Ashes 2023: Stuart Broad hits back at Ponting for his snide comment on Ollie Robinson

Why you're reading this: Ollie Robinson’s aggressive send-off to Usman Khawaja on Day 2 of the first Test match of Ashes 2023 did not go down too well with the cricketing fraternity. The Aussie opener was dismissed by Robinson while batting on 141 runs on Day 2. The English seamer was later seen hurling abuses at Khawaja. While Ricky Ponting was one of the key personalities to react to the incident, the Aussie legend has now received a response from veteran English pacer Stuart Broad.

3 Things You Need To Know

• Australia won the first Ashes Test by 2 wickets
• Usman Khawaja was Australia’s top-scorer in the 1st innings with 141 runs from 321 balls
• Ollie Robinson cited Ponting’s example while clarifying his send-off to Khawaja

ALSO READ | Ricky Ponting Responds To Robinson's 'we’ve Seen Ponting, Other Aussies Do The Same' Jibe

“ICC had no problem with Ollie’s reaction to dismissing Khawaja in the first innings”

Stuart Broad took to his Daily Mail column days ahead of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s to detail the incident involving Khawaja and Robinson. “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,” Broad said. The veteran speedster pointed out that ICC had no issues with Robinson’s send-off to Khawaja, before sharing his views on what has been said about the incident.

“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. 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. 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,” added Broad.

What did Ollie Robinson say about Ricky Ponting?

Earlier during the press conference after the conclusion of Day 3’s play, Ollie Robinson seemed unapologetic towards Khawaja and name-dropped Ponting. “We’ve all seen Ricky Ponting, other Aussies do the same to us. Just because the shoe is on the other foot, it’s not received well. I don’t really care how it’s perceived, to be honest. It’s the Ashes. It’s professional sport. If you can’t handle that, what can you handle?” he said.

ALSO READ | 'He's A Slow Learner': Ricky Ponting Shows No Mercy As He Tears English Seamer Apart

Meanwhile, Ponting responded to Robinson’s comments while speaking on the ICC review and asked to back things up with his skills. "As I said after Ollie Robinson said what he said, this England cricket team hasn't played against Australia and they'll find out pretty quickly what playing Ashes cricket and playing against a good Australian cricket team is all about. And if Ollie Robinson hasn't learned that already after last week, then he's a slow learner," Ponting told The ICC Review.

Alongside Ponting, Matthew Hayden, and Ian Healy were other big names who responded to the incident. Meanwhile, both teams are now gearing up for the second Test of the Ashes 2023 series, slated to be held at the iconic Lord’s Stadium. It is worth noting that England are down by 0-1 in the series and are chasing their first Ashes trophy since 2015.