Robinson defended his actions and claimed former Aussie captain Ricky Ponting was a master at getting under the opponents' skin.
However, former Aussie captain and cricket great Border has warned Robinson he could expect the same treatment from Pat Cummins' men after igniting the battle. “Generally, I think Robinson is a pretty fair bloke from what I gather,” Border said on SEN Radio.
“But, you get fired up as a big fast bowler, words are said and then afterwards it’s all forgotten about generally. The media will jump on it, of course, but you know what goes around comes around, he’s put a bit of a target on his head. When he comes out to bat, hopefully it’s early tomorrow, and the Aussies won’t forget that’s for sure.”
Aussie wicketkeeper Alex Carey echoed Border's comments that there was nothing 'over the top' in Robinson's spray at Khawaja.
Robinson's wicket sparked a collapse for Australia as they fell seven runs short of England's total. However, Pat Cummins and Scott Boland took two late wickets in the day to leave England at 2-28 on day 4 of the first test in Birmingham.
Ollie Robinson hits back after Usman Khawaja spray
Speaking to reporters after the day's play, Robinson defended his actions in the wake of the backlash against him. "It's my first home Ashes. To get the big wicket at the time was special for me," he said.
"We all want that theatre of the game, so I am here to provide it." Asked about how his reaction looked to the cricket world or whether it put a target on his head in Australia's camp, Robinson was clearly not fazed.
"I don't really care how it is perceived to be honest, it's the Ashes, it's professional sport," he said. "If you can't handle that, what can you handle?"
He also alluded to the fiery Aussie teams of the past when referencing his actions against Khawaja. "We've all seen Ricky Ponting and other Aussies do the same to us, and just because the shoe is on the other foot, it's not received well," he added.
Regardless, the Aussies will use the incident as motivation on day 4 as they look to dismiss England early having taken two quick wickets to leave the host's reeling at the end of play.
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