Ashes 2023: Stuart Broad Hits Back At Matthew Hayden For Labelling Ollie Robinson As A 'Forgettable Cricketer'

Senior England fast-bower Stuart Broad feels that a lot has been made of the ugly exchange between teammate Ollie Robinson and Usman Khawaja after the pair made headlines due to their heated conversation during the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston. He also added that if International Cricket Council (ICC) doesn't have a problem with the matter, then former Australia players shouldn’t be bothered about it.

Robinson got Khawaja's wicket on Day 3 when the left-hander was batting on 141 and after he knocked off his stumps, Ollie came close to the Aussie batter and said something which did not settle well with some former Australia cricketers. (Ashes 2023: Jason Gillespie Picks Mitchell Starc Ahead Of Josh Hazlewood For 2nd Test Due To THIS Reason)

"A lot more has been made of words on the field between Ollie Robinson and Usman Khawaja than ought to have been, to be honest. Ultimately, the ICC had no problem with Ollie’s reaction to dismissing Khawaja in the first innings and I didn`t like Matthew Hayden`s disparaging comments about him.

"Yes, there was a bit of emotion on the field, but off it we are obviously seeing the Australian guys in the pavilion corridors all the time, eating lunch in the same room and we enjoyed a nice-natured week. Now a couple of expletives the other way and everyone is piling in. Where are we going with this?" wrote Broad in his column for the Daily Mail on Sunday.

Broad also called out former Australia captain Ricky Ponting for criticising Robinson, saying that he was also a big sledger in his playing days. `

"Ricky Ponting had a bit of a nibble because Robbo brought his name into things during a press conference, but not because Ricky was a huge sledger," the pacer said.

"Ollie had a bit of a mind blank, Ricky Ponting was the most famous ex-Aussie cricketer he could think of, and that Australia team he played in was hardly full of shrinking violets, so the hoo-ha that was created surprised us," he added.

Now 1-0 behind, England will play Australia in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, starting from June 28. Broad is expecting that the Robinson-Khawaja send-off chatter goes down as the series progresses.

"Every time there was a rain break, guys were chatting to each other and it is ironic that it blew up into a story because I’d probably say out of all nine Ashes series in which I’ve played, verbally it was the quietest first Test I can recall from an on-field perspective," said Broad.

"I`m sure it’ll die down pretty quickly, though, because with the teams getting on so well it’s a little bit of an irrelevance," he concluded.