GEORGE DOBELL: Robinson made an impressive return to the Test side in Manchester, finishing with five wickets and fully vindicating both his recall and the decision to give him the new ball
Ollie Robinson has described the criticism he received for his lack of fitness as a "wake-up call" and credited Ben Stokes' advice for helping him break back into the England team.
Robinson made an impressive return to the Test side in Manchester, finishing with five wickets and fully vindicating both his recall and the decision to give him the new ball.
It was his first Test since the end of the Ashes and, in the intervening period, he has been plagued with injury and illness and heard the England bowling coach, Jon Lewis, publically question his fitness.
While Robinson enjoyed some fine moments during the Ashes, he missed the fourth Test with a shoulder injury and was reduced to a peripheral role in the fifth by a back spasm. He then suffered a recurrence at the start of the Caribbean tour, leading to some frustration from the team management over his diet and dedication to fitness.
Ollie Robinson has improved his fitness over the course of 2022 [AFP via Getty Images]
Robinson credits Ben Stokes in part for his change of mindset [Getty Images]
"If he's going to perform consistently over a long period of time at this level, he will be need to be a fitter bowler," Lewis said earlier this year. "It's something he needs to improve. We've been pretty frank with him. Now it's up to him."
But Robinson says the criticism, and a series of conversations with Stokes, inspired him to work harder than ever before and he is now "more driven" than at any time in his career.
"I took the experience as a wake-up call," Robinson said in the aftermath of victory in the second LV= Insurance Test at Emirates Old Trafford. "So I've used that to drive me forward in the last six months and when times have got tough I've just used that as a drive to try and keep positive.
"Jon and I spoke about it, moved on and it drove me for the last six months to get to this place today. I knew I could get back to this stage and I worked really hard, probably the hardest I've ever worked, to get back to this point."
Stokes's input, too, has been important. The new England skipper has had his own frank chats with Robinson, which have contributed to the Sussex bowler's resurgence.
"I spoke to Ben quite a lot in depth. When he first started international cricket he wasn’t in the shape he is now and I spoke to him about how he got there mentally and physically. And he really helped me in that stage of building back to this point," Robinson said.
"Along with the England medical team and everyone behind the scenes, they really helped me. I'm not there yet, I'm not the finished article at all but we're well on the way to getting there.
Robinson replaced Matthew Potts in the England team at Old Trafford [Getty Images]
Robinson says he has become a "gym freak" [Getty Images]
"My mindset shifted from trying to be fit for fitness testing to trying to be fit for five days of Test cricket at a high level. I lifted more weights, I ran further, everything I was doing before I just took to the extreme like Ben said. I think that's made me feel a lot stronger in my body and given a lot more confidence I can play international cricket and not just one game in a series but game after game.
"I had a point on the final day when I was fielding at mid-off and I thought 'I don't want to do this for 18 months; I want to do this for five, six years'. I feel more driven today than I did at the start of my career and I feel in such a good headspace now, after this week's game I can drive on and push on a lot more.
"I've become a bit of a gym freak, which I never thought I'd say. It's become a bit of a habit whereas before it was a chore and I think that's really helped me. It's just ingrained in me now which hopefully will help for years to come."
England's victory levels the series at 1-1, with the final Test, at the Kia Oval, due to start on September 8.
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