England's Ollie Robinson celebrates taking the wicket of Pakistan's Saim Ayub. (Reuters Photo) NEW DELHI: Ollie Robinson has entered one of Test cricket’s most exclusive statistical clubs, becoming the first bowler in more than a century to boast a bowling average below 19 after playing at least 20 matches.
86. The England seamer is now the first bowler since Sydney Barnes in 1914 to achieve a sub-19 average while meeting the 20-Test cut-off.
43. His career ended in 1914, meaning Robinson’s achievement comes 112 years after the last bowler to meet the benchmark.
The rarity of Robinson’s numbers becomes clearer when the cut-off is applied. Only six bowlers in Test history have averaged below 20 after playing at least 20 Tests.
Four of them are from England’s early Test era, while the other two are Robinson and India’s Jasprit Bumrah. 54 from 21 Tests, having taken 51 wickets.
98 from 20 Tests after taking 101 wickets. 75.
86 from 24 Tests. 79.
Best Test Bowling Average (Min. 79Robinson’s latest landmark came during a dominant spell against Pakistan at Edgbaston.
After England posted a huge total, the pacer struck twice in Pakistan’s second innings before rain interrupted play. He removed Saim Ayub with the very first ball of the innings, before dismissing Abdullah Shafique with his fourth delivery.
Pakistan were reduced to 0-2 before Shan Masood and Azan Awais steadied the innings. The first-ball dismissal was itself a notable feat.
Robinson became only the fifth bowler in Test history to take a wicket with the first delivery of an innings twice in a series. India’s Zaheer Khan last achieved the feat against Bangladesh in 2007, while Bill Voce was the previous Englishman to do so, against Australia in 1937.
England lead the three-Test series 2-0 and are now firmly in position to complete a clean sweep. But amid the dominance, it was Robinson’s remarkable bowling numbers that provided the standout statistical story at Edgbaston — putting his name alongside some of the greatest wicket-takers of the early Test era.
