Sussex skipper praises England star Ollie and looks forward to his Blast return (original) (raw)

Ollie Robinson celebrates one of his seven England wickets <i>(Image: Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA Wire)</i>

Ollie Robinson celebrates one of his seven England wickets (Image: Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA Wire)

Sussex skipper Tymal Mills congratulated Ollie Robinson as he helped England make a much-needed winning start to the Test summer.

And he revealed he expects to see his fast bowler back for the closing fixtures of the T20 Vitality Blast group phase.

Robinson took a first-innings five-for and finished with match figures of 7-77 as England beat New Zealand by 115 runs on a tough batting surface at Lord’s.

While the pitch was widely criticised for being too bowler-friendly, Robinson was accurate and consistent and duly picked up man of the match honours.

Sharks skipper Mills revealed he could be back for T20 fixtures with his county.

Mills said: “Four or five weeks ago, I don’t think he thought he was overly close to being back in the (England) team.

“It was special. It is what he does. He is a brilliant bowler.

“Conditions were tailor-made for him. The ball was doing a lot for him on a pitch at Lord’s that looks a bit average - or nice for the bowlers, anyway.

“We are all chuffed for Ollie. He is available for the last five games for us here so hopefully we are still in with a sniff when he comes back to us.”

England coach Brendon McCullum said: "He was brilliant. He was so nervous. He mentioned before he bowled in the first innings that he was more nervous than he was on his debut.

"For him it was just trying to hit a natural length. His natural length was going to be successful on this surface."