England seamer Ollie Robinson has taken a career-best 14 wickets during Sussex’s County Championship draw against Worcestershire at New Road over the weekend — and Ashes rival Steve Smith watched the entire demolition from the slips cordon.
Robinson, who will almost certainly feature in England’s Test side this winter, was at the peak of his powers in Worcester this week, claiming 7-59 and 7-58 during the rain-affected contest to finish with match figures of 14-117.
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Smith, who scored 30 on Sussex debut, held onto a trio of catches off Robinson’s bowling.
Despite a relatively underwhelming 2021/22 Ashes campaign, Robinson troubled Smith on Australia’s bouncy decks last summer, removing the right-hander twice in 76 deliveries while conceding just 18 runs.
Speaking to reporters ahead of his County Championship debut, Smith confessed that Robinson knocked him over with the third ball of their first net session together as Sussex teammates.
“I get a look at him, he gets a look at me,” Robinson said on Thursday.
“I don’t think it makes a big difference in the grand scheme of things.
“He’s obviously a good player and he’ll score runs regardless of whether he faces me or not.
“It’s bit surreal. To have the world’s best batsman and (Cheteshwar) Pujara in the same dressing room is quite cool. It’s nice having him around. It ups my game in training bowling to him and Pujara.”
Smith was trapped LBW by seamer Josh Tongue in his lone knock at New Road, but replays suggested the Australian vice-captain may have been unlucky.
Former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali survived 371 minutes in the second innings, scoring an unbeaten 103 to help Worcestershire clinch a draw against Sussex.
Elsewhere in the County Championship, England veterans James Anderson and Stuart Broad starred on the final day of Lancashire’s thrilling draw against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.
Broad helped the hosts clinch a stalemate from the jaws of defeat, surviving 50 deliveries to deny Lancashire a crucial win despite Anderson’s classy 3-35 in the fourth innings.
Nottinghamshire were nine down when hands were shaken, with injured No. 11 Olly Stone successfully blocking out the final four deliveries of the match.
Stone, another Ashes hopeful, suffered a hamstring complaint while bowling in the second innings and will undergo scans this week to determine the severity of the injury.
England opener Ben Duckett had a forgettable outing for Nottinghamshire, registering 5 and 8 in the low-scoring contest.
Meanwhile, Western Australian opener Sam Whiteman celebrated his maiden County Championship century over the weekend, scoring an unbeaten 130 during Northamptonshire’s draw against Somerset in Taunton.
The newly-appointed Northamptonshire captain soaked up 269 deliveries in the second innings to rescue the visitors, who escaped with a draw.
“It was a magnificent effort by Sam Whiteman in his first match as captain,” Northamptonshire coach John Sadler told the Northampton Chronicle & Echo.
“The way he controlled his emotions and stuck to his plans were the reason we have been able to draw the game.
“To bat for over a day was outstanding.”
Somerset seamer Peter Siddle snared three wickets during the match, while teammate Cameron Bancroft scored 39 in his lone knock before edging behind.
Queensland teammates Marnus Labuschagne and Michael Neser put Glamorgan within touching distance of a coveted County Championship victory over Yorkshire at Headingley, but the Welsh outfit also fell one wicket short at Leeds.
Labuschagne smacked 65 and 170 not out in a dazzling performance with the bat, while Neser claimed career-best figures of 7-32 in the first innings, which included a hat-trick.
“(Labuschagne) was almost ridiculous at times,” Glamorgan teammate Sam Northeast told BBC Sport Wales.
“When he came out after tea and said he wanted to put his foot down, he did exactly that.
“He played some special shots.
“Unfortunately for England fans, he looks like he’s in pretty good touch.”
Glamorgan set the hosts a 492-run target for victory, but Yorkshire survived 96 overs on the final day for the loss of nine wickets, with stand-in captain Adam Lyth scoring a defiant 174.
England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, returning after a long-term leg injury, didn’t contribute much with the bat for Yorkshire, but held onto a stunning one-handed grab in the first innings.
Former New South Wales seamer Mickey Edwards, representing Yorkshire under a British passport, claimed career-best figures of 3-54 in the first innings.
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Meanwhile, Australian seamer Sean Abbott snared 3-50 during the second innings of Surrey’s rain-affected draw against Essex in Chelmsford, also contributing a handy 31 on day two.
England Test stars Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes both made starts with the bat for Surrey, but neither reached fifty across four knocks during the match.
Elsewhere, England paceman Chris Woakes claimed five wickets during Warwickshire’s thumping innings victory over Hampshire in Southampton, including 3-45 in the first innings, while Victorian captain Peter Handscomb scored a vital 62 in the second innings of Leicestershire’s draw against Derbyshire in Derby.
