Ollie Robinson given chance to prove form and fitness against New Zealand
Ollie Robinson has been handed another chance to force his way into the forthcoming Test series against New Zealand after being named in the County Select XI that plays the tourists in Chelmsford this week.
Robinson was omitted from the England squad for the first Test at Lord’s next week. It followed a winter in Australia and the Caribbean that was dogged by fitness problems and a truncated start to this season at Sussex. The 28-year-old seamer’s campaign was delayed by a dental problem and, after taking seven wickets against Middlesex at the start of this month, a stomach illness curtailed his second outing at Leicestershire.
In Robinson’s most recent appearance against the New Zealanders, he bowled 18 wicketless overs before a washout on Monday led to the match ending in a draw. He now has another opportunity as one of two capped England players in a 12-man squad that takes on the tourists over four days from Thursday.
Dom Sibley, who was dropped from the England Test setup last season, is the other and will probably open alongside Ben Compton, the leading runscorer in Division One with 878 runs from 11 innings.
Compton, cousin of the former England batsman Nick Compton, will not get the chance to make the hallowed figure of 1,000 runs before the end of May, however, with the tourists expected to field more than 11 players in their final tour match before the Test series meaning the fixture will not count as first-class. Nevertheless, the game provides a shop window for a number of England hopefuls, with Tom Haines, the Sussex left-hander namechecked by Rob Key, the director of men’s cricket, and Essex seamer Jamie Porter, among those included.
The squad was picked in consultation with the first-class counties – the T20 Blast, which starts on Wednesday, was a factor in who was released – and Richard Dawson, in charge of England’s pathway system, will act as head coach.
Dawson said: “We have selected a strong squad of players who are in form and deserve the opportunity to test themselves against high-class international opposition. Matches like this provide a valuable opportunity to see how players handle a step up from county ranks.”