‘Don't think he's looked dangerous at all’ – Ricky Ponting opens up on Ollie Robinson's lack of threat in Ashes 2023

Legendary former Australia skipper, Ricky Ponting, expressed that England’s Ollie Robinson has failed to be lethal against the Aussies in the ongoing Ashes 2023. Notably, Pat Cummins-led Australia took a 1-0 lead after a dramatic win in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston and will be gunning to extend their dominance in the Lord’s Test.

Speaking about Robinson’s performances thus far, the pacer claimed the crucial scalps of Usman Khawaja in the first Test and Marnus Labuschagne in the ongoing Lord's Test, among other wickets. However, Ponting highlighted a different take on the regard and stated the English pacer’s lack of impact in the ongoing series despite his impressive skillset.

"I don't think he's looked dangerous in the series at all. I mean, if you look at the wickets, he's got the tailenders out in each game. Yes, he got Marnus (Labuschagne) in this innings here. But then he got (Nathan) Lyon and then he got (Josh) Hazlewood. So, if he didn't get the 10 and 11 out, then he finishes his innings with one wicket at over four runs an over,” Ponting told on the ICC Review.

“He’s a very skilful bowler, no doubt about that, and no one would've said a word about Ollie Robinson if he hadn't have sort of instigated this whole tit-for-tat that's been happening over the last couple of weeks. And to be honest, I think the whole thing's been blown completely out of proportion,” he added.

Ollie Robinson had dragged Ricky Ponting into the Usman Khawaja sledging saga

For the uninitiated, Robinson engaged in an off-the-field, heated exchange of words with Ponting following the distasteful send-off to Khawaja during the first Ashes Test. Following the send-off, Robinson cited Ponting’s on-field antics during his stint with Australia to defend his actions against Khawaja. 

With this, Ponting did not mince his words on the pacer and stated that Robinson would have to 'work on his performances in order to back his statements'. Speaking about the clash, the Three Lions will look to swiftly bounce back from their loss in the first Test and get on level terms with the Aussies in the five-match series.