England could give Australia 'a good hiding' - Ollie Robinson

Ollie Robinson believes that England could give Australia "a good hiding" in this summer's Ashes series, and that his team-mates have produced levels of entertainment that are "like nothing we've seen in Test cricket before" over the last nine months.

Robinson played in all five of England's Tests this winter, taking 15 wickets across their tours to Pakistan and New Zealand, and has continued a fine start to his international career since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took over as coach and captain respectively last year.

And three months before the first Ashes Test of the summer, on June 16 at Edgbaston, he might well have prompted the start of the phoney war that invariably dominates the build-up to the series, suggesting in an interview with BBC Radio Sussex that England are well placed to regain the urn.

"It is [the pinnacle] for me: it doesn't get much better than that," Robinson said. "It's a dream come true to be involved in a home Ashes. When we went to Australia [in 2021-22], we weren't quite at our best.

"But with the team and the squad we've got at the moment, it's such an exciting time to play Australia at home. I really feel like we could get one over on them, and give them a good hiding.

"Brendon McCullum and Stokesy have just changed the game for us [with] the confidence that they've given the players - the batters especially. I think the fans can see that [from] the way we're going out there and trying to put on a show, almost, trying to perform for people."

Robinson added that he hoped England could change the way Test cricket is played worldwide. "There will come a point when other Test nations will have to try and play the way we play to compete," he said. "That can only be good for the fans and good to watch.

"The entertainment we're producing is like nothing we've seen in Test cricket before. I think teams will follow suit at some point. It just depends how long it takes for some to do that."

The County Championship season starts in three weeks' time, with Robinson's side Sussex playing Durham at Hove on April 6. He is centrally contracted, so his workload will be closely monitored by the ECB, but intends to play "four or five" Championship matches before the start of the Ashes summer.

"Hopefully I'll be able to play quite a lot," he said. "Last year, I had a month of not playing at it sort of put me back in the summer, so this year I'm going to try and play early, play as much as possible and just keep myself playing cricket. I feel like that's when I'm at my best and that's when my body's at its best."