England captain Ben Stokes gives Ollie Robinson a licence to sledge ahead of Lord’s Test

Ricky Ponting told him to pull his head in and Australian batting star Usman Khawaja said he needed to ‘be careful’ what he says, but Ashes villain Ollie Robinson won’t be muzzled by his captain in the second Test at Lord’s.

Robinson copped it from Ponting, former Australian opener Matthew Hayden and others after his verbal exchanges with Khawaja in the opening Test at Edgbaston came back to bite him as the tourists went on to win.

Hayden was particularly savage, calling Robinson a ‘forgettable cricketer’, but the 29-year-old England bowler has been unaffected by the fallout according to his captain Ben Stokes.

Robinson’s expletive-laden send-off to Khawaja in the first innings, which sparked the back-and-forth, went unpunished by the ICC and Stokes said he had no intention of reining in his bowler at Lord’s.

‘What’s Ashes cricket without a little bit of comments from past players?’ Stokes said.

Ben Stokes has backed Ollie Robinson to remain aggressive throughout this Ashes series

The England fast bowler sparked controversy in first Test for his foul-mouthed send-off at Usman Khawaja after he bowled the Australian in the first innings

Robinson has maintained verbal aggression is simply part of Ashes cricket 

‘It’s not the only time where emotions of pro sport have come out in that form.

‘Ollie Robinson is the sixth best bowler in the world, he is averaging 21 with the ball. That’s all I need to say on that.’

Robinson returned match figures of five for 98 at Edgbaston and could be more suited by a far greener Lord’s wicket.

Stokes is confident Robinson’s outward personality will be on show again, and it brings out his best.

‘He has been a quality performer every time he has walked on the field for England. His performances have proven that,’ he said.

‘I won’t be having a word with him to rein it in because you don’t want to take something out of a player that gets the best out of them. He loves the competition.

‘It is professional sport. It’s the Ashes. There was a moment where we needed a desperate breakthrough [of Khawaja], and he was the one to get that.’

Australian captain Pat Cummins said his players wouldn’t follow suit and would leave the sledging to Robinson.

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting was one of several former Aussie players to criticise Robinson for his behaviour at Edgbaston 

‘Five years ago Australian cricket meant you were meant to play tough and get in the face of the opposition and throw your arms about and things like that,’ he said.

‘Whereas you have seen our team pretty mellow over the past few years, which I think reflects our personalities.

‘No doubt there are moments where everyone wants to get into a fight or a scrap or tit-for-tat, but at the moment everyone is pretty relaxed and comfortable just being us.’

Joe Root stole the scene in the first Test with a number of extravagant shots 

Meanwhile, Joe Root showed in the nets he remains eager to play the spectacular ramp shots he used so effectively at Edgbaston.

The No.1-ranked Test batter in the world, Root reverse scooped Cummins off the first ball of the fourth day in Birmingham before he aimed two more at Scott Boland in the next over and hit him for six and four.

‘I don’t feel like Superman,’  Root told Mail Sport last week when asked about his extravagant shot selection. 

‘I’m absolutely bricking it when he’s running in to bowl most of the time. The first time I did it in this Test it was quite clear he was bowling wide and it didn’t feel like there was a lot of risk to it.