Ollie Robinson gives an insight into the feeling inside the England dressing room after two thrilling Tests in India. He touches on Ollie Pope’s Hyderabad heroics, the philosophy of this England team, Ben Stokes’ tactical nous and having a front row seat for Jasprit Bumrah’s breathtaking spell in Vizag.
The way we came back in the first Test from that 190-run deficit – it’s just crazy. I don’t think India have ever experienced a team that’s come at them in the way that we did in that first Test. The way Popey played was just ridiculous, like nothing I’ve seen before. It almost felt like he was taking the mick a little bit. Just picking whatever ball he wanted to play, reverse sweep, or scoop, or knock it for one. That performance really allowed us to believe that, if it looks like we’re down, we can still come back from it.
We were in the lift at the hotel on the second day and a few of the supporters were saying, ‘Oh, no, it looks like another Test series in India where you’re gonna get beat easy’. On day three, we got back in the lift and it was like, ‘Oh, we’ve got a chance here.’ It just flips so quickly. That’s the great thing about how we’re playing at the minute, we can flip the game so quickly.
Most of the guys that played that game were in India in 2021 so there would have been decent scars from that series, especially Popey had a really rotten series last time out. And then in the first innings in Hyderabad, he understandably looked a bit nervous. In the second innings he just came out and played unbelievably well, settling in really, really fast.
It shows how we’ve come such a long way as a team. Ben and Baz have give us confidence that no matter what has happened in the past, we should just go out there and play with freedom, and not worry about previous innings or series. The other side of that is you had Tom Hartley who has never played in India before – he has no scars, no fear. I was absolutely buzzing for him after the first Test. He’s come into the group and he’s just fitted in so seamlessly. He’s a really good lad. He has that sort of stern gameface on the field which I really like, he’s got that edge to him.
Ollie has probably had the biggest glow-up I’ve ever seen from a cricketer. Ben and Baz have given him so much confidence as a person and as a cricketer, and he’s just flourished under them. He’s gone from being a quiet boy coming into the side at 20 to becoming a man who speaks confidently and freely in the dressing room. He’s always giving you tips or if you’ve got any problems you can go to him for advice. It’s really refreshing to see that someone who maybe didn’t have that confidence at the start of their England career can get it in the international game. We’ve seen plenty of cricketers in the international game come in for a Test or two, and not have that backing of the hierarchy and go straight out. He works really hard, too. There’s no question about his work ethic. It’s unbelievable to come back from two reconstructed shoulder surgeries and score a double hundred in India – that takes some bottle. He’s an impressive character and is loved by the squad.
Ollie Robinson: Ollie Pope has probably had the biggest glow-up I’ve ever seen from a cricketer
Even two weeks on from that knock, I’m like, how has he done that? How’s he done short leg for 100 overs and then gone out and hit a double hundred over the course of a day and a half. That is a seriously world-class performance.
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From watching from the sidelines I think Stokesy has learnt a few things as well. His fields at times have been really aggressive and obviously for a young spinner to come in and have those fields set straight away, it can be tough for them, especially with the nerves and anxiety around playing that first game. But I think Stokesy learnt that maybe giving them an extra man out but still keeping the close fielders in really worked. I think we saw that in the second innings at Hyderabad. Tom had two sweepers out almost the whole time but still had catchers around the bat.
Ben has started unbelievably well as skipper but even there you saw another level to Ben Stokes as a captain. There was another period in the second Test where in the morning session it looked quite comfortable for India. Stokesy had a ring field, one slip, a couple of men out and some of us in the dressing room were thinking, ‘What’s going on? Stokesy is not being as proactive as normal today.’ When he came off at lunch, Stokesy said, ‘I feel like not enough was happening to allow me to move the field in the way I want and to be as aggressive as I wanted but when we get a wicket, we’re gonna strike, we’re gonna go for two, we’re gonna go for three in a row.’
