'It's easier as a bowler because...' Glenn Mcgrath reacts to Ollie Robinson's expletive-laden sendoff to Usman Khawaja in Edgbaston test 2023.

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The former Australian pace maestro Glenn Mcgrath is the latest to criticize Ollie Robinson on the sendoff to Usman Khawaja. The three-time world cup winner believes that the bowlers can look silly if they don’t win the battle after the banter, and hence, they shouldn’t resort to sledging. “You have to back it up. If you don't, you can look silly. It's easier as a bowler because you have plenty of opportunities to take the wicket that proves you right. If you're a batter, it takes one ball to prove you wrong." Wrote the legendary pacer in his column to BBC Sport.  

Ben Stokes had set a unique field set named ‘Reverse Umbrella’ to dismiss Usman Khawaja, who was well set in the middle. Ollie Robinson nailed the yorker that got the better of the Southpaw. Following the dismissal, Robinson gave an aggressive sendoff to the batter.

"It's interesting to see England players being vocal in the media" - Glenn Mcgrath

Speaking further on the confidence of the players before the second test, the tall pacer expressed his surprise at certain English players being vocal in media ahead of the Lord’s test. The 53-year-old wrote, “England arrive at Lord's with more pressure on their shoulders. If they lose, I can't see a way that they get back into the series. From that point of view, it's interesting to see that Ollie Robinson and Zak Crawley have been vocal in the media. I have no problem with it, especially because I was always ready with a prediction or a target of an opposition batter during my playing days."  

The English opener that started Ashes 2023 with a first-ball boundary was confident of England's chances in the Lord's test. Crawley predicted England to win the second test by 150-odd runs.

The multiple Ashes winner also gave his opinion on the selection conundrum of Australian bowlers, especially that with Mitchell Starc. The former world number one bowler wrote, “Mitchell Starc will be straining at the leash to play this week, especially after sitting out in Birmingham and playing just once on the last tour in 2019. It could be that the Lord's conditions are more suited to Boland's pitch-up, nibble-around style, but I'm not sure Australia will want to leave Starc out for two consecutive matches."  

Mitchell Starc has played just one test against England in England since September 2015. The left-arm pacer played just one test in Ashes 2019, the last time Australia had toured England.