‘For me it's water off a duck's back’ - Ricky Ponting launches scathing attack on Ollie Robinson after latter name-drops former Australia skipper

Australia registered an excellent victory against England in the first Test of the Ashes 2023. Winning the game by just two wickets, it was the heroics of skipper Pat Cummins that led Australia to a brilliant win. However, one of the biggest talking points from the game was the verbal altercation between Usman Khawaja and Ollie Robinson. 

The two players were engaged in heated discussions across the two innings as Robinson sledged Khawaja after dismissing him in the first innings, and Khawaja returned the favour on Day 5 of the match. Reflecting on his verbal spat, Robinson name-dropped former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and opined that Ponting and the entire Australian side used to sledge the English team back in the day.

Seeing the pacer’s comments, Ponting came forward to respond to the statement and opined that he found it unusual that Robinson mentioned his name, and that the English pacer should be focused on the present.

"As I said after Ollie Robinson said what he said, this England cricket team hasn't played against Australia, and they'll find out pretty quickly what playing Ashes cricket and playing against a good Australian cricket team is all about," Ricky Ponting told the ICC Review podcast.

"And if Ollie Robinson hasn't learned that already after last week, then he's a slow learner. Some of the things he had to say – I mean he even brought my name into it, which I felt was a little bit unusual, but for me it's water off a duck's back," He added.

No wonder he bowled like the way that he did in that game: Ponting

Furthermore, Ponting also reflected on Robinson’s performance in the first Test. The former Aussie skipper opined that if the pacer is thinking about him, then there is no wonder that he put in a subpar performance in the match.

"If he is sitting back thinking about me, then no wonder he bowled like the way that he did in that game, if he's worried about what I did 15 years ago. He'll learn pretty quickly that if you're going to talk to Australian cricketers in an Ashes series, then you want to be able to back it up with your skills," Ponting said.