He is very observant as a captain and in the field. If you actually really watch him on the field as a captain, it’s all very calm and calculated. He doesn’t get too caught up in the moment. As someone that loves that sort of thing, it’s great to watch as well, because it only educates me more.
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The best thing about us in that first Test was that when we came off and they were 190 ahead, you wouldn’t know that they were 190 ahead. The mood in the dressing room, the morale, our confidence that we could win the game was as high as ever. The moment you stop believing is the moment that you’ve lost the game. Ben, Baz and Popey all believed that we could turn that game around. All the chat was, ‘How many do we need to set them?’ It was never, ‘Right, let’s get to their lead, let’s get level.’ It just shows that you don’t have to think negatively when you’re behind the game.
To have that mindset in every single game, it’s such a cool dressing room to be a part of. Even in the second game, we needed 399 in the fourth innings and Shubman Gill’s come out and said we’ve got a 30 per cent chance of winning. Jimmy has been here so many times and never has he seen an India player come out and say something like that.
We actually all believe that we could have chased 600 or that we can win games from 200 behind. And I think that’s why the message is so consistent. We’re not saying it for show, we actually all believe that can happen. Every single player in the squad and every single guy in management believes it. That’s all the conversations ever are. It’s always, ‘We’re gonna win, we’re gonna chase it, we’re gonna do this, someone’s going to get 180.’ It’s magical to be a part of, to be honest.
I understand that people will say, ‘Well, England lost the second Test.’ The message that keeps coming from Ben and Baz is that results are irrelevant to us – it’s the way that we play. The way that we’re playing and the brand of cricket that we play is how we want to be seen and perceived.
So whether we chase it or not, we just want to entertain and show people that this is how we’re going to play cricket. We want to show teams around the world that this is how we’re going to play cricket. And this is how we’re going to keep Test cricket alive by playing this way. So many people who have never liked cricket have said to me, ‘How good was that?’ They’re watching, they’re getting up at 4am in England to watch Tests in India. That’s the message that we keep getting put onto us – just keep entertaining, keep trying to pull off the impossible and keep believing that. For us, it’s about the way we play. It’s really special for us to get together as a team and to leave our mark on the game of cricket. This is how we have to play. Whether we win or lose, people are going to remember us for the way we played and that’s what we’re all aiming for – to be remembered and to leave a mark on the game.
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Jasprit Bumrah has been crazy good. I must have said, ‘This bloke’s the best bowler in the world,’ ten times in Vizag. The way he got Popey out, I was like, ‘Oh my, this guy’s a joke.’ And then he got Foakesy out with a slower ball and I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness, can this guy get any better?’ You watch him and you think, ‘Wow, he’s good.’ And then there’s something else where you think, ‘He’s amazing, can he do anything more?’ And as a bowler – me and Jimmy were speaking about it and after the last game – to watch him ply his trade in India is really special because we’re always striving to put on a performance like that in these conditions. He’s really special to watch. Credit to Jasprit – he’s extraordinary. He’s definitely given me food for thought in the way that he bowls over here.
The way he changes his pace and the different balls that he’s got when the game’s meandering along, Foakesy and Hartley in the last game were playing really nicely in the fourth innings and were playing his on-pace ball fairly well, there was no inkling that he was going to bowl that 120kph cutter that got Foakes. His art of surprise and execution is something that I wouldn’t have practiced as much before. I practice smashing top-of-off stuff and trying to move the ball either way. I’ve never really thought about using my T20 skills in a Test match that often. I actually practiced the slower ball that Chris Woakes bowls – not the knuckleball, the one where you lock your wrist and come under it a little bit slower – with Paul Collingwood in Vizag after watching what Bumrah was producing.
I’m raring to go if Ben knocks on my door and says I’m in for the next Test. I’ve been training as hard as ever. Hopefully I’ll get my chance at some point.
Ollie Robinson is writing for Wisden.com across the India-England Test series. You can read his first column here.
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