Ollie Robinson's international future has once again become the subject of internal debate among the England hierarchy following a subpar comeback during the team's series-sealing five-wicket defeat by India in Ranchi.
Speaking in the aftermath of his side going 3-1 down to India with one to play, Brendon McCullum said he would look to support Robinson but, in something of a rarity during his two years as Test head coach, the ultrapositive New Zealander also publicly acknowledged a poor performance from one of his players.
"Everything he did leading into the Test match suggested we'd see not just the Ollie Robinson we'd seen previously but a better version of it," said McCullum at the team hotel on Tuesday. "For one reason or another it didn't quite work out for him. Obviously he's not just as disappointed as everyone else, he's the most disappointed out of everyone." Ranchi was Robinson's first appearance in any cricket since walking off the field during the Ashes Test at Headingley last summer with back spasms - itself, not a first- and after 58 runs with the bat, his speeds with the ball hovered in the mid-70s mph.
He also struggled with no balls and dropped a pivotal catch during India's turnaround.
Ben Stokes ignored him completely during India's run chase and though the captain played a straight bat about this during the post-match press conference, insisting it was solely tactical, England's frustration behind the scenes has been palpable.
